• Sonny Long •
• Originally published July 20, 2008 at 11:53 p.m., updated July 20, 2008 at 11:53 p.m.

CUERO -- Leonard Young thinks he can help Cuero with its infrastructure challenges.

And addressing problems with the town’s water, sewer, drainage and streets are high on interim city manager Marie Gelles’ list of things to do.

“We have some significant problems that need to be resolved in a timely manner and we don’t have the expertise on staff to handle those issues. Leonard has the training and the experience to bring parties together to make sure those decisions are made quickly and in a cost-effective manner,” said Gelles.

Gelles and Young, an engineer and president of consulting firm Young Professional Resources in Windcrest, met when he did some work for Helotes where she worked as a city administrator.

Thursday, the Cuero City Council gave the go-ahead for Young to bring his expertise to Cuero. The council unanimously accepted his proposal and will offer him a one year professional services contract when the details are completed.

“I don’t get into running a facility, even though I can,” said Young. “I go in and help cities. I work with a city to help them with their problems. In the absence of a public works director, I help the city manager and the city make those management decisions. I’m not just an engineer. I understand more than the design; I know how it operates and what makes it better. I know how to save you money.”

Cuero does not have a public works director and two of its department heads, water/wastewater and streets are listed as interim superintendents in those departments.

Young’s preliminary assessment of some of Cuero’s needs included reorganization to include the hiring of a public works director and a utilities director.

When councilman David Ruiz expressed concern about the cost of retaining Young, he responded, “I charge a fair rate and you get more than what you pay for. That’s not bragging. My resume tells you what I have done.”

“It will be on an as-needed basis, but we can’t afford not to do it,” said Gelles.

Young’s experience includes building what he described as “three billion dollars worth of infrastructure.”

He held various positions with the San Antonio Water System, beginning as director of maintenance and construction in 1992 and ending as chief executive officer in 2005. He also worked with the City of San Antonio in building maintenance, as an operations analyst, and as assistant street drainage manager.

When Gelles pointed out that one of the city’s water lines had up to 25 repairs made on it, Young interjected, “At some point you can’t continually repair a line, you have to replace it. I can make those operational folks make those decisions.”

Davis Engineering, the city’s current consulting engineer, will continue to work on projects it has been assigned.

“There are more operational issues that need to be resolved,” said the city manager, explaining why she recommended Young’s company. “We needed someone that’s more than an engineer designing something, who understands how it’s supposed to work and what the state rules and regulations are for running a treatment plant or water system.”

Young Professional Resources’ current clients include the city of Cotulla, the city of Shavano Park, the Helotes Economic Development Corporation, the San Antonio Housing Authority, the city of Windcrest, the city of San Antonio, San Antonio Water System and the Bexar Metropolitan Water District.

·Sonny Long is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6585 or slong@vicad.com, or comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.

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