No regrets and a lasting legacy for Lar

It's safe to say outgoing Chief Executive Lar Power made his mark on Leitrim County Council with all the councillors taking the opportunity to wish him a heartfelt farewell at a recent meeting.
The Wexford man has accumulated a wealth of experience in his thirty-two years working at a number of county councils around the country but the councillors also spoke of the man behind the role who they described as fair, friendly and likeable.
Mr Power sat down with the Leitrim Observer just before he completed his final week this month and moved on to his role as CE of Kilkenny County Council and spoke passionately of his great love for Leitrim, which he said needs to be played to its strength as an "attractive tourist destination", his fondness of the team at the council and some of the major projects delivered during his time there.
“Leitrim is a fabulous county with unspoilt landscapes and breathtaking scenery so you have to play to its strengths,” he said.
“Leitrim is a very attractive destination in its own right and all the towns and villages are superb destinations. The people of Leitrim are extremely welcoming and people who come here have a great experience.
“We do something called 'slow adventure tourism' which means we invite people to come and immerse themselves in the place and take it at a pace that suits them and switch off the mobile phone.
“Whether they want to walk, cycle, hike, kayak, canoe, paddle board, cruise, boat or fish, they can do that. No matter where they are throughout the county, they are never too far from a town or village where they will get a great welcome.”
He said Leitrim is a very clean county and very well kept and the people are so welcoming so it's not surprising that people who come here to visit want to return.
“Carrick-on-Shannon is of course on the Shannon and it's a gateway to the River Shannon and there are around 130 cruisers for hire so it's a major access point. That creates a lot of tourism and outside of that, the town is known as a great place to come for hens and stags,” he said.
“There is a great vibe in the town and the secret to all the towns and villages is their presentation and their vibrancy and the experience you get. That is why Carrick does so well and Leitrim does so well.”
After studying Civil Engineering at UCD, Mr Power joined Wexford County Council on July 1, 1991 and worked there until 1993 before joining the team at Enniscorthy Town Council up to September 1996.
“I went to work in Waterford County Council and was there from September 1996 to the summer of 2000 and then on to Waterford City Council.
“Along the road, Waterford County and Waterford City Councils were amalgamated so it became Waterford City and County Council in 2014. I was there until I left to come to Leitrim which was in March 2018,” he explained.
With a Leitrim jersey framed and hung on his wall, he said that the key to success is all about working as a team.
“I think I got on well with the staff because it's the nature of the people to be welcoming and they have been kind to me throughout.
“I consider Leitrim a very special place and undoubtedly I will be returning here for many a visit.
“The Councillors, the staff of the local authority and the people of Leitrim all wore the Leitrim jersey and that's what we're here to do.
“The objective was to do the best they could for the county every day and the Councillors and staff are very committed and agile so the partnership was very strong. They were all on the same page so whenever the need arose to put their shoulder to the wheel, everyone was willing to do that,” he said.
“People would say it's a long way to come from Wexford and asked if I ever regretted it, I always told them ‘Never, not for a moment.’”
During his time at the helm, Mr Power oversaw the realisation of a number of large-scale projects.
“I'm here five and a half years and the partnership here between the Councillors and the executive, which is the staff, is very good – probably unrivalled in Ireland. Collectively, we have a strong ambitious programme for the county but that doesn't come without some pain and the pain is it has to be part-funded.
Mr Power said that the Councillors “stood up to the challenge” and “made the hard decisions to make sure they could match fund a very ambitious capital programme.”
“The capital programme for here is around €387m which is a lot for a county this size. We actually prepared that capital programme as early as 2019 and it's a continuous rolling programme. It does have to be part-funded by Leitrim's own resources to the tune of around €26m so you do have to make some very tough choices if you are going to be that ambitious with a programme,” he said.
Mr Power noted that €10m was spent in Carrick-on-Shannon in recent years on the renewal of Main Street and St George's Terrace and the construction of the car park.
“We had a similar project in Ballinamore and in Manorhamilton and now in Mohill and Dromahair so in the primary towns, we are doing a lot of work.”
He said the county always had a desire to have a Regional Sports Complex and an opportunity arose where the council was able to purchase land for the complex.
“Works commence on that project next Friday. It's 13 acres of land and will cater for hurling, football, soccer, rugby, athletics, etc.”
An opportunity came to purchase the former home of MBNA last year and the council bought the building for future economic development.
“The main tenant there is Avant Money who employ a couple of hundred people on site. Since, we have accrued three additional companies to join them on site and there is also space for additional companies.”
In the north of the county, the Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway (SLNCR) Greenway is another project that is set to come to fruition.
“That Greenway is 74 km long and goes from Sligo City through Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Fermanagh into Enniskillen. Leitrim County Council is the lead authority on that. It will cost in the order of €40m plus and has government support at the highest of levels and will be delivered,” he stated.
Another ambitious project that Mr Power advanced is the Carrick-on-Shannon to Battlebridge 10km boardwalk which will run on or adjacent to the river to cater to both walking and cycling.
“It'll be very unique and a signature project nationally. In the summer the river will be to your left as you go north and in the winter it will be underneath.”
Asked what advice he would give to the incoming Chief Executive, he said: "I think there is a very ambitious growth trajectory here and I think it's very successful for the county so I would like to see the incoming Chief Executive to continue on the same trajectory and that would benefit Leitrim across a range of areas whether that is economic development, urban renewal or tourism.
“The capital programme is well in train and supported by the resources of the local authority to enable it to be delivered and it would be great if the new chief executive would keep that momentum.”
He said the role of the Local Authority is place making and “making it the best place it can be for those who live, work, invest and visit a place. We really made sure that every place was the best it could be in terms of presentation, vibrancy and experience.
“The value of a true partnership with the council members is something I'd like to replicate in Kilkenny. The job can't be done properly unless the partnership is right so that worked very well for us here,” he concluded.