By Lucky Kidd
LYONS, Kan. — When the Lyons City Council went into an executive session at the end of Monday’s meeting at the request of City Administrator Eddy Truelove to discuss a personnel matter, they had no idea what it was about.
When the Council came out of the closed-door discussion, which lasted about 40 minutes, they accepted with regret, the retirement of Truelove, effective Sept. 30, 2024.
Truelove said after the meeting he made the decision to retire based on a number of personal and family matters that need his attention. He told Ad Astra News he loved working with (the) Council and with the staff they have, but this is something he has to do at this point.
Among things factoring into the decision was an inability to sell his current home. He’s been renting a residence in Lyons since accepting the position, and it is his view that Lyons “needs someone who can be fully invested in Lyons.”
His retirement brings to a close a more than four-decade career in public service, which began with 21 years in the United States Marine Corps, from which he retired in 1997. In 1999, he became a police officer in Wichita, eventually coming to Sterling where he served as Chief of Police. He entered city administration in 2012 when he accepted the administrator position in Greensburg. He spent about 8 ½ years as City Administration in Neodesha prior to coming to Lyons, where he began in September 2023.
Truelove will remain with the city through the completion of developing the 2025 budget which is currently in process.
