Driving force behind downtown revitalization is retiring
GEORGE KUHL RETIRING AFTER 21 YEARS
A door that was always open at city hall is closing for good today.
George Kuhl, the City’s Downtown Revitalization Manager and beating drum of the Heart of Our City downtown revitalization initiative, is retiring after 21 years as a public servant.
“George has been a passionate advocate and ally for downtown Lethbridge in his capacity with the City of Lethbridge,” said Mayor Chris Spearman. “We appreciate the dedicated service he has provided as a valued member of our City staff, and we wish him a healthy and happy retirement.”
Kuhl began his career as a part-time development officer in 1997. He then took the job full-time before moving into planning. He has been working on the city’s downtown core for the past 14 years on planning and has been an instrumental part of many of the initiatives and developments that have taken place during that time.
Kuhl said the work that has happened in those years could not have happened without strong connections and relationships with stakeholders.
In particular, city development has been greatly helped by a relationship between the Downtown Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone and the City.
“It was a pleasure working with George over those years,” said Ted Stilson, executive director for the Downtown Lethbridge BRZ.
According to Stilson, if two historical timelines — one with Kuhl at the helm as the downtown revitalization manager and one without — the downtown area would look completely different.
“He was the driving force behind making sure the Heart of Our City master plan stayed on track,” said Stilson.
One of the biggest changes has been the rise of what Kuhl refers to as “coffee culture,” which has turned the downtown into a place where people can gather in a friendly atmosphere.
“It’s important because people can come together and discuss the matters of the day,” he said. “They are comfortable places to go to.”
Having a University of Lethbridge presence downtown has added to the culture of the area.
“It really gives it that much more life,” he said. “There’s a lot more potential to that.”
One issue Kuhl said he never expected to be dealing with is the opioid crisis. The core of the city has been particularly impacted by the crisis and continues to struggle.
“That caught us a little bit by surprise,” he said, but added the City has tried to be proactive with the issue and worked to get at the core problems behind the crisis.
“Drug use, and needle debris, those kinds of things are symptoms of a bigger problem,” he said. “Dealing with the social problems underlying these behaviours and addictions — that’s where the real work needs to be done.”
Stilson said Kuhl’s easygoing manner is a strength that will be missed.
“You don’t see that too often at city hall,” he said. “He had a great calming effect on even the toughest issues.”
“I think his legacy is strong because George took the opportunity to get to know the downtown business people.
For Kuhl, it was really about creating relationships.
“My door was always open,” Kuhl said. “I’d meet with anybody anytime.”
“He built up some really strong relationships in the downtown core,” said Stilson. “People know George had a hand in making the downtown core a better place.”
Kuhl is looking forward to having an empty calendar and not being ruled by his phone. There are plans in the works for some travel, and he wants to be more active in retirement. He is going to miss seeing his coworkers and community partners every day, however.
“I work with a lot of great people, and I really value the contributions they’ve made to the city,” he said.
“It’s been a real pleasure being a civil servant for all these years. I’ve always tried to contribute to making the city a better place. And I worked with a lot of great people.
“A lot of people have said some really nice things to me over the past little while, and it makes you feel good knowing the contributions you’ve made have been worthwhile and have been noticed.”
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