Myron VanGundy has been a Lyon County commissioner for 16 years. Now, he said, it is time to retire.
VanGundy’s first term as a commissioner began in 1957, when he was 29 years old. He served until 1961. When his term ended, he did not leave public service. He served on the North Lyon County school board for 12 years. In 1991, he returned to the county commission and served two terms, from 1991 to 1999. In 2003, at the age of 77, VanGundy returned for a third stint.
What drew him back, he said, was the state of the county’s finances. He said he made the decision when the person in charge of finances took $1,800,000 out of the county’s multi-year fund to shore up the general fund.
“That was the year that everybody keeps going back to and saying, ‘Why was the levy so low?,’” VanGundy said. “That’s the thing that nobody seems to understand. That’s the main reason why I came back.”
VanGundy said his concern for the taxpayer and the lack of rural representation on the commission also prompted his return.
“The income had not been increasing at all,” he said. “I had been very concerned about the average taxpayer in Lyon County.
“All three commissioners were from Emporia in 2002. I really felt that they left out the rural area in representation.”
But it is time to retire.
“I said when I filed in, this is it,” he said. “I’m not going to re-run. I’ll be 81 years old the 30th of this month. So it’s time. They need to put new blood in there and let them fight the battles. And there will be some.”
VanGundy said being a commissioner takes a lot more time now that it used to.
“You’ve always got to remember why you’re there,” he said. “You’ve got to understand that budget ... I don’t like to see any department building a dynasty on the taxpayer’s back.”
There are several things VanGundy said he likes about being a commissioner. One is the people.
“I guess that’s the main thing,” he said. “I like to have the opportunity to be some help in some areas that need help.”
VanGundy said there are only a couple of times that he received negative phone calls while he was in office.
“When people call, they have a reason,” he said. “They have a right to call. I don’t care if they call up hostile. If you let them express their opinion and you talk to them positively, nine times out of 10 they go away happy. I think a commissioner owes that to the people.”
Being a commissioner doesn’t come without its frustration. The most recent frustration, he said, was the Chamber of Commerce’s push to increase the commission to five members and to hire a county administrator.
“They were insinuating that the county was in worse shape than the city,” he said. “And they weren’t. The city of Emporia gets 27 mills of tax money. If they didn’t get that, they would have been 27 mills higher in their mill levy. That is the thing that is the most disturbing.
“If I thought it would have been an advantage to the people of Lyon County, I would have been all for it.”
VanGundy said he has accomplished a lot as county commissioner, including saving the taxpayers some money and protecting agricultural land from urban sprawl.
“I think it’s a big concern,” he said. “I know the people out in the rural areas have been very supportive.”
Through the years, VanGundy said he has many fond memories.
“I enjoyed a lot of the people in the courthouse,” he said. “You’ll always have some fond memories of that. The county has some good people. There are friendships and acquaintances that you can always remember.”
Following his retirement the first week of January, VanGundy said he plans on continuing his life as a full-time farmer. He has about 100 head of cattle he manages.
“That hasn’t changed,” he said. “It’s been pretty hard a lot of days coming into commission when I need to be here (at home).”