Casper City Council has chosen Casper-Natrona County International Airport manager Glenn Januska to fill the unexpired term of council member Guy Padgett, who resigned last month to pursue a graduate degree in Denver.

"Living in Casper and living in Wyoming is really home to us," Januska said Tuesday.

"When you become part of a community, you give back," he said.

Januska intends to balance his efforts to promote the business climate and the area's quality of life, he said.

He will be sworn in at the regular City Council meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday. His term will expire on Dec. 31, 2010.

Council members interviewed Januska and nine other residents of Ward 2 on Casper's west side on Monday.

Mayor Kenyne Schlager said the interviews ended about 5:10 p.m., and the council members spent more than an hour considering their choices.

"It was tough to pick," Schlager said.

Other candidates had experiences in business, local government, education, agriculture, coaching, law enforcement, youth work, state and federal government, addiction treatment, computers, military, archeology and other sciences, and service and social justice organizations, according to their resumes posted on the city's Web site.

"They were 10 great candidates," Schlager said. "They all had something to offer."

After some intense deliberation, the council members chose Januska, she said.

"Glenn just showed a real deep compassion for the community," Schlager said. "He had a frank desire to make this a better place."

Januska has worked at airports in Sioux City, Iowa; Waukesha, Wis.; Green Bay, Wis.; and Madison, Wis., according to the resume he submitted to city council. He earned a bachelor of science degree in aviation management from Southern Illinois, University in Carbondale, Ill., and a master of business administration from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis.

Januska also has worked with aviation organizations and chambers of commerce.

He and his wife have three children, and have lived in Casper since 2006.

Januska and Schlager said they're aware of the possibility of conflicts of interest because of his job.

Schlager, who often must abstain when her family's business is involved in a city matter, said she can recall only one time in the past year-and-a-half when the airport was the subject of a council action.

Januska also acknowledged the issue, he said.

"You' don't operate an airport in a vacuum or operate a city in a vacuum," he said. "It's hard to be active without running into that."

Reach Tom Morton at (307) 266-0592, or at tom.morton@trib.com. Read his blog at tribtown.trib.com/TomMorton/blog.