By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Robert “Bob” Kinsey has been hired as Del Rio’s new chief building official, and Jesus Francisco Urbano as the new director of the city’s transportation department.
Human Resources Director Mario Garcia introduced Kinsey and Urbano to Del Rio City Council members Aug. 23 during the council’s regular meeting.
“Mr. Robert “Bob” Kinsey is no stranger to the construction industry, having spent over 40 years as a contractor, building official, project manager, floodplain manager and an interim planning director,” Garcia told the council.
He said Kinsey began his career as a union plumber and operated his own plumbing company in Florida.
“When he and his wife relocated to northern California to care for his mother-in-law, Bob joined the plumbers’ union and ran large jobs in the Silicone Valley, throughout the West Coast and overseas for the next 10 years. Upon moving with his wife back to Texas, Bob began working for municipalities in various positions, including building official and as interim planning director when called upon to do so,” Garcia said.
Garcia said Kinsey holds a number of certifications, including ICC Certified Building Official, TFMA Certified Floodplain Administrator, ICC Certified Fire Plans Examiner and TSBPE Certified State Plumbing Inspector.
“I can definitely say, and I think I speak also for the city manager, we are very glad that we have Mr. Kinsey with us now. We spent quite a while looking to fill this position, and I think we struck gold when we found Mr. Kinsey,” Garcia said.
Kinsey urged the council to ask any questions they might have.
“We are here to help. There are of course some rules that we can’t break, but we try very hard to work with everyone to get close to what they want. If you have any questions, I’m an open book,” Kinsey told the council.
He said he last worked for the city of Rosenberg near Houston.
“We tell people that once they drink the water here, they stay for life,” Mayor Al Arreola joked as he joined the rest of the council and City Manager John Sheedy in welcoming Kinsey.
Garcia next introduced Urbano, the city’s new transportation department director.
Garcia said Urbano has been on staff for about a month.
“Mr. Urbano was educated at Texas State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing specialization. This gave him the competency to found a bootstrap company along with one of his classmates after graduating. In November of last year, he and his co-founder were able to raise sufficient funds from (an) accelerator program out of UC Berkeley to fund early-stage startups, but after some differences, Mr. Urbano decided to go his own way,” Garcia told the council.
Garcia said Urbano came across the opportunity to apply as the city’s transportation director and was hired for the position.
“Mr. Urbano said he is a lifelong learner of skills that can help him achieve his objectives, and his main objective is to make positive impact in a community and to the people he works with. His life mission is to make the world a better place by passing on actionable and meaningful lessons that he has learned to younger generations and to his work colleagues,” Garcia said.
“I think Mr. Urbano was an excellent choice for this position, and we hope that his goals are achieved, both for himself and for the city of Del Rio,” Garcia added.
Urbano, too, said he was willing to answer any questions from council members.
“Congratulations, welcome aboard, and I hope it’s a long ride for you with us,” Arreola said, after council members had no questions.
—
Contact the author at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
