ISSUE STATEMENTS

A large brick building with a sign that says Newman Hospital

Health Care Statement

Emporia needs strong healthcare to support current residents, attract new ones, and drive growth. Our healthcare network—including Newman Regional Health, Stormont Vail Health, CrossWinds, CareArc, and others—must operate at a high level for Emporia to thrive.


Emporia is uniquely positioned with top-tier care through NRH’s partnerships with Lawrence Memorial Hospital and KU Med as well as SV’s ties to the Mayo Clinic and Children’s Mercy. This gives our community rare access to advanced healthcare close to home.



Stormont Vail’s investment in its Emporia clinic further strengthens our healthcare options and positions us as a potential regional healthcare hub. While the City doesn’t oversee healthcare directly, I’ll do all I can to support high-quality care for all residents.

  • Will Stormont Vail operate an ambulatory surgery center at their new clinic?

    Stormont Vail has shared that they have “no plans to operate a surgical center in Emporia, KS.” When the City annexed the land SV purchased (November, 2024), they agreed to a five-year moratorium on surgical services. Per the Development Agreement approved by the City Commission on June 4, 2025 (5-0 vote), there is a six-year moratorium on surgical services.

  • Why not exclude SV from ever offering surgical services?

    There are a couple considerations. 


    1. We can’t predict the future. If NRH is ever unable to meet demand, limiting SV’s ability to provide services would hurt the community. Collaboration with SV benefits both Emporia and the region.


    2. Kansas isn’t a Certificate of Need state, so communities like Emporia can’t legally require healthcare providers to prove demand before offering services. Local regulations could lead to legal challenges against the City for violating state law.

  • Are you supportive of a policy like a zoning text change to limit duplication of healthcare services?

    A. Yes. The proposed zoning change predates my time on the commission. I am open to exploring such a policy, possibly using Newton, KS, as a model.


    However, I’m hesitant to support any change that would impact current projects like Stormont Vail’s. They planned their project under existing rules, and changing them mid-process would be unfair.  If I had a development underway and had the rules change in the middle of the process, then I  would feel unfairly treated. I believe in treating others as I’d want to be treated.

An aerial view of a river surrounded by trees and a bridge leading to a city.

Economic Development Statement

Emporia’s growth depends on keeping current jobs and attracting new ones. To compete, we must support businesses of all sizes:

 

  • Entrepreneurs need training and resources to start and sustain.
  • Growing businesses need help scaling up and hiring.
  • Large businesses need workforce support and resources to expand.


I’ll work with local partners like RDA, Main Street, the Chamber, Emporia Enterprises, FHTC, ESU, and local governments to streamline economic development. By setting clear goals and tying funding to results, we’ll ensure public dollars drive real impact and raise household incomes.

  • Why did you vote in favor of authorizing the Mayor to send a letter to RDA?

    The time for change is now. I’ve been active in Emporia since 2010, and for over that decade and a half, leaders and reports—including those funded by the County and done by ESU as well as the most recent VisionFirst Advisors report—have called for economic development change and reform.


    VisionFirst’s recent study, funded by the City, emphasized that taxpayer dollars demand transparency, collaboration, and results. It called for selfless leadership and a clear, unified strategy driven by the City. The VisionFirst report called for change and reform.


    Despite these calls for change and reform, as of fall 2024, little had changed and not many reforms had even been discussed related to Emporia’s approach to economic development.


    So why change? Despite some success, our community is poorer than it was 30 years ago. Poverty is high, and wages lag far behind state and national averages. RDA’s own data shows population decline and low labor costs. That’s not a future we can accept. As a City Commissioner, I’m committed to helping lead the change Emporia needs.


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  • What’s happening now?

    Late in 2024, an Economic Advancement Committee (EAC) was formed to make recommendations on how to implement suggestions made by VisionFirst. The team consisted of: 

    • City Commissioners: Tyler Curtis and Becky Smith
    • City Staff: Tayler Wash and Trey Cocking
    • Lyon County Commissioner: Kent Duft
    • Lyon County Staff: Dan Williams and Molly Priest
    • RDA: Kala Maxfield and Jim Witt (through January of 2025)
    • Chamber: Joey Lemay/Lisa Kirmer and Jeanine McKenna
    • Emporia Main Street: Aaron Otto, Jessica Buchholz, and Casey Woods
    • Emporia Enterprises: Justin Mallon/Kim Parks
    • Visit Emporia: Jennifer Wegener and LeLan Dains
    • ESU: Shane Shivley
    • FHTC: Caron Daugherty

    The team first defined economic development for Emporia and Lyon County as “Fostering growth, driving progress, and achieving prosperity for continuous advancement.” Growth includes population, business, industry, and education. Progress can be seen in new or renovated properties, while prosperity relates to income, knowledge, and quality of life.


    Consultant Kathy Sexton from WSU helped prioritize VisionFirst’s suggestions and provided recommendations to RDA and its partners in April 2025. 


    On May 9, RDA members voted to expand their board to nine representatives. I am pleased that the members of RDA acknowledged some of the Economic Advancement Task Force’s hard work as well as the recommendations from the recent VisionFirst study. 


