The City and Borough of Juneau will soon have a new Parks & Recreation Director.

George Schaaf will be replacing Kirk Duncan, who is retiring in May, the city announced Wednesday in a release.

Schaaf comes into the position after serving as Parks & Landscape Superintendent and, most recently, with the U.S. Forest Service.

“When you ask people why they choose to live in Juneau, it all comes down to our quality of life here,” Schaaf said in statement. “The Parks & Recreation Department helps to make Juneau a place where people want to live, work and raise a family. I know the people who work there and they are as dedicated to making Juneau a great place to live as I am. I’m excited to be coming back to CBJ to work alongside them again.”

Schaaf currently works build public-private partnerships that support recreation in Juneau and around the state as the Regional Partnership Coordinator at the U.S. Forest Service, Alaska Region.

“We are excited to have George head up our Parks & Recreation Department,” Deputy City Manager Mila Cosgrove said. “When he worked for us before, he was very well respected as someone who had the ability to deal with difficult issues and build strong teams. George has particular expertise in building collaborative partnerships within the community to get things done.”