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October 2, 2012

Lyons begins new role as city director of development services

By PAUL STONE Palestine Herald-Press

PALESTINE — Jeffrey Lyons recently began his duties as the City of Palestine’s director of development services, but he is certainly no stranger to city hall.

The 37-year-old Lyons, who earned his degree in geography from Stephen F. Austin State University, has been a city employee for the past six years, wearing several hats along the way. Initially hired as a Geography Information Systems (GIS) technician, the Elkhart native moved into city planning (mostly handling “planning and zoning issues,” he said) before becoming the city’s interim director of development services earlier this year.

Last week, the Palestine City Council unanimously approved Lyons’ appointment to the full-time position of director of development services.

“Jeffrey wants to do a good job with any project that he has been assigned,” Palestine City Manager Mike Ohrt said. “Jeffrey is an asset to the City of Palestine and I look forward to working with him for many years to come.”

A number of different areas fall under the umbrella of the city’s development services division, including building inspections, code enforcement, health inspections, historic preservation and city planning, according to the city’s website.

After graduating from SFASU in 2002, Lyons worked for the cities of Corsicana and Mesquite before returning to Anderson County in mid-2006 to be a GIS technician with the city.

In his new position, Lyons hopes to improve communication and make his department more user friendly. At the same time, he said the existing rules and regulations need to be consistently enforced.

“We’re trying to invite a lot more communication between the citizens and this department,” Lyons said. “We’re trying to revise the way we do things here so we can build stronger relationships with the community.”

Department employees, he indicated, should not expect the customer to understand the ins and outs of their business. Better communication will build better relationships, he added.

“There’s time frames and legal requirements you have to follow,” Lyons said. “It’s not instant. And sometimes people just don’t know that...I put myself in their shoes. I wouldn’t know either if I didn’t work here. I wouldn’t know I needed that permit.”

In his position, Lyons also vowed to help combat the city’s graffiti problem which has been a persistent thorn in downtown and other areas.

“We’re going to pick up on that,” Lyons said. “I know that’s been a heartburn in this town.”

At the end of the day, Lyons said city employees need to keep in mind who indirectly signs the checks.

“We work for the citizens,” Lyons said. “That’s why we’re were. They should feel like if they come in that they have our attention and time.”



Paul Stone may be contacted via e-mail at pstone@palestineherald.com

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