HAYDEN — After more than seven years as Hayden city administrator, Brett Boyer will be leaving Hayden to work elsewhere.

He will be the new city administrator in Burley, Idaho.

“It will be a new base point for adventures,” Boyer said in a phone interview with The Press.

A main factor in his decision to leave Hayden was to be closer to his children, who live near Boise, and his parents.

Boyer has provided oversight and direction on numerous city projects and challenges like the COVID-19 restrictions and the previous mayor’s resignation, along with expansion of the city park system and funding traffic improvements, said a news release from the city.

He was part of the team that completed the Honeysuckle and Fourth roundabout, and the ongoing H6 sewer basin expansion project.

“That’s been a project that keeps me up at night,” Boyer said on the phone. “How do we pay for it, how do we do it?”

The H6 sewer basin project would upgrade the infrastructure in the city to accommodate growth and is in its second of five phases, Boyer said. It’s an unavoidable project and a huge draw on city resources.

“I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to contribute to the programs, projects and betterment of Hayden,” Boyer said in the release. “I will miss the great employees, our team effort and family-like atmosphere that we have at Hayden.”

When Boyer was a city administrator in Rathdrum, before working for Hayden, he worked with Rathdrum Mayor Vic Holmes to preserve Rathdrum Mountain, to plan the splash pad in Majestic Park and to purchase land for the Rathdrum City Campus project.

“It makes a difference in people’s lives,” Boyer said in the phone call. “And I was a part of it.”

Boyer has been a resident in Kootenai County for 17 years, and he'll be leaving behind many relationships developed over those years.

“[Boyer] has been such a knowledgeable, caring leader in our city for so long,” Hayden Mayor Scott Forssell said in the release. “He leaves huge shoes to fill. I will miss his calming influence and his well-reasoned advice on all matters related to the city.”

Boyer believes a major part of his job is minimizing the chaos of change or tumult.

“I stay out of the politics,” he said on the phone. “Part of my position is I need to have that calming voice and try to work through it in whatever the city is facing.”

A search is on for his replacement with the hope of having someone on board before Boyer leaves Oct. 19.

Boyer is committed to ensuring a smooth transition during his remaining time on the job.