Kyle (KXAN) - One of the fastest growing cities in Texas is moving closer to choosing a new City Manager. On Monday, people in Kyle can meet the four finalists for the job.
More than 32,000 people call Kyle home. The city's population has increased about 600% in the past decade.
City leaders have been searching for candidates since April. That's when City Manager Tom Mattis announced his resignation. Mattis was Kyle's first City Manager.
The city formed a search committee, made up of council members, city staff, and representatives from the community. The committee reviewed 38 applicants and narrowed them down to the final four.
One of the finalists for the job is James Earp, who is currently serving as Kyle's interim City Manager. The other finalists are from outside Kyle. Dale Brown is the current City Manager for Palestine , Texas. Andres Garza, Jr. is the City Manager in Wharton , Texas. Lanny Lambert is the City Manager for Leon Valley , which is just outside San Antonio.
The City of Kyle is hosting a Monday night event where the public can meet and greet the finalists. Citizens can submit questions for the candidates to answer. The event starts at 7:00 PM at Kyle City Hall.
The finalists will be interviewed on Tuesday in an executive session of the Kyle City Council.
Each candidate submitted a short biography to the city. The City of Kyle released the following unedited submissions to the media:
R. Dale Brown
Dale Brown was born in Conroe, Texas in March, 1950 to parents, A.J. “Josh” Brown and Beatrice “Betty” Raasch Brown. H grew up in Huntsville, Texas where his father was the long time head of the city's Water and Sewer Department. Mr. Brown attended school in Huntsville, graduating from Huntsville High School in 1969. He continued his education at Sam Houston State University, graduating in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts in Teaching (BAT). Mr. Brown continued his education at the University of Texas at Austin receiving a Masters of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning from that university in 1978.
Beginning in 1980, Mr. Brown was employed by the City of Huntsville as Director of Community Development. He was responsible for administering several multimillion dollar federal and state grants, developing the city's first comprehensive plan and capital improvements program, and writing the city's comprehensive development code, including its first zoning ordinance. In 1992 Mr. Brown left the City of Huntsville to become the city manager of the City of Jersey Village, a small bedroom community of 7,000 people adjacent to the City of Houston. During his tenure in Jersey Village Mr. Brown was responsible for stabilizing the finances of the city, updating and rewriting the city's codes, especially the development code, establishing a five year capital improvement program, establishment of an annual goal setting/strategic planning program, contracting with the City of Houston for surface water to replace failing water wells and the development of a major office/warehouse subdivision within the city limits. In 2005 Mr. Brown left Jersey Village to become city manager of the City of Palestine, a city of approximately 20,000 people located in deep East Texas. Mr. Brown served as city manager until October 2010. Among his many accomplishments in Palestine are successfully lobbying the state legislature for the creation of the Texas State Railroad Authority to take over operation of the major torist attraction in the area. Mr. Brown led the city in the purchase of the Palestine Mall, which was in foreclosure, to serve as a location for an expanded municipal library, public meeting facility and four agency educational facility.
Mr. Brown has been married for 27 years to his wife, Judy and has one stepson, Jeff, aged 33 and one daughter, Stephanie, aged 23. Jeff is a student at Trinity Valley Community College and Stephanie is attending the University of Houston, Downtown majoring in psychology. In his spare time Mr. Brown enjoys reading, dividing his time between topics in American History and suspense novels, and genealogical research.
James R. Earp
James R. Earp, CPM is a Kyle resident who has over 13 years combined professional experience, with six years in the City Management field, four of which is with the City of Kyle. Mr. Earp is a Certified Public Manager with a BBA in Finance, a BS in Economics, a Masters of Public Administration, and has completed post graduate work gaining a Graduate Certificate in Environmental Management and Sustainability from Harvard University.
Mr. Earp came to the City of Kyle as the city’s first professional Assistant City Manager in 2006 and during his tenure has worked through all aspects of the organization most recently serving as the Interim City Manager since April of this year. Some of Mr. Earp’s more significant contributions to the City of Kyle have been: the creation of a Human Resources Department which now consists of three professionals; creation of
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