Kyle names new assistant city manager

Rollingwood is only a tad more than 20 miles north of Kyle, but the two cities could hardly be more different from each other. Rollingwood, located on the west side of Mopac across from Zilker Park in Austin, is a tiny hamlet for the well-to-do. It has one commercial corridor, Bee Caves Road, than runs along its southern edge, but, for the most part, Rollingwood is a tree-canopied community of multi-million-dollar single-family residences. The city has a population of 1,532 and its median home valuation is $2.2 million.

The city of Rollingwood recently completed the final draft of its first-ever Comprehensive Plan. Thom Farrell, the chair of the committee that drafted the plan, said the committee was driven by the mandate from citizens who said “We do not want high-rise buildings and we do not want apartments in Rollingwood.”

Rollingwood has a city administrator form of government in which the city council, consisting of five elected council members plus a mayor, is the city’s governing body. It recently had three open spots on its city council, but instead of having three different council races, it had one, drawing six candidates and the top three finishers won the open seats.

But those three new council members are not the only major leadership changes rocking Rollingwood.

It’s mayor, Michael Dyson, recently announced he was resigning his position effective the end of this month, saying, according the Community Impact newspaper, “his increasingly demanding professional life compromises his ability to serve the city the way it needs.”

And today it was announced that Amber Lewis, Rollingwood’s city administrator, that city’s equivalent to our city manager, is leaving to become the third assistant city manager here in Kyle, effective Dec. 6.

Amber Lewis

Lewis became Rollingwood’s city administrator in 2017. Prior to that, she served as assistant city administrator in the City of Liberty Hill, Texas; executive director for the City of Holdrege, Neb., Housing Authority and Holdrege Development Corporation; and as the assistant city manager for the City of Kearney, Neb. She has experience as a grant writer, a city planner and a finance director. Not only that, her husband, Brenton, is the city manager of Woodcreek, located just north of Wimberley, here in Hays County.

“We are honored to bring someone with as much experience as Amber to the City of Kyle,” Kyle City Manager Scott Sellers said today in a prepared statement. “She went through a rigorous recruitment process that drew qualified candidates from across the country, but Lewis’ experience and passion for local government made her an exceptional candidate to serve the community.”

Originally from Nebraska, Lewis holds a Bachelor of Science in political science and public administration from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She is an active member of the International City/County Management Association, the Texas City Management Association, and the Central Texas Chapter of Women Leading Government where she is currently serving as past president.

“The City of Kyle has incredible potential, growth, and remarkable opportunity,” Lewis said. “I am looking forward to serving the residents of Kyle and working together with the council and staff to build toward Kyle’s progress and long-term vision for success.”

Sellers said her job responsibilities here will include overseeing “community development, infrastructure and capital improvement projects, business growth and economic development.”