LYONS, Kan. — Following a 30-minute executive session, the Lyons Council voted at Monday evening’s meeting to accept the resignation of City Administrator Troy Houtman, effective immediately. The resignation was accepted one day before the one-year anniversary of his hiring, after having served for nearly 10 years as Director of Cultural Arts, Parks and Recreation for the city of Wichita. It also comes in the wake of a performance evaluation.
City Counselor Patrick Hoffman said as part of a resignation agreement Houtman will receive a severance payment of three months’ salary. “Every time I’ve ever been involved in a city administrator resignation in similar conditions, we have paid a severance just to eliminate any possibility of claims,” Hoffman explained prior to the Council’s acceptance of it.
Hoffman and Mayor Alicia Hommon will be working with staff on an interim leadership plan it will bring to the Council for their review and approval at their next meeting on Dec. 1. This is the third resignation of a City Administrator in Lyons in the past just over 2 ½ years. Following the May 2023 departure of Chad Buckley, Eddy Truelove was hired later in 2023 to replace Buckley, but he left the following year for family related reasons
The Council approved Mayor Alicia Hommon’s recommendation to appoint Shirlene Cook to fill the Ward 3 Council vacancy created by the resignation of John Mehl. Cook, who worked in the city’s administration office in accounts payable for 19 years, will serve for the remainder of Mehl’s term which expires in January 2027 and will be up for election in 2026.
The Council also selected Rick Miller to serve as Council President, a role Mehl held at the time of the resignation. The Council President serves as presiding officer in the absence of the mayor, and under state law would become mayor if that position were to become vacant.
The Council approved retroactive reappointment of Rocky Summers, Robert Ludwig and Jesse Webb to new three-year terms on the Lyons Planning Commission. Ludwig and Webb were to have been reappointed in 2024 and Summers earlier this year, but due to a clerical error that was not done.
Financial matters were among the major topics for the Council, as it adopted a resolution imposing a temporary budget hold through the end of this year. This measure, which city administration had routinely imposed in the past, is being taken in order to ensure compliance with its approved budget.
This comes as the Council will be holding a public hearing at the meeting Dec. 1 to amend the 2025 budget. City Clerk Bailey Sayler said the amendment involves grant funds the city received in 2024 that were not included in the 2025 budget adopted last year.
Under the hold, all non-essential spending excepting that which had been authorized by formal action of the Council prior to or after the resolution is passed. Also exempt are those expenditures necessary to maintain essential city operation if approved in advance by the mayor and either the City Administrator or City Clerk.
The resolution also required advance approval for any overtime expense with written justification to be provided by department heads. The resolution as adopted went into effect immediately, with normal spending policies to resume Jan. 1, 2026, unless the hold is extended by the Council.
The Council adopted another resolution which creates a fund connected to the Wastewater Treatment Plant project, which is being funded through a State Revolving Fund loan. This will allow the proper tracking of expenses related to the project within the city’s accounting software.
Also related to finances, the Council approved two resolutions authorizing establishment of a purchasing card program through UMB Bank, which provides these services to a number of governmental entities in Kansas. The Council approved a revised banking resolution that designates the authorized signatories for banking business of the city, adding new Council President Rick Miller and deleting Troy Houtman’s name as authorized signers to the accounts held at the three Lyons financial institutions.
The Council adopted ordinances ordering demolition of dangerous and unsafe structures at 102 W. Lincoln, 104 W. Lincoln, and 615 East Avenue South. All three properties were the subject of show-cause hearings Aug. 18, and this allows the city to proceed with soliciting bids for demolition.
An amended resolution of support related to a Community Development Block Grant application for re-development of the property at 210 West Commercial, the long-time home of the Lyons News, was approved. This amendment dealt with a few, very minor technical changes to the application to include some items that were left out of the original resolution.
The Council approved an updated memorandum of agreement with A+ Aviation Services, LLC, which manages and operates the Lyons-Rice County Airport as its Fixed Based Operator (FBO). Under this agreement, A+ will manage all hangars including setting of fees, collections and maintenance, retaining all hangar related revenue. Hangar rental fees are set out in the agreement.
The FBO will also manage the fuel dispensing system including the setting of prices, fees and minor maintenance. It will retain all fuel-related revenues, along with paying for utilities at the airport.
The part of the agreement relating to agricultural spraying operations was clarified, to specify that those will be managed by the city and Rice County, which will retain all revenues from that. This is done to avoid any conflicts of interest with the aerial spraying business of A+.
The management fee paid to A+ for FBO services is also being reduced to $3,500 a month for 2026, and $3,300 a month starting in 2027.That fee had been $4,200 a month.
Approval was given for renewal of city employee health insurance plans for 2026. Health Insurance will now be handled through the Kansas Municipal Insurance Trust, which carried a 19.75 % premium increase, which is being offset to 15% through reserve funds. This will also change the renewal date from December 1st to January 1st, and as a result any employee deductibles during the month of December will not count towards 2026 deductibles.
Dental insurance coverage also is moving from Delta Dental to Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Kansas with a $1,000 increase in annual deductibles and a 14.79 percent premium increase. Vision and group life insurance will remain with their current providers with minimal changes, along with coverage that covers air ambulance transport services which the city pays the full cost of.
It also approved a request to include information on the United Way of Rice County campaign in utility statements.
