The San Juan Bautista City Council was set to approve an employment agreement for a new city manager, Don Reynolds.
Reynolds currently works as the assistant public works director in Salinas. Reynolds told the Free Lance he’s spent three decades in public service, working for 12 years in Moorpark before moving to Salinas.
His start date is planned for July 2, according to a press release detailing Reynolds’ hiring. He is expected to be paid $132,000 his first year.
Reynolds will succeed Ed Tewes, who acted as interim city manager after former city manager Michael LaForge resigned. Tewes, a former Morgan Hill city manager, led the recruitment process to find Reynolds.
Mayor Cesar Flores said in a city press release about Reynolds’ hiring, “Throughout his career, he has demonstrated the type of leadership and professionalism that will serve our citizens well and help San Juan Bautista meet the challenges of the future.”
Reynolds told the Free Lance that he’s looking forward to working with the city and that he’s “been waiting for that phone call or 30 years.”
He said he went through a rigorous application process with several rounds of interviews before being offered the job. Reynolds said his time working in the small city of Moorpark after finishing his graduate degree gave him the administrative and financial background necessary for the role of city manager along with his experience in public works in Salinas.
Reynolds told the Free Lance, “The cool thing about being city manager is everyday is different.”
