NIPAWIN — Nipawin’s new bylaw enforcement and emergency planning officer started work this past week.
David Pruden comes from a long bylaw enforcement background, spending the last 16 years both as a bylaw enforcement officer and supervisor in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.
After 16 years of living in such a crowded and hectic area, Pruden was looking for some space and thought Saskatchewan would serve that purpose.
“I’d grown up into my school years in Saskatchewan, I have lots of relatives in Saskatchewan, and I enjoy the province. The lifestyle is one that I could appreciate.”
Pruden spends his spare time as an avid outdoorsman so the appeal was there for a position with a northern Saskatchewan community.
“I like getting out on trails, whether it's hiking or biking and they also enjoy spending a lot of time fishing.”
Every municipality is different when it comes to prevalent issues that are important for the bylaw enforcement officer to address. Property maintenance and keeping communities tidy is top of the list much of the time, he said, as well as parking enforcement.
As the Emergency Planning Officer, Pruden will be developing a community plan for how the town will react when faced with an emergency situation.
“I'll be working closely with the fire chief to work on the plans and different scenarios that may cause an emergency center to be stood up so that we can properly educate, really inform citizens to help make our community safer when we are in those emergency situations.”
Education is a big part of his job, as well, Pruden said. People are generally not aware of how bylaws are set up or how they are applied. When it comes to enforcing a bylaw, education is more important than issuing reprimands.
“At the very end of the day, we do have the mechanism for fining but that is not what we venture out to do in most first instances.”
So far, Pruden appreciates the warm welcome he has received.
