Seguin city manager reminisces on first year in office

Dalondo Moultrie The Seguin Gazette

Things weren’t all roses as Seguin’s city manager adjusted his personal style while navigating the new job through a pandemic.

But, all-in-all, Steve Parker said he enjoyed his first year in the office and looks forward to great things to come for the city he now calls home. Parker planned to come in, build lasting and productive relationships his first year and carry the momentum into a prosperous career, but some things got in the way.

“I just didn’t get to quite do everything I wanted to do that first year in relation to relationship building,” Parker said Wednesday, a year to the day that he started as city manager. “I think I’ve made some solid connections with different people and, overall, I just love the community.”

Former Seguin Mayor Don Keil announced on Oct. 24, 2019, the end of the city’s five-month-long search for a new manager. Parker on Jan. 1, 2020, would be assuming the duties following the retirement of Doug Faseler, Keil said. Parker officially started on Jan. 6, 2020.

Just a couple months into his first 366 days, the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to halt its spread affected almost everything in Seguin, including the way many people did business here. Close, in-person interactions were eschewed, employees began working from home, businesses shuttered and things changed.

The change affected plans for getting his feet wet in Seguin, Parker said.

“I’m kind of a relationship person,” he said. “I have a philosophy that if I’m coming out to ask you to do something for me or on a different initiative, you have to know me, you have to trust me. You can’t do that unless you’re getting out and meeting the people and getting to know the issues.”

He has connected with some city residents, council members and members of his staff. During that interaction, he’s noticed a working relationship that helps all involved, Parker said.

It’s a simpatico he hasn’t often seen in city government in other areas, he said.

“I was really surprised about, in certain areas, how few employees they have,” Parker said. “It’s really the trust the city council and community have in city staff. There’s not a lot of bureaucracy in the city.

“When the city trusts city council and city council trusts the employees, that gives that city the chance to be lean because they’re efficient.”

Parker has heard loud and clear from city residents and they want attention paid to roads. During his first year, city staffers poured 362,000 tons of pot hole patch repair materials and constructed almost three miles of new road, he said. More is needed but the city intends to manage the roads better moving forward, Parker said.

“Luckily, the citizens have been patient,” he said. “I just want them to know we do have a plan to carry that forward.”

2020 also meant helping staff large scale food distribution events to help city residents in need during hard-hit times, Parker said. Often Public Works Department employees helped distribute food to about 700 to 800 families at each of the five events, he said.

The city helped give about 750,000 pounds of food to residents who needed it.

Meanwhile, Seguin continues to grow, as developers continue to build in and around the city, and residents continue to deal with it all.

About 10,000 lots are platted for construction, Parker said. Directing that growth is important and he and other city leaders hope to help guide it, he said.

Along with the additional homes bringing additional residents, city management intends to help bring more and better retail outlets to help keep dollars in Seguin, Parker said.

A retail coach’s study completed in 2020 provides information on the population and how it spends its money, he said.

“There’s about $1.3 billion in retail trade, and food and drink sales leaking out of Seguin each year,” Parker said.

Businesses beginning to operate downtown, corporations opening shop here and plans for more should help Seguin continue its strong economic trends, he said.

Parker and the city have three main goals in 2021 for continued prosperity.

Initiatives include updating the city’s overall master plan, creating a downtown master plan and working on a transportation master plan. The three initiatives will work in conjunction with one another and will require lots of engagement from then public, Parker said.

He’s sure the team working for the city is able to move the ball forward with the cooperative approach he noticed his first year on the job. Seguin is all he imagined and more, making his job all the more pleasant to hold, Parker said.

He doesn’t see any negative changes in the foreseeable future, he said.

“Most times you start a new job somewhere, you have that one moment in time where you ask did I make the right decision,” Parker said. “I have never had that cross my mind. This has been a no-brainer, a win-win. I feel like I’ve been here a long time.

“In just a short time, this community has been very welcoming, very accommodating. This is my home.”

Dalondo Moultrie is the assistant managing editor of the Seguin Gazette. You can e-mail him at dalondo.moultrie@seguingazette.com 

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