Bastrop, Tx–After a long search, City Manager Mike Talbot has filled three executive staff positions, including the first executive director of the new convention center and the city’s first information technology director.
On Friday Talbot also named a new planning director for the city, a post which has been open for months.
Katherine A. Danielson will be the first to market and manage the convention center, due to open for business next spring. Since 1999 she has been the top manager for the Foley, Alabama Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Foley is a city of some 12,000 residents near the Alabama Gulf Coast. From 1996-99 Danielson was special events director for the Alabama Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce.
A second new city position is an information technology director. Talbot has selected Kevin Unger, who recently moved to this area, for the job. For the past two years Unger has been a private consultant based in Dallas. Previously he worked both in private industry and public service positions, according to Talbot.
Unger’s resume lists both Perot Systems of Plano and Denton County, Tx as former employers.
Melissa M. McCollum also brings both private and government experience as Bastrop’s new director of planning and development. She replaces Stacy Snell who moved to a new job earlier this year.
McCollum most recently was chief planner for San Marcos. She previously also worked for a private consultancy in Round Rock and with the Georgetown planning department.