After first being hired as a parks keeper for the city in 1995 and then moving on to work for other nearby municipalities, Tim Wolfe has returned to the City of Stratford to step in as director of community services.
Boasting years of experience working for nearby municipalities like Waterloo, Kitchener and St. Marys, a former Stratford parks keeper is making his return to city employ as the head of the community services department.
Following the retirement of predecessor David St. Louis in December, Tim Wolfe, a graduate of the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture and most recently the City of Waterloo’s manager of parks operations, forestry and horticulture – officially stepped into the leadership position at the beginning of this week.
“I started as a parks keeper (in 1995) and then I ended up being the arborist for the city. … Through every (career) move I’ve made to other municipalities, I’ve always lived in Stratford and never relocated. I think Stratford is a phenomenal city – a lot of potential, a lot of growth. There’s a lot of pride in this city and, at the end of the day, this was the city that I decided was the best one to raise my children in,” Wolfe said.
“The city just has so many good things going for it, so to be able to come back and finish my career here is almost more of an honor than an employment opportunity.”
As director of community services, Wolfe will oversee Stratford’s transit, parks, recreation and cemetery departments. He said he’s particularly excited about returning to work for Stratford as the city emerges from COVID-19 restrictions and continues development of official plans for both sports tourism and culture in the city.
“There’s a lot of proactive things going on right now,” Wolfe said. “So Stratford’s … moving forward and it’s been very exciting to see the city has invested in community services and the community as a whole. … And people are coming back (after the pandemic). Bookings are back to what was a pre-COVID stage.
“I see the involvement in sports communities, adult recreation and summer camps. The big thing is people want to get back out and do things. With the COVID restrictions coming to an end … I can definitely see the trend where registration numbers are going up and participation in our events is increasing.”
Wolfe said he is looking forward to refamiliarizing himself with how the community services department and the city as a whole operates, as well as getting to know his new colleagues. Having so much experience working for nearby municipalities, including St. Marys, where he actually worked for Stratford’s previous community services director for a time, he’s also looking for opportunities to implement best practices from some of the city’s closest neighbours.
“We are looking forward to having Mr. Wolfe join the city’s corporate leadership team,” Joan Thomson, Stratford’s top administrator, said in a press release. “His valuable insights, knowledge and collaborative approach will be instrumental in advancing the priorities of our community services department.“