Andrew Czimskey took over as the director of the Buda Parks and Recreation Department on March 21. Czimskey replaces former director Jack Jones, who left the city in February for a job in Seguin. Czimskey has joined a city department that is in the middle of work on a long-touted skate park, a unified trail system throughout the city and preparation for two of the area's biggest annual events: the 16th Annual Wiener Dog Races and the Louisiana Swamp Thing and Crawfish Festival. Czimskey said he is ready to get to work.
What was your position before joining the City of Buda as the Parks and Recreation Department director?
I had my own business in Fort Worth, where I came from. I did residential remodels and repairs, painting, et cetera. Anything to do with homes.
How has your previous experience prepared you for your role as PARD director?
I have over 20 years of experience working with parks in municipalities including College Station for eight years, six years in Bellaire, which is a community inside Houston, and I've worked in Plano and Flower Mound. My background is [as] a landscape architect, so I've specialized in capital improvements for parks. So I've designed and built many, many, many parks.
Buda is nicknamed "The Outdoor Capital of Texas." Is there any part of Buda's outdoor offerings that you've seen that could be improved?
I have been impressed with the large quantity of parkland available. It's unusual for a community to have that large a per capita amount of parkland, so we really have a great resource for people here in this community because we have so much land we can work with. Looking forward. We're going to be moving ahead with some projects pretty soon. It's a lot of potential.
What is something people might not know about you?
I went to Texas A&M, and my degree is in landscape architecture. I also have three children.
What is the last book you read?
I'm a little over halfway through the Bible. I work through the Bible about once a year. That's my primary reading.
What is the last movie you saw?
I don't actually recall. I have a favorite movie though, and that's "Sense and Sensibility."