by SEAN KIMMONS
Kyle Police Chief Michael Blake sent a letter of resignation to city officials Friday after he accepted the position of Bastrop’s next police chief.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the citizens of Kyle over the past three years, and I will forever appreciate the support I have received during my tenure,” Blake said.
Bastrop City Manager Michael Talbot said he chose Blake over two other finalists, mainly due to his extensive educational and law enforcement experience.
“I am confident that he will be an excellent fit for the Bastrop community and will provide the Police Department with the skilled leadership it deserves,” Talbot wrote in an announcement Friday.
Ken Evans, a Round Rock Police Department lieutenant, and Jeffery Wendling, a Kerrville Police Department captain, were the other finalists.
In October, Bastrop began its search for a new police chief to replace former Police Chief David Board, who was arrested in August on a charge of drunken driving. Blake had said that he submitted an application to Bastrop officials when there was doubt in Kyle’s direction after both its city manager and finance director resigned.
Kyle City Manager Lanny Lambert began his tenure last month after the city council selected him in mid-November.
“Even though Chief Blake’s tenure here was fairly short, his accomplishments will benefit our city for many years to come,” said Kyle Mayor Lucy Johnson.
She went on to mention that under Blake’s command the police department has transitioned into a civil service form of police management, instituted voluntary meet and confer, doubled the number of officers patrolling the city, increased the training for all officers and improved communication resources both internally and externally.
Blake will remain as Kyle’s police chief until Feb. 25, he said. An interim police chief has not yet been named.
“We will begin work immediately and will work tirelessly to recruit and hire a new leader for our police department that will be able to continue building on what we’ve accomplished and will also bring in fresh ideas and new concepts for our public safety programs,” Johnson said.
With the new position, Blake heads to a much smaller community with a population of about 8,650 while Kyle is more than three times larger with 28,576 as of January 2010, according to state demographer estimates.
“I’m excited with the new opportunity,” he said. “I found Bastrop to be a beautiful city with a number of amenities that I never knew existed there.”
He says that his current base salary of $100,000 will be similar in Bastrop.
“It’s going to be close to it,” he said. “It’s very competitive.”
Since January 2008, Blake has been Kyle’s top cop who has seen his force nearly double from 18 sworn officers up to 34.5 authorized positions. At least 27 positions are currently filled.
Crime rates have sharply increased as the understaffed Kyle Police Department plays keep up with the city’s growing population, police officials said. Total arrests jumped by 80 percent this year comparing figures from the first eight months of 2009 to the same period in 2010.
Throughout his tenure, Blake said that he and others have helped the department meet the challenges ahead.
“With the existence of some incredibly talented public safety professionals of the Kyle Police Department, much has been accomplished to prepare this agency to meet the law enforcement challenges of the 21st century,” he said.
Blake, who has more than 35 years of experience as a police officer, was the Harlingen and Tomball police chief before coming to Kyle.
