Iqaluit (Mar 31/03) - From Scottish marine commando to bookkeeper for Sears Canada, Ian Fremantle has led an eclectic past.

Now, as Iqaluit's new chief administrator, he said his primary objective is to make a difference.

"The City of Iqaluit is in a growth mode. Hopefully my role here within the next five years is to improve the quality of life," he explained.

Fremantle started his new job on March 17. He is replacing Rick Butler, who served in the position for three years. Fremantle came to Iqaluit from Powell River, B.C., where he was also the town administrator. He originally moved to Canada from Scotland in 1974, taking his first job with Sears before moving into municipal administration.

Fremantle said he likes working in smaller towns because that's where he feels he can be most effective.

"Smaller towns tend to have less levels of bureaucracy. You actually get far more hands-on than you do in a bigger city," he said.

Fremantle has also worked as a town administrator in other places like Pasadena, Newfoundland, and Golden, B.C.

He said he's developed infrastructure plans, assisted in re-opening a plywood plant, negotiated collective agreements with city staff, and has even dealt with the same sort of problems Iqaluit is currently facing with its malfunctioning sewage treatment plant. In fact, there are only two such sewage treatment plants in Canada: Powell River's and now Iqaluit's.

Both plants were designed by Canadian engineering firm Hill Murray and Associates, and both have experienced problems. The Iqaluit plant is still not operational. Work on the project began in 1999 with an initial price tag of $6.3 million. But city engineers discovered that the sewage tanks were not structurally sound, and work on the plant has since stopped.

Fremantle said Powell River's plant is operational but the municipality is now looking at other options after costs ballooned from around $100,000 to $1 million a year due to increased expenses associated with its new biological filtration system, among other problems.

Nonetheless, he doesn't want to talk about problems at the Iqaluit plant just yet.

"I have experience with the Powell River sewage treatment plant and yes, it was the same company and yes, it was the same outcome. I'm not prepared to get into that," said Fremantle.

He did, however, have a list of projects that have already been brought to his attention. Fremantle said the city has a lot of work to do including finding a new location for a cemetery, a new landfill site and improving its infrastructure to be able to accommodate the capital's growing population.

"It's got a lot of challenges. It's basically the same as any growing community, everything is undersized," said Fremantle.

The CAO contract is for three years, after which Fremantle's performance will be reviewed.