The new city manager may have to live within city limits, as commissioners discuss the current employee handbook policy.
During Monday night’s meeting, interim City Manager Kevyn Gero and human resources specialist Susie Yuran suggested updating the city’s employee handbook and removing wording that imposes a residency requirement on the city manager.
However, city commissioners expressed concern about the idea.
Commissioner Roberta Lehmann thought the update would suggest that a city manager wouldn’t have to live in Eudora only if they already lived within a certain distance of city limits.
“But anybody that we were hiring that we’re having to move, then we were going to require or highly suggest [living in city limits],” Lehmann said.
The current handbook wording prefers the city manager live within city limits, but, if they didn’t, they still had to live within a reasonable driving distance of the city.
City staff worried that a residency requirement might affect the applicant pool for city manager, as it has already been advertised that the city manager will not be required to live in city limits.
Yuran asked commissioners to look at the possible change from a “protection angle.”
Yuran compared what the change would mean for an applicant from Iowa vs. an applicant from Overland Park, and how the perception of the residency requirement can affect an applicant’s views of the position.
“I want you to understand the exposure you’re giving yourselves,” Yuran said.
Mayor Tim Reazin said that in past meetings, commissioners had agreed to pay moving expenses for applicants only if they moved within a certain distance of city limits.
Reazin said he believes it’s important for a city manager to live within city limits for money planning purposes.
“If you don’t live in that same city, you’re charging someone else. There’s a lot of heat that comes back for it as part of the reason why,” Reazin said.
Commissioners tabled the discussion for April 24, where they will enter a work session to discuss a mileage radius for how far away a city manager could live and the current verbiage in the city manager advertisement.
In other news, Chamber President Anthony Brown gave a quarterly update.
“So I used to say here last year that we’re coming back, the chamber’s coming back. I will say now the chamber is back,” Brown said.
In the future, the chamber plans to focus its energy on two main events: the spring gala and trunk or treat. The organization will also provide more direction for its partners in terms of professional development.
“And then we’re gonna offer things like tax incentives, how to apply for loans, how to work with the SBA, those outside speakers we need to bring in to fully benefit our membership,” Brown said.
The chamber is estimated to have about $22,000 on hand, according to an agenda statement.
Brown said the chamber receives about two to three solicitations for new businesses every week.
“We are getting a lot of interest, and I’m really excited about that,” Brown said.
In other business, the City Commission approved the Planning Commission’s recommendation to rezone GW Weld’s land project at 2260 N. 1400 Road to residential multi-family, as previously reported by the Times.
Before construction can begin on the property, specific tests such as traffic studies and stormwater studies must be conducted on the property, Codes Administrator Curtis Baumann said.
Reach reporter Caroline Zimmerman at [email protected]
