City fires planning director

By Ron Seymour Wednesday, June 26, 2007
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories.php?id=50897

The City of Kelowna‘s planning director has been fired after less than a year on the job. Mary Pynenburg was dismissed last Friday because of personality conflicts with staff and differences in philosophy, city manager Ron Mattiussi said Tuesday. “Over the last 10 months, it became apparent that there really wasn‘t a good fit between the way Mary carried out business as the director of the department and our corporate and community culture, and I didn‘t think it was in anyone‘s interest to let that continue,” Mattiussi said in an interview. Also fired was Carlos Felip, who Pynenburg had hired as development services manager - essentially, the No. 2 in the planning department - just last month. The pair, longtime friends, had a management style that was proving divisive in the planning department, Mattiussi said. “Mary has very good credentials, but you want to build a team and move forward and create a feeling of cohesion, and clearly we weren‘t going there,” he said. “And, lately, a fragile situation went critical.” Pynenburg did not return a phone call Tuesday.

Members of Kelowna‘s development community said they weren‘t surprised that Pynenburg had been fired, describing her as difficult to deal with and often contemptuous of their projects. “She called one of my projects ’laughable‘ and another ’a joke,‘ and I heard she told an architect he should quit because he was incompetent,” one builder said. “No matter what she thought of them, that‘s just not the way to deal with people.” “She had this idea that she was going to modernize Kelowna, put her footprint on the city,” said another developer. “It was a typical attitude for someone coming here from a bigger place, but she didn‘t sell it very well with the people she had to deal with.” Pynenburg was director of planning for the City of New Westminster from 1992-2004. She has also worked in the United States and overseas.

Pynenburg ran unsuccessfully for the federal Liberals in the 2004 and 2006 elections in the Lower Mainland. Her 2004 campaign became controversial when it emerged she was soliciting donations from developers while working for the New Westminster planning department, creating concerns about a conflict of interest. Pynenburg started with the City of Kelowna last September. Two members of the planning department have quit since the beginning of the year, and their positions haven‘t been filled. Mattiussi suggested Pynenburg didn‘t get along with younger members of the planning staff, and expressed the belief that might make it difficult to hire other employees in the future. “I need people in leadership positions who can deal with Gen X and Gen Y, try to build a good team to serve the people of the city,” Mattiussi said. “When the chemistry isn‘t working, it‘s important not to prolong that.” Asked if he anticipated a wrongful dismissal lawsuit from Pynenburg, Mattiussi said the city‘s intention was to be “fair” in reaching a financial settlement. “I‘m sure she‘s getting legal advice,” he added. David Shipclark, the city‘s director of corporate services, has become the planning director on an interim basis.