    As of June 1, RDA has the following board structure. 


    Voting members are: 


    • City Commissioner
    • City appointee
    • County Commissioner
    • County appointee
    • Emporia Enterprises representative
    • Emporia Chamber representative
    • Emporia Main Street representative (NEW!)
    • Emporia State University (ESU) representative (NEW!)
    • Flint Hills Technical College (FHTC) representative (NEW!)
    • The at-large member seat will sunset after 2027

    Non-voting ex-officio members (6)


    • Two representatives from the City
    • Two representatives from the County
    • One representative from the Chamber
    • One representative from Main Street

    The membership also approved a search committee to restart the hiring process for the new RDA President:


    • Jeff Williams
    • Cory Haag
    • Kala Maxfield
    • Jamie Sauder
    • Trey Cocking
    • Caron Daugherty
    • Scott Briggs
    • Molly Priest

    It may not seem like increasing the board from seven to nine members is a big deal, and no doubt, if that’s the only thing that happened, it would not be significant. However, I supported a change in board structure not to increase the number of board members but to broaden RDA’s perspective and change the organization’s overall mindset related to economic development. 


    The EAC is working to finalize key performance indicators and dashboard templates to guide future evaluations, ensuring accountability and sparking valuable discussions on challenges and opportunities.


    Recent RDA action is a step in the right direction, and more steps will be needed. By setting clear goals and tying funding to results, we’ll ensure public dollars drive real impact and raise household incomes. This is how we grow Emporia, and that’s what I’m about: growth.


    I’m confident this groundwork will enable our next RDA President and CEO to drive meaningful change in regional economic development.

City Essential Services

  • Essential city services—like public safety and infrastructure—are delivered by the dedicated employees of the City of Emporia. Tyler is committed to ensuring the 350+ employees of the City of Emporia are paid a fair wage, provided with competitive benefits, and are resourced to do their jobs and perform their duties. Police, fire, water, sanitation, streets, engineering, building and neighborhood development, and the zoo along with the airport, facilities, finance, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), municipal golf course, HR, municipal court, parks, and planning & zoning provide essential services related to Emporia’s health, safety, and quality of life.


Tyler is focused on ensuring infrastructure maintenance continues to be a budgetary priority. These investments include maintaining the following:


  • 365 lane miles of streets (1% gravel, 1% asphalt over brick, 2% brick, 18% concrete, 77% asphalt);
  • 159 miles of watermains;
  • 143 miles of sanitary sewer mains; and
  • 75 miles (396,000 LF) of storm sewer.


With 37 inches of annual rainfall and over 109 million square feet of impervious surfaces (rooftops, driveways, parking lots, streets and sidewalks), Emporia’s storm system manages about 2.5 billion gallons of runoff each year—some through infrastructure over a century old. That rainfall enters into the City’s storm sewer system through drains in the streets and is carried by storm sewer pipes to the Cottonwood and Neosho Rivers at the edge of town. As extreme weather becomes more common, maintaining and upgrading this system is essential to prevent flooding and protect the community. 


In addition, Tyler is focused on ways to make our community both pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly. Improving sidewalks and enhancing bicycle lanes are a priority.

Emporians deserve to have confidence in the quality of both essential services and critical infrastructure. Tyler will continue his focus on this key area of city management. 

A large brick building with a sign that says Newman Hospital
A large brick building with a sign that says Newman Hospital

City Essential Services

  • Essential city services—like public safety and infrastructure—are delivered by the dedicated employees of the City of Emporia. Tyler is committed to ensuring the 350+ employees of the City of Emporia are paid a fair wage, provided with competitive benefits, and are resourced to do their jobs and perform their duties. Police, fire, water, sanitation, streets, engineering, building and neighborhood development, and the zoo along with the airport, facilities, finance, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), municipal golf course, HR, municipal court, parks, and planning & zoning provide essential services related to Emporia’s health, safety, and quality of life.


Tyler is focused on ensuring infrastructure maintenance continues to be a budgetary priority. These investments include maintaining the following:


  • 365 lane miles of streets (1% gravel, 1% asphalt over brick, 2% brick, 18% concrete, 77% asphalt);
  • 159 miles of watermains;
  • 143 miles of sanitary sewer mains; and
  • 75 miles (396,000 LF) of storm sewer.


With 37 inches of annual rainfall and over 109 million square feet of impervious surfaces (rooftops, driveways, parking lots, streets and sidewalks), Emporia’s storm system manages about 2.5 billion gallons of runoff each year—some through infrastructure over a century old. That rainfall enters into the City’s storm sewer system through drains in the streets and is carried by storm sewer pipes to the Cottonwood and Neosho Rivers at the edge of town. As extreme weather becomes more common, maintaining and upgrading this system is essential to prevent flooding and protect the community. 


In addition, Tyler is focused on ways to make our community both pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly. Improving sidewalks and enhancing bicycle lanes are a priority.

Emporians deserve to have confidence in the quality of both essential services and critical infrastructure. Tyler will continue his focus on this key area of city management.