Communication and transparency are some of the most common characteristics residents are looking for as the city plans to hire a new city manager.

Earlier this summer, the commission chose to end City Manager Kevyn Gero’s contract and placed Assistant City Manager Zack Daniel in the interim position. The city is in the process of putting together a job posting for the position.

The Eudora Times asked locals what they would like to see in a new manager as the city continues to discuss economic development, housing and the need for more city services.

Jason Hoover, who is also a member of the Planning Commission, said the new manager needs to be a leader of the city with strong opinions – especially in a community of Eudora’s size.

“In a second-class city, the city manager needs to be the leader of the city, and so whoever we get needs to have their own voice and their own opinions. Also, the new city manager needs to build relationships with the Eudora community and invest time and energy and to understand what’s important to Eudora citizens,” Hoover said.

Hoover said he believes it comes down to understanding communication and using better communication skills to help combat transparency issues. Educating people with the city’s thoughts when making decisions will help with making sure people know what is going on, he said.

He also said he wants a manager who will bring more community organizations into conversations to get them involved. Many organizations – like the Eudora Schools Foundation, CPA or Eudora Food Pantry – invest time and passion in Eudora, and the city needs to utilize those resources by partnering with them, Hoover said.

Hoover said he is in favor of shutting down the STAR bond project because it seems Eudora is not going to grow the way it originally thought. With the news of Panasonic putting off full production, it seems like the area needs to reorient its plans, he said.

Emily Bromley said what brought her family to Eudora was the small-town feel and values, so she would like that prioritized with a new city manager.

“I don’t want to expand and grow and become a huge metropolis,” she said. “That’s something I would love – someone that has those similar values to be in that position.”

Bromley said she is excited to see new community events like the Main Street Market, but wants to continue to see the city celebrate its small businesses.

She doesn’t want to see Eudora turn into a town like Lawrence or experience the growth happening in De Soto, she said. She wants to see the city celebrate Eudora’s history and its people, which is something she hopes a city manager would help initiate, she said.

Jack Low is the culinary teacher at Eudora High School. While he lives in Lawrence, he has a child in Eudora schools. Low said he supports the city’s businesses as much as he can, attends all the parades and events, and spends most of his time in town.

A new city manager needs to prioritize communication focused on helping educate the community on policies when they’re enacted, he said.

He also hopes the city as a whole works to build the community up, including more initiatives with the schools since they employ a significant number of people in the city. There are times the schools are not considered for involvement in community programs, he said.

Low said he hopes Eudora brings more family-oriented entertainment to town as a way to keep people downtown for a longer period of time, rather than just for dinner, ice cream or a couple of shops. More activities centered in downtown would also help showcase what Eudora has to offer, he said.

Nolan Jones said the city manager is a unique role that can help to navigate the city’s growth and challenges.

He has worked alongside government officials for most of his career, so he’s familiar with how important it is to have a city manager who takes a hands-on approach. Eudora needs a manager who is not scared of addressing situations proactively while not getting caught up in bureaucracy. Getting to know the community and spending time with its people is a good way to get things done, he said.

It’s important a city manager understands their role in taking input from the commission and then executing their wishes, he said.

Making sure the city has a handle on infrastructure upgrades like the water treatment plant is also important, he said. It can be a challenge to finance these projects, and the city has to have a good understanding of the new landscape for getting grants, Jones said.

The city also has to continue to weigh what to do about residential growth while keeping taxes in mind, he said. Few jobs like a city manager have such a large impact on the lives of individuals and communities they live in, Jones said.

“I know everybody’s trying to figure out how to do it, but, you know, residential growth is real important, but also full of challenges on how to make it happen and how to make it happen in a way that still protects, I guess, the good things that Eudora has,” he said.

Johnnie Buck hopes the new city manager will be heavily integrated in Eudora’s community, she said. Not only will they attend Eudora’s events themselves, but she wants a manager who lives in the city, too, she said.

Buck wants to see a manager with a proven track record of being a successful manager in another municipality, especially one that has seen growth itself. Eudora is also in need of a manager who is a leader capable of thinking outside the box, she said.

Eudora needs more affordable housing and more business, she said. Looking for growth opportunities that will help the tax base and take the burden off homeowners is necessary, Buck said.

Anthony Brown wants to see a new city manager focused on bringing the city’s codes up to today’s standards. Many of the codes are outdated and hard to deal with. With ambiguity, it is ultimately left up to the city manager to make tough calls, he said. It also drives developers out of wanting to work in Eudora, he said.

Brown hopes that a new manager would be committed to be community-facing while getting Eudora through this growth phase. Helping developers and business owners expand into the community is another thing he’d like to see, he said. It has to be someone who is friendly, a good communicator and able to get the message out to the community, he said.

A manager also has to be able to delegate, while being fully informed and able to explain why they make decisions, he said.

The city manager should not be a real estate agent, but should focus on doing what they can to help make Eudora a good place to develop, Brown said.

The STAR bond project is not something he thinks Eudora should invest in right now, but there are programs like tax incentives for developers he is in favor of to help spur growth, he said.

As far as development at Nottingham, Brown doesn’t want the city to just let whoever move in, but he thinks the city needs to do better to attract businesses.

Brown is working on developing a couple of small lots in Eudora, but has heard from three contractors that they will not do work in town, he said.

Amy DeLaRosa’s top priority is having a city manager who values transparency. Secondly, she also would like to see partnerships with more community entities.

DeLaRosa also wants a city manager to live in Eudora.

“I think the city manager should have to drive our streets, experience our electrical issues,” she said. “I think you’ve got a vested interest in the community when you actually live here.”

The city manager is the face of the community, so these are all important components, she said. They need to be in front of the community, helping, volunteering and meeting people, she said.

A focus on what Eudora has to offer instead of building big economic development is another thing that makes Eudora unique and should be a priority, she said. She doesn’t want to see Eudora losing its mom and pop feel, so the city needs to do more with local businesses and stakeholders.

“I just really hope that a new city manager could advocate for transparency with community members, with businesses and focus on Eudora first,” she said.

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