The Valparaiso City Council and Mayor Jon Costas are enlisting a new roster of legal guidance after Patrick Lyp announced his departure this month after more than a decade of service to the city.
“Before we named Patrick as the city attorney, Valparaiso had previously always been represented for our legal needs by a law firm team,” Costas said, describing the value and dedication of Lyp’s history with the city.
“Having one dedicated legal voice helped make all of our needs so much more focused. We will now begin the process of how to fill this void.”
Council member Barbara Domer, D-3rd, said Lyp was always available at any hour, both early morning or late in the evening, to answer needed questions and provide guidance and reference.
“Patrick is still continuing helping the council at our Monday night meetings, but he can’t do daytime meetings,” Domer said.
“He was a welcome source of knowledge and served us at nearly all of the city’s various committee meetings, where we now have others filling in for needs. For example, we now have attorney Mark Worthley to help us at our Valparaiso Board of Zoning Appeals meeting.”
Lyp, 55, accepted a job in the private sector as corporate counsel for Family Express Corp.
“Patrick has been an invaluable member of the leadership team in Valparaiso and has contributed greatly to the success of our city and innumerable key projects, including the redevelopment of our downtown, the addition of jobs and businesses, and efficiency citywide,” Costas said.
“He will be greatly missed and we sincerely wish him all the best. He was always patient answering all of our questions and willing to explain as needed.”
Lyp joined the city of Valparaiso in January of 2014 as general counsel and economic development director, while already a familiar face for his service with the Redevelopment Commission dating back to 2004.
He was named city attorney in January 2020.
Costas said Lyp was instrumental in “many transformational projects” such as the redevelopment of the County Seat shopping center on the city’s north side, and the former Anco facility into Journeyman, while helping with many of the downtown projects including the amphitheater and pavilion, and residential projects including St. Paul Square Condominiums, Vale View Apartments, Calkins Hill and the Linc Apartments.
Because of the support of Costas and former Mayor Matthew Murphy, Lyp was appointed by Governor Eric Holcomb to serve on the board of directors for the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority from 2020-2024.
Lyp said leaving his city post was “an extremely difficult decision.”
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“Mayor Costas offered me the opportunity to work for him and his leadership team, and I will be forever grateful,” Lyp said.
“I can share firsthand that Valparaiso residents are fortunate to have many public servants who are engaged and deeply committed to providing the best municipal services possible. From Parks, Utilities, Public Works, Community Engagement and Public Safety, you will not find a better group of individuals.”
Lyp said he intends to continue to serve the Valparaiso community, including now volunteering as a member of the Mayor’s Valparaiso Advisory Human Relations Council, where he previously served as the paid legal counsel.
Lyp and his wife Jody have three children and have lived in Valparaiso since 1997.
Philip Potempa is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.