New group manager returns to Council

New Southland District Council services and assets group manager Ian Marshall knows his way around both the region and Council. Mr Marshall was Council's asset manager roading until six years ago when he left to work for the Queenstown Lakes District Council as its roading manager. "It certainly feels like being home - it's not like going to a whole new place, but there are a lot of new faces here," he said.

Mr Marshall spent four years with the Queenstown council and two years with GHD consultants where he was involved in asset management mostly in the North Island in smaller local authorities. He believes that will stand him in good stead for this job as he was involved in some innovative thinking for those councils who had small teams but still a lot of infrastructure to manage.

"This job is about being able to deliver the right things to the customer and it's essential to me that I know we are delivering them as well as we can," he said.

"Southland District Council does manage its infrastructure and deliver services very well, particularly when you look at some other authorities around the country. It's always been a leader in delivery and looking at ways to move forward, as well as interacting with other organisations and working with Central Government to influence what is coming out of Wellington."

Mr Marshall started at the then Southland County Council in January 1970 as a cadet engineer, when a lot of his work was surveying paddocks and deciding where new roads would go to service new farms. He was also involved in building some sewerage schemes before he became roading manager.

In 1989 in the restructure of local government, Southland District Council was created and he became what was then called an urban engineer, the forerunner of area engineers now, and looked after the towns in the district. He was then asset manager roading for seven years before deciding to move to Queenstown, which was a place he had always wanted to live and work.

He plans to spend the next few months ensuring some of the new developments which have been brought into the services and assets department are working smoothly and bedded in before looking at any refinements.

"I'm glad to be back here and I am really looking forward to getting back on my bike and checking out our roads."

Chief executive David Adamson has welcomed Mr Marshall back to Council. "Ian has a good knowledge of the district and sound experience in infrastructural management," he said.

"His time away has enabled him to look at a number of councils in detail which provides Southland District Council with an extra advantage."