Wylie Leadership Trio Brings Varied Strengths, Experience to New Roles

By Judy Truesdell

24 • TheCONNECTION • February/March 2020 W hen former Wylie City Manager Mindy Manson retired last spring, she did so with confidence that the City of Wylie would continue to thrive under the creative leadership of three unique professionals, Chris Holsted, Renae Ollie, and Brent Parker. Their diverse backgrounds, education, and experience, together with a shared emotional connection to the city, complement each other and have created a dynamic leadership team. City Manager Chris Holsted

Chris Holsted graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1994 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He began his professional life as an HVAC design technician with Cromwell Architects and Engineers in Little Rock. A job with Dallas engineering firm The Hogan Corporation brought him to Texas, first as an engineer in training, then project manager, and finally vice president. It was through Hogan that he became known to the Wylie community; he worked on several challenging engineering projects here, including the reconstruction of Cooper Drive. “This project was done in 1995, when it seemed like you left the Metroplex when driving east into Wylie,” he recalled, adding that FM 544 and SH 78 were two-lane asphalt roadways. He also designed a sewer line relocation, crucial to allow the Kansas City Southern train tracks to be relocated around downtown to their current location west of SH 78. In order to meet the KCS deadline, that project was designed in two days, over a weekend.

“Maybe the one that had the biggest effect was the realignment of Country Club between FM 544 and Brown Street. When we presented the idea, we received comments like ‘That will never happen,’ but we knew the configuration at the time would not be efficient long term with the projected growth.” Those new to the community may not know that Country Club originally ran northeast at a 45-degree angle; its relocation and straightening increased traffic capacity at the FM 544/ Country Club intersection, crucial to the Municipal Complex construction.

In 1998, Chris was offered the position of acting city engineer, and he became the official city engineer in 2000. He was named the assistant city manager when Jeff Butters retired in 2016. Mindy cited his commitment to public service and proven leadership as key to that appointment, and in 2019 when she announced her own plans to retire, she recommended Chris to the Wylie City Council as her replacement, and they approved the appointment.

“I was honored to be offered the position because I respect Mindy and appreciated her work ethic,” he said. “We had discussed my goal, which was to move into a management role, and I was pleased she and the council had confidence in my ability to take the reins last May.”

Although he was committed to continuing the quality leadership Mindy had provided, he also brought some new ideas to the table. Chief among them was the addition of a second assistant city manager, necessary to continue providing a high level of customer service to the city’s growing population. The City Council approved the promotion of Fire Chief Brent Parker and Director of Development Services Renae Ollie to assistant city manager, a step that, through realignment of other positions, was possible at no impact to the budget. Renae Ollie Chris Holsted Brent Parker continued ~

Assistant City Manager Renae Ollie

Renae Ollie joined the City of Wylie staff as assistant planner in 2004. She was promoted to planning director in 2006, was named director of development services in 2013, and was promoted to assistant city manager last year. During her time in Wylie, she has implemented and overseen numerous projects dedicated to improving the quality of life for Wylie’s citizens, including the city’s Master Plan policies through its Comprehensive Planning and Neighborhood Planning programs, and the Neighborhood A.C.T.I.O.N. Plan, dedicated to community revitalization.

She holds a Bachelor of Architecture, cum laude, from Prairie View A&M University and a Master in City Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She holds certifications from the National Incident Management System, Texas Leadership Institute, and Land Development Financing Techniques in Texas.

Renae served as president of the Texas Chapter of the American Planning Association and has been recognized by the League of Women Voters at the Celebration of Collin County Women in Public Administration. She was recently elected as an officer for the Women Leading Government North Texas Chapter, an affiliate of ICMA.

Renae has encouraged out-of-the-box thinking and problem-solving innovation; for example, she was instrumental in using a material composed of recycled tires to give elasticity to sidewalks being buckled by tree roots. She also oversaw the establishment of a well-defined Downtown Wylie Historic District. Her expert guidance of the Wylie Planning Department was crucial during peak growth years.

“I get excited about coming to work,” Renae said of her new role. “I feel attached to the City of Wylie and genuinely enjoy serving the citizens, staff, and everyone connected to this great city.”

If our children are reflections of our character, Renae couldn’t have a better representative than her son Donovan, a name that’s familiar to anyone who followed Wylie Pirate football or basketball during the years 2015- 2019. Donovan played varsity basketball and football, lettering and making first team All-District in both sports. He received a Demonstration of Character award by his peers and was selected to play on the USA National Football Team in the 2019 International Bowl vs. Mexico. He received a full-ride athletic scholarship to play wide receiver at Washington State University and enrolled in summer ’19. He red-shirted his freshman year, and Renae said she expects to see “plenty of action” from him in the fall. He also finished his first semester with a 3.2 GPA, the highest of his wide receiver corps. “#GoCougs,” she said. Assistant City Manager Brent Parker Brent Parker has the deepest roots in Wide Awake Wylie. His family moved here from Plano in 1980, when Brent was 5 and his dad had taken the job as junior

high principal. His parents bought a house on two acres off Donna Drive, and, in 1985 when they realized they wanted Wylie to be their permanent home, they purchased six acres off Pleasant Valley, where they still live.

Brent has an interesting tie to the historic Brown House on Ballard Avenue. “I started mowing yards with a friend when we were 14,” he said. “We would ride our bikes around town hanging door fliers. My mom and dad would take us to our jobs during the mowing season.” When then-Executive Director of the Birmingham Trust Bill Lewis needed someone to mow the Brown House property and do other chores, Brent’s Wylie High ag teacher recommended him for the job – and assigned him papers to write about the projects he did around the house.

Brent also played tight end and linebacker for the freshman football team at WHS. “We were horrible and lost just about every game.” Active in the ag program, he participated in FFA competitions, showing a variety of animals, and was even part of the group that made the “Wylie FFA Welcomes You to Wylie” sign at the intersection of FM 544 and Country Club Rd. He graduated from WHS in 1993.

Brent holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Human Resource Management from Columbia Southern University in Orange Beach, Ala., and a Master of Science in Fire and Emergency Management Administration from Oklahoma State University. He joined Wylie Fire Rescue in 2001, was promoted to operations battalion chief in 2010 and administrative battalion chief in 2012. In 2014, he assumed the fire chief role after Randy Corbin retired.

Brent has proven himself to be a natural leader, not only among the ranks of WFR, but statewide. In 2018, he was voted president of the Texas Fire Chiefs Association. He has also served as Operations Section Chief in the BCFS Health and Human Services’ Emergency Management Division, deploying to El Paso twice in 2018 to operate the largest shelter to date for unaccompanied minors.

Also in 2018, he completed the Executive Fire Officer Program, presented by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s U.S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Academy, and recently, both Brent and Chris Holsted successfully completed the North Central Texas Council of Governments’ New and Emerging City Managers Program. “I have really enjoyed my transition to ACM,” Brent said. “I have been given the opportunity to learn about different departments outside of my comfort zone, as well as the opportunity for new challenges.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about people and helping departments solve their problems in order to meet citizens’ needs. We are in the people business. It doesn’t matter if they are internal or external customers – our product is providing top-notch customer service.”

An experienced engineer, an innovative planner, and an admired member of the fire service; Mindy Manson had no doubt she was leaving Wylie in good hands. •

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