Former Lacy Lakeview Mayor Calvin Hodde is set to retire from NeighborWorks Waco to pursue a new position as Lacy Lakeview city manager beginning Jan. 17.

Hodde said he has enjoyed the past 25 years with NeighborWorks Waco, but after learning of the soon-to-open city position from outgoing City Manager Keith Bond, he felt a calling to get back to his roots.

Hodde said his parents moved to Lacy Lakeview when he was 6 years old and he grew up in the city. He was a city council member for 20 years, from 1998 to 2019, and he was mayor for 16 of those years, starting in 2003. He said he remembers when the city merged with Northcrest in 1998.

“The merger of Northcrest and Lacy Lakeview was a major step for both of the cities and allowed the city to gain home rule status,” he said, referring to a distinction under state law that gives cities more autonomy to set their own regulations. “We also went from council management to hiring our first city manager.”

Hodde said while he was a council member he oversaw a replacement of Lacy Lakeview’s central sewer line funded by a federal grant. The city of about 7,000 residents also has seen the addition of multiple hotels in recent years, a new medical facility that brings care closer to residents, and many businesses moving to the area, including a Road Ranger convenience store and Atwood's, he said.

“I don’t believe that any one person is responsible for the progress that the city has made,” Hodde said. “I was always blessed to work with a progressive council with all members wanting to move the city in a positive direction and I am looking forward to working with the current council members.”

Hodde lived in the city until he moved in 2019 and said he feels God is calling him back to serve his community.

As city manager, Hodde said the city’s streets will be a top priority of his. He said he would like to develop a plan for funding of street repairs and to develop a schedule for replacements and maintenance, but expects a challenge with the amount of funding currently available.

Hodde said the ballfields at Live Oak Park are also in need of repairs, and he would like to give residents a park they can be proud of and enjoy year-round. He said he also hopes to help develop continual youth programs.

“I remember playing on those ballfields probably 55 years ago, and they haven’t changed a whole lot,” he said.

Hodde recently celebrated 25 years with NeighborWorks Waco, where he works as a construction manager and oversees permitting, contracting, rental properties and renovations. He said the company has been blessed to have a good working relationship with Lacy Lakeview, building more than 30 new homes in the city.

“I look forward to working with NeighborWorks Waco in the future as well as other developers to provide housing for our citizens,” he said.