by KAY RICHTER
The Kyle City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to hire Leon Valley City Manager Lanny Lambert for the municipal government’s top administrative position here, closing a search that started with Tom Mattis’ departure in April.
Previously the city manager in Abilene and Brownsville, Lambert is currently manager in Leon Valley, a city surrounded by San Antonio in Bexar County. Its estimated population in January was 10,888, according to the state demographer; Kyle’s estimated population at the same point was 28,576.
“I would just like to say how amazing this process of selecting our new city manager has been. It also has certainly been a very hard process and a hard decision for the city council. We had so many good candidates including our own interim city manager James Earp,” Mayor Lucy Johnson said.
In picking Lambert, the city council passed over two other finalists including Palestine City Manager R. Dale Brown and Kyle Interim City Manager James Earp, who is an assistant city manager. A fourth finalist, Andres Garza Jr. of Wharton, dropped out of consideration earlier in the day on Tuesday.
“This selection is not meant as any kind of criticism as to [Earp’s] work. He has done an amazing job as our interim city manager and we have been blessed to have him in that position. If it had been someone with any less enthusiasm for the job then who knows what would have happened to Kyle,” the mayor said.
Lambert holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Abilene Christian University and a master’s in public administration from Texas Tech.
Lambert’s first job was as a meter reader in Abilene where he would later serve as city manager. After graduation he became the first city administrator in the hill country town of Junction.
“With 19 employees, I ran the motor grader, the garbage truck and the dump truck when an employee called in sick or quit. I learned more there about true city management than I could have learned in a larger city,” Lambert said.
A contract with Lambert still has to be finalized before he begins work.
“I look forward to Lanny Lambert and his bringing on a new set of eyes and new thoughts and new experiences that he can bring to Kyle. That would be my expectation of him, to take us (Kyle) to the next level. I think our city has seen some amazing things and some amazing things have happened but that it is also time for that new set of eyes,” council member Brad Pickett said.
