Stan Westby is ready for Whitehorse to lead the way on the sustainability front in all senses of the word.

The incoming city manager is set to start work in Whitehorse on Aug. 13.

Balancing the interests of environmental, cultural and environmental sustainability won't be easy, he said in an interview last week.

"That is the huge challenge,” he said after expressing his excitement over his new job.

Currently the chief administrative officer in Powell River, B.C., Westby said he spotted the Whitehorse job left vacant by Dennis Shewfelt, who retired in June, on a national network.

"It really intrigued me,” Westby said.

He pointed to the positive reputation the city has for interesting initiatives as well as being home to a

demographic of young, well-educated people.

The ad too came at a time when he and his wife were looking to make a change with their kids all done high school now and moving on to their own things.

After getting shortlisted for the job and then going through the interview process, Westby said he was "very delighted” to learn he received the job.

Sustainability was one of the major topics that came up during the interview.

Westby got the sense council was looking for someone who would help the city lead the way on the

sustainability front.

"That was a real exciting opportunity,” he said, noting the community seems very focused on its sustainability goals.

As he noted though, to accomplish those goals in a balanced way there will have to be buy-in from within the community.

So his first order of business will be on listening to the community and to council on establishing priorities for the city to then lead the way.

Westby noted his interest in sustainable communities came from an exchange he did in New Zealand where sustainability was enshrined in the community's charter.

The need for sustainability has been becoming more clear, he said. As well, as aging infrastructure in North America is beginning to deteriorate, with bridges collapsing in Montreal.

"We don't have life cycle funding,” he said of infrastructure projects.

One of his biggest accomplishments in Powell River, he said, is the work that has gone into improving the city's drinking water with an $8-million grant and a program that will see ongoing maintenance to the system.

More attention was given to other initiatives he is also proud of, such as recreation improvements, waterfront projects and the like.

However, Westby said the upgraded water system is the one he is most proud of. It means he can leave the community knowing it has among the highest-quality water and a plan for that to continue into the future.

His work in the community also hasn't come without its own frustrations too, he acknowledged.

The hardest thing, he said, was putting a tax structure in place that kept the Catalyst Paper Corp.'s mill opened.

Catalyst was looking to shut down one of its four mills in the province, and Westby noted that without the tax break, it likely would have been the Powell River mill.

It meant cutbacks for the city, he said, noting the city is looking – and will find – ways to keep moving ahead

As he pointed out, there are new land development projects in the works for the community he will soon be leaving.

Westby's career in Powell River began when he was hired as the director of finance.

When the previous CAO left, Westby was hired on, moving his career into that of the community manager.

Prior to that, he worked in finance for communities in the Lower Mainland of B.C.

And before working at the municipal government level, he used his chartered account designation working and articling for private firms and companies. He also did contract work for municipalities which allowed him to move into that realm.

As he pointed out, working for municipalities allows him to give back to the public and have a career that's more community oriented.

Westby also serves as co-chair of the International Government Finance Officers Association conference and is a member of the Infrastructure Canada National Asset Management Group as well as the National Roundtable on Infrastructure.

"For me, my career's been a dream come true,” he said.