New parks leaders says he wants to enjoy Kerrville parks

Jay Brimhall stepped into his role as Kerrville’s parks and recreation director three weeks ago with a simple philosophy: he won’t just manage the parks, he’ll use them.

“First and foremost I’m an outdoors guy,” Brimhall said during a June 12 broadcast of “The Lead Live.” “I’m not just the director, I’m a user.”

Brimhall arrived in Kerrville from Show Low, Arizona, where he managed a significantly smaller park system. Show Low, a mountain community of 13,000 year-round residents, more than doubles in population during summer months as Phoenix-area visitors escape the heat.

The transition represents a major shift in scope for Brimhall, who acknowledged the challenges of adapting to Kerrville’s larger system.

“It’s much more again you guys have a lot more acreage and parks and resources and there’s a lot more people,” he said. “It’s hard to change and I’m having to be disciplined in that” after working a decade in Show Low, where he “grew up professionally.”

Professional connections helped facilitate Brimhall’s move to Kerrville. He knew both Drew Paxton, the city’s planning and zoning director, and Assistant City Manager Michael Hornes from their time together at Texas Tech. Brimhall contacted both while exploring opportunities outside Arizona.

“I kind of reached out to Michael and just kind of queried him a little bit how things were and did the same thing with Drew,” Brimhall said.

Brimhall first visited Kerrville years ago while traveling to Murel after graduating from Texas Tech. He recalled stopping for breakfast and thinking, “Wow, this place is awesome.”

Now he oversees Louise Hays Park and the River Trail, which he described as having a water feature “in the middle of town.” He called managing the park “a huge responsibility” but added, “I love using it.”

His hands-on approach extends beyond philosophy. Brimhall said he planned to take his children kayaking at Kerrville-Schreiner Park during his lunch hour on the day of the interview.

The new director comes from a demanding background. In Show Low, Fourth of July events stretched into “22 26-hour days sometimes.” He described the annual Lighted Holiday Parade there as lasting “30 minutes long at the most because it is brutally” cold.

Brimhall’s personal life centers around sports. His wife played volleyball at BYU, and he played basketball at Eastern Arizona College. The couple has three children, including twin daughters who play volleyball. He jokingly called his daughters’ volleyball activities “the biggest time suck in my life” and noted, “We’re a volleyball house.”

Born in Texas but raised primarily in Arizona, Brimhall served a mission in Guadalajara, Mexico, for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His family maintains those religious ties in Kerrville.

City Manager Dalton Rice praised his hiring philosophy for director-level positions, focusing on candidates’ “fit, vision, and the value they bring.” Rice said he takes a “very informal approach” to interviews and expects Brimhall to “bring it to the next level.”

Brimhall acknowledged Rice’s leadership style, particularly his willingness to “absorb a lot of the heat” and “wade into that fray and absorbs his slings and arrows.”

“That’s what a city manager does,” Brimhall said. “And if they do that on the regular, they’re good.”

The hiring comes as Kerrville continues implementing its 2050 comprehensive plan, which generated significant public reaction to conceptual drawings. Rice noted that “people lost their freaking minds” over preliminary ideas, emphasizing the importance of community engagement in planning processes.

Rice highlighted recent economic achievements, including KPUB’s power plant approval and other projects worth approximately $1.2 billion approved in the first six months of the year.

For Brimhall, the transition from Arizona’s mountain community to the Texas Hill Country represents both professional growth and personal adventure. His commitment to experiencing the parks he manages firsthand signals a user-focused approach to his expanded responsibilities.