While Buda hired the city’s first project manager last month without much fanfare, city officials believe the hire of Ray Cresswell will be better for Buda than most people realize.
According to a Buda press release, Cresswell comes to Buda with experience in public and private corporations and federal municipalities as well as a Bachelor of Science Engineering and Technology in Architecture from the University of Memphis.
Companies Cresswell has on his resume include Hilton Worldwide where he was the Director of Architecture and Construction.
According to the release, the purpose behind hiring Cresswell was having a person oversee all the 2014 Bond projects to make sure they are operating on schedule and on budget.
“The project manager will plan, direct and coordinate the implementation of studies, designs and contracts for repair and construction of various capital improvement projects,” according to a statement on the release.
Cresswell said in an interview his main goal is to help with the 2014 Bond projects, but also to better navigate the future of Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) in Buda.
“Because of the growth Buda is experiencing, many CIP projects will be coming down the pipeline, so having a project manager will help to keep everything cohesive,” Cresswell said.
Cresswell also said he is very used to working within tight deadlines and budgets, but he gets the job done within the parameters he is given.
“My goal is to work diligently to see the projects are completed on time and stay within the approved budgets,” Cresswell said in a statement.
Cresswell’s position was approved within the fiscal year 2017 budget, according to the release. He added that he hoped the position would ensure the future of Buda’s growth remains true to the vision of Buda residents.
Cresswell said his position as project manager would in no way interfere with the duties of the members of the Sustainability Commission in its mission to make Buda’s buildings and projects more green.
“The sustainability commission is very important to the residents of Buda and their future and I don’t foresee any conflicting issues with adding sustainable elements to project budgets,” Cresswell said.
Buda’s hire of a project manager falls in line with Kyle, which hired its project manager in 2014.
Jo Ann Garcia, Kyle project manager, was hired by the city in 2014. Garcia’s hire came as the city’s 2013 Road Bond projects were getting underway.
Garcia told the Hays Free Press in an emailed interview that she primarily works with the Road Bond projects, but that she is involved in every phase of the project development.
Garcia said having an in-house project manager helps decrease a city’s cost to outsource work to other companies and can help save a city and its citizens some money.
“One of the job functions of the project manager is to act in the City’s behalf to account for services performed,” Garcia said.
