Coldstream’s former CAO starts new job in West Kelowna

Coldstream’s former chief administrative officer has gone south for his latest position in municipal government.

Trevor Seibel was introduced as the City of West Kelowna’s new deputy CAO and deputy corporate officer by CAO Paul Gipps at council’s July 11 meeting.

“In his role as deputy CAO, Mr. Seibel will stand in my place, but he will also manage a significant number of projects, a significant number of aspects of our government,” Gipps said. “He comes with a variety background, being a former CAO himself, and a great person. We have known each other for a number of years.”

Seibel told council, he looks forward to being involved with the many things that are going on in West Kelowna, a city of more than 38,000 residents.

“I’ve been in the Okanagan-Shuswap since 1993, save for three years I spent in the Peace region. I started my municipal career as a municipal auditor with BDO Dunwoody, now BDO Canada, in Salmon Arm,” Seibel said.

Seibel told council he used that position to transition into local government, holding director of finance roles in Tumbler Ridge and then in Coldstream, where he later became the district’s CAO, a position he held for 10 years.

Seibel concluded by saying he will be able to bring some experience when it comes to issues dealing with procurements and projects.

“We had many challenges ourselves the last four years with cost escalation and such,” Seibel said.

Seibel announced back in May that he was leaving the District of Coldstream for the new job in West Kelowna.

“It is an exciting opportunity for me and my family,” he told Vernon Matters.

Keri-Ann Austin became Coldstream’s new CAO on July 1.

Austin has been with the district since July 2022 as the director of corporate administration and deputy CAO. She also worked for the district from 2007 to 2019.