New Sultan administrator settling in

Sultan’s new city administrator is former Duvall mayor Will Ibershof.

Mayor John Seehuus made the appointment, and the Sultan City Council unanimously approved his hiring on Aug. 9.

“I am absolutely thrilled to have Will at the helm of our great city,” Seehuus said in a news release. “His track-record is proven, his reputation is beyond reproach, and he is ready to get to work. I cannot wait to see what he does for Sultan.”

Ibershof will help carry out council-adopted policies and coordinate with outside agencies, at Seehuus’ direction.

Ibershof will oversee and supervise all City of Sultan departments, including planning, finance and public works, according to the city. The city currently has about two dozen full- and part-time employees.

Ibershof spent nearly three decades in Duvall, and now lives in Woodinville. He is married, and has three children.

On a dare, he ran and was elected to the Duvall City Council in 2001, according to the city. Voters supported Ibershof by 69 percent. He first stepped into the mayor’s seat in 2005. There he also served as the city administrator, and worked in waste management full-time.

Ibershof oversaw the city’s $35 million budget, and a 45-member staff. He immediately headed development of a strategic plan for Duvall, and is largely responsible for the transformation of the Main Street and downtown area.

He helped form the committee of community members that took on the long-term overhaul.

“They designed the downtown that you see now,” Ibershof said in the release. “Everything from the artwork to the benches, to the color of the light posts — all of it.”

In Olympia, he lobbied for a massive expansion of Duvall’s wastewater treatment plant. Ibershof assisted in the city’s win of a $4 million Washington State DAepartment of Ecology grant, according to the release. The project was the largest in Duvall’s history for public works.

Within a seven-year period, he led the efforts to secure $12 million in grants for the city. He said in the release he looks forward to carrying out similar projects and initiatives in Sultan.

Ibershof enjoys the spectrum of issues he is able to address through public service, according to the city. The position allows him to give back to his community.

“I love that diversity,” Ibershof said. “I just love the difference in what goes on and the fluidity of it.”

The first two months have been spent getting to know the city and community. Ibershof has met with representatives from the area’s industries and organizations, and planned not to make recommendations for that initial period.

Seehuus conducted a local search to fill the position vacated by former city administrator Ken Walker, who was found through an independent investigation to have fostered a hostile work environment. The city executed a separation agreement with Walker, who agreed to resign effective April 20.

Former Mayor Carolyn Eslick appointed him in 2012.

Seehuus, who stepped in after Eslick was appointed to the vacated Washington House of Representatives for the 39th District a year ago, has acted as Sultan’s city administrator since January.

He believes the city saved $25,000 by not hiring a consulting firm for the search, according to the release. The city reports local connections were used to identify Ibershof as a candidate.  His official start date was Aug. 13.

“I love working in smaller communities,” Ibershof said in the release. “I love being able to work collectively with the variety of different people that come with small communities.”