Other action changes city job requirements
Members of the Alpine City Council are hoping the city will soon have a city manager that will stick around for a while after voting to offer the position to Edgar Garcia at the October 7 council meeting.
Following a closed session to discuss the position, members voted unanimously to offer Garcia the position with a salary of $120,000 a year.
Garcia received an official letter offering him the position on October 10 and took the weekend to review it, said Councilmember Robert Rückes.
On Wednesday, Interim City Manager Geo Calderon said the city is currently negotiating a contract with Garcia, so the position isn’t officially filled yet.
While this would be Garcia’s first time in the position of city manager, he has a background in economic development in similar communities and served as the City of McAllen, Texas, planning director for more than five years. He resigned from that position in January telling the McAllen Monitor that he felt it was time to do something new—consulting work in the private sector. But he noted at the time, “I’m sure I’m going to end up in the public sector eventually. I think that’s where my passion is.”
Rückes told Big Bend Sentinel that he’s hoping Garcia will be a good fit, because the city has a lot of work to do to shore up its infrastructure. “I was wanting somebody that would be compatible because unfortunately we’ve had a lot of turnaround in the city managers in this municipality, which is unfortunate and it causes a lot of hiccups,” Rückes said.
Also unanimously passed by council was the final Wastewater System Asset Management Plan. The wastewater plan was developed by the firm Jacob/Martin to guide budgeting and infrastructure planning.
The council also adopted new job descriptions after council members requested changes to the entry positions to allow those without a high school diploma or GED to apply with the understanding that they will obtain a diploma or GED within a year.
Mayor Catherine Eaves, among other council members, requested the change saying that they hoped it would encourage more people to apply. “I feel that we do need more manpower,” Eaves said.
This was “part of the city’s ongoing initiative to modernize and standardize descriptions following the Evergreen Solutions Compensation Study,” Calderon said.
Council also voted to change the speed limit along Gallego Avenue between South 1st Street and South 5th Street from 20mph to 30mph, despite hearing from two community members who were against the change.
In discussions, the City Council reviewed a draft application for nonprofit organizations requesting funds from the city and the contracting of Government Capital Securities Corp. (GCSC) as the city of Alpine’s municipal advisor. GCSC would assist with financial planning as well as structuring and executing future debt issuances.