Vidor city manager leaving after seven-year stay

Ricky Jorgensen, Vidor city manager, is ending his seven year tenure with the city on March 9.

He’ll be the new city manager of Giddings, city on Highway 290 that is 40 miles south of Austin. Jorgensen said he looks forward to the move for two reasons: his daughter and his three-month-old grandchild lives in Austin and also Giddings has its own water, sewer and electrical works utilities.

“It’s really pretty there,” he said.

Jorgensen feels the city has accomplished much in his stay in Vidor.

“Vidor is a good city,” he said. “There’s lot of hard-working people concerned about the city. It shows in our service organizations. People who live outside have only heard things about Vidor.”

Some of those accomplishments that stand out to him include completing two property annexations that allowed the city to grow, building the Joe Hopkins Memorial Park, building a new city hall, using Hotel Occupancy Tax money to improve the quality of life in an effective way and more revenues coming in. In fact, the city is close to balancing its budget for the first time in years, he said.

The city council has also reached the halfway mark in the zoning process for the city.

“It (the zoning process) is left in good hands,” Jorgensen said. “The hard work is done in mapping out the areas.”

The city council and the Vidor Police Association also agreed upon a new contract two years ago. Another round of police contract negotiations will begin again either in May or June of this year.

Advertising for a new city manager for Vidor has begun with notices on the Texas Municipal League, the Texas Managers Association websites and newspapers.

“I have some very good friends I’ve come to know in Vidor and I’ll hate leaving them. Especially my staff and department heads,” Jorgensen said.