It wasn’t an easy choice, however, Emporia City Commissioners selected their newest member Wednesday.
Following three rounds of voting and questions, commissioners chose Tyler Curtis to serve the remainder of the unexpired term of longtime commissioner Danny Giefer who passed away last month. Prior to his current career path as the Chief Development Officer for the United Methodist Foundation, Curtis also served as the Assistant Vice President for Outreach and Engagement at Emporia State University for 11 years after a lenghty education career both in the classroom and as an administrator following his graduation from ESU.
While speaking with local media Wednesday, Curtis says his first priority on the commission will be to successfully navigate the steep learning curve he knows is ahead.
Including Curtis, 10 individuals applied to fill the vacancy. Additional candidates included
*Aaron Larson
*Bryce Heitman
*Deon Morrow
*Joe Reed
*Kenton Thomas
*Lucas Moody
*Michael Mercer
*Rebecca Douglass
*Will Spencer
*Bryce Heitman
*Deon Morrow
*Joe Reed
*Kenton Thomas
*Lucas Moody
*Michael Mercer
*Rebecca Douglass
*Will Spencer
Emporia Mayor Erren Harter was appreciative of the candidates who stepped forward and says the turnout Wednesday bodes well for the future of Emporia.
In two weeks, Curtis will be formally sworn into his new role at the commission’s next meeting.
In separate business Wednesday, following a brief public hearing commissioners approved establishing the Emporia Gazette Collective development as a reinvestment housing incentive district and approved the project’s development agreement. According to Assistant City Manager Tayler Wash, the designation will allow the development to capture an incremental increase in property taxes to reimburse developers for infrastructure costs.
The RHID status will be in place for 25 years, however, Wash explains the development will only capture 15 years of RHID revenues due to the issuance of Industrial Revenue Bonds.
In other business Wednesday, commissioners approved an agreement for the CCLIP surface preservation project, the adoption of standard traffic ordinances and the adoption of uniform offense code. Following a nearly hour-long executive session commissioners convened their regular study session with the main talking points being the 2025 budget, animal code updates and the city’s common consumption area.
The Emporia City Commission will reconvene on Wednesday, August 21 at 11 am inside of White Auditorium.
