By Jim Misunas
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
LARNED — The newly-hired city manager at Larned had his choice of jobs. Lane Massey investigated several opportunities before choosing to be city manager at Larned.
Massey was identified as a candidate for Seward County administrator, which was offering in excess of $80,000 annually.
But Larned was the best fit for his young family, which includes his wife Shannon and two sons, ages 6 and 12.
“I was looking at several positions, but I wanted to make sure it’s a good fit for our family,” he said. “You hope for the best and I believe this is well worth my time. I enjoy the people I met and I was impressed with the Larned city council. They asked good questions and gave me good insight.”
Massey graduated from St. John High School in 1988. He earned a degree in political science at Kansas State University. He earned a master’s degree in public administration at Wichita State University.
“Wichita State’s program is a great training ground for public administration,” he said. “I am interested in public administration because it gives you the ability to help a community grow and develop projects that help a community.”
Another drawing card is his mother resides in St. John and other relatives live close by. He enjoys hunting pheasant and the family owns farmland.
He’s proud of the recently developed baseball sports complex, a joint project by the city of Arkansas City and the Arkansas City school district.  The $3 million project developed new baseball fields and renovated several others.
“We’ve been working on that project since 1998,” he said.
Massey worked as director of administration for the city of Arkansas City before leaving in January. A severance package gave him the time to carefully research his next career move.
“We personally had a great time in Ark City,” he said. “We worked with some great people and had an opportunity to work on so many different projects. I feel like I’ve enjoyed success over the years.”
He started working under former city manager Curt Freeland. Several city managers and various city councils have worked in the past few years.
“Sometimes change is needed and wanted and that’s a common occurrence,” he said.
Massey will start work in Larned June 27. Current Larned city manager Don Gaeddert will work until July 1, giving him a week to tutor Massey.