By Maria Altman, KWMU
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kwmu/local-kwmu-846056.mp3
Listen to the entire interview with Les Sterman here.
St. Louis, MO. – The East-West Gateway Council of Governments is losing its executive director.
After 31 years with the organization Les Sterman announced his resignation to the staff Friday morning.
He says getting MetroLink on-line in the 1990s was one of the highlights of his time there.
"That one was really conceived out of this organization and planned here and, in fact, carried all the way to preliminary design, which was very unusual for a planning agency," Sterman said.
He says he's disappointed that the light rail system has not yet expanded throughout the region.
Sterman is joining the Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevent District Council, which is working to restore levees in the Metro East.
Trained as an engineer, the 60-year-old says he'll be the chief supervisor of construction.
"At this stage of my career, I'd like to spend the last few years building something rather than planning," he said. "Planning is a wonderful field, and I've spent my entire career in it, but it's sometimes frustrating that you're around at the beginning of projects and never around at the end."
His last day with East-West Gateway is July 21st.