Sierra Madre honors City Manager Jose Reynoso after 15 years of service

The City Council of the City of Sierra Madre on June 24 recognized City Manager Jose Reynoso for more than 15 years of service and presented a proclamation marking his appointment as general manager of the San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District.

Council members and visiting elected officials praised Reynoso’s leadership in water system upgrades, emergency response and staff development, saying his tenure included major projects from water main replacement to library expansion.

Mayor Robert Parkhurst outlined utilities achievements during a ceremony that drew more than a dozen speakers, calling Reynoso “a creative problem solver” who “created an emergency connection to the Metropolitan Water District” and led installation of what the mayor described as “more than 40,000 linear feet of new water pipelines.” The proclamation text presented at the meeting additionally states a figure of 35,000 linear feet and cites $8,000,000 invested in upgrades; both figures were referenced in council remarks and the proclamation.

Former and current local, state and federal representatives offered certificates and remarks. Maile Plan, director of outreach for Congresswoman Judy Chu, presented a certificate of congressional recognition. Darla Dyson delivered a certificate from Senator Sasha Renee Perez’s office, and Declan Floyd read remarks from Assembly Member John Harabedian.

Reynoso, who began work for Sierra Madre in February 2010 and became city manager in 2021, described his family and staff as central to his work and thanked city employees and volunteers. He listed projects during his remarks including the library expansion, water infrastructure modernization, Tesla supercharger installations downtown and the city’s emergency operations improvements.

Councilmembers praised Reynoso’s work on emergency preparedness, water-loss reduction and staff mentorship. Council member Edward Garcia recounted Reynoso’s role in making the City’s Emergency Operations Center functional and in filling reservoirs ahead of storms; Garcia said those steps preserved system pressures during a subsequent fire response.

The council presented plaques and other gifts; no formal council motion or vote on personnel action was recorded at the meeting for Reynoso’s new appointment. The council held a reception following the proclamation for residents and staff.

City staff said Reynoso’s departure to the San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District will be followed by transition planning; the council did not set personnel next-steps at the June 24 meeting.

The City Council acknowledged the presentation concluded and resumed other business on the agenda.