The city of Shenandoah swore in a new city administrator at the April 8 City Council meeting after approving his contract, officially welcoming Sam H. Masiel Jr. to the role.
The background
Masiel replaces Kathie Reyer, who resigned in October after 18 years with the city, serving as city administrator for eight years.
According to information from the city, Masiel previously served as assistant city manager in Huntsville, and he began his municipal career in 2007 in Conroe as utility billing manager.
He has a bachelor's degree in business administration in management as well as a Master of Public Administration from Sam Houston State University, according to a news release.
He has also been involved in organizations such as the Texas City Management Association, Government Finance Officers Association of Texas, and the National Institute of Government Purchasing, according to information from Shenandoah.
Quotes of note
"The past three days have been a little bit of onboarding and meeting staff, and I plan on doing more of that, but then I also plan on meeting some of our community partners as well," Masiel said during the city administrator's report at the meeting. "I'm happy to be here."
After the meeting, he told Community Impact he has lived in Montgomery County for 22 years and sees the opportunity as a chance to serve the community.
"Shenandoah has a lot of great things going on with development," he said. "It's got that appeal of a hometown feel ... but you also have the amenities of restaurants, shopping and hotels, so it operates like it's a big city but it's only 2.2 miles. ... I look forward to working in the community."
