The District of Stewart has a new temporary chief administrative officer - Terrace’s former fire chief Peter Weeber.
Weeber began the job this Monday, June 20, taking over from chief administrative officer Douglas Jay who is on medical leave until September.
Weeber will be the interim chief administrative officer until that time, staying in Stewart during the week and returning to Terrace on the weekends. Part of the employment deal is that the district provides his accommodation in the community.
Stewart mayor Angela Brand Danuser said the district looked through a list of people through the local government manager association who work temporary postings, and contacted about five of them regarding the job.
“We decided that Peter was the best fit for us,” she said, saying that his close proximity to the district was a bonus. “The local knowledge and having those local contacts is a huge asset for us.
“Obviously it was wonderful that Peter was available on such short notice, too,” she added.
Weeber had been Terrace’s fire chief since 2005, starting as a volunteer in 1995 and moving to a paid position in 2001. He resigned from his position this March to finish his schooling and pursue a career in public administration. He’ll be working on his business degree at night and is expecting to complete his courses in July.
“The setting the same; local government is local government,” he said. “The fundamental difference would be that I was responsible for public safety for the city, and now I’m just sort of transitioned to (being) responsible for community infrastructure support and development, and supporting council.”
As interim CAO, Brand Danuser said Weeber will be working on every file there is in the office.
“Stewart has been a bit of a a sleepy little town for quite some time, but we’re very busy right now,” she said, saying mining and independent power project activity is picking up in the area.
“It’s been a very interesting week so far,” Weeber said, noting that transportation and infrastructure minister Blair Lekstrom visited the community and port facilities June 21 as part of his northern tour this week.