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Bob Layton is not a man to run in place.

The distance runner is headed southwest to Wichita, Kan., from Urbandale, where he has been city manager for the last 25 years.

His tenure, among the longest for city managers anywhere in the country, has led some folks to wonder whether he betrayed his potential by staying in one place too long.

Not so, said Layton, 53, who begins work Feb. 2 as the city manager of Wichita, which has a population of 361,420 and a host of challenges befitting its size..

When Layton came to work in Urbandale in 1984, the city had a $5.8 million budget and its 19,000 residents lived well within the Interstate 35/80 corridor.

Central Iowa was emerging from the recession of the early 1980s and Urbandale, its leaders and businesses were pressing for growth.

“We were focused on bricks and mortar,” Layton said.

One of the first projects was an interchange for 86th Street at I-35/80. Layton had the opportunity to work closely with businesses, which provided the initial funding for a feasibility study, and government officials from the area, including Johnston and the U.S. Defense Department because the project involved Camp Dodge.

He also got to know Mike Carver, a not-so-shy development advocate who later became a member of the Urbandale City Council.

Carver was taken with Layton’s desire, dedication and determination, and those first impressions have stuck with him.

“The key to him is just the output,” Carver said. “He’s a hard worker, and he makes sure that things get done and that they get done the right way.”

These days, Layton is going above and beyond his responsibilities to the city by making certain the city’s operating and capital improvement budgets are prepared for council consideration.

“I think he certainly has exceeded what anybody could expect out of an outgoing city manager,” Carver said. “He’ll be working up to his last day. His plate will be full until he walks out that door, which to me is real credit.”

That operating budget has grown a tad from the $5.8 million budget Layton inherited in 1984. The new budget will amount to about $35 million, with some of the revenues generated by $820.5 million in commercial property taxes. In 1984, those taxes amounted to $142.6 million.

Layton said the pursuit of business growth, along with the infrastructure improvements to support its expansion along with the westward reach of the city’s boundaries into Dallas County, was necessary to balance revenue sources.

“We were able to grow our business base without interfering with the residential part of the community,” Layton said.

Layton said a master plan was adopted with input from residents, elected officials and business leaders, and established a blueprint for growth.

He credits Urbandale Community Development Director Paul Dekker for establishing a process for orderly growth, and he spreads the praise around for elected officials who believed in the plans, defended them and promoted them.

“The master plan created a vision for parks, economic and residential development that we bought into,” Layton said. “We had veteran staff that understood and followed the plan and we had political leadership that believed in it.

“I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve worked with some very visionary city councils.”

As a result, Urbandale is home to major corporations, such as Marsh and McLennan Cos. Inc., Continental Western Group and Rain and Hail LLC.

“Rain and Hail really jump-started the development,” Layton said, as did some forward-looking developers, among them the late Marvin Pomerantz’s Mid-America Group and Dan Rupprecht, founder of R&R Realty Group.

“He (Rupprecht) took the risk and developed Aurora Business Park,” Layton said.

Tom Rupprecht, president of development for R & R Realty Group, said that Layton was an “inspiring leader because of his love and his passion for the city and its people.”

Layton developed an attachment for all the players.

“I haven’t had a lot of time to sit back and wax nostalgic,” Layton said. “When I do, I think about the partnerships and relationships developed over the years. But what I really want to point out is the day to day pleasure I get from working with my staff.”

And that brings us back to Layton, the long-distance runner.

“The days I don’t run, my staff doesn’t like to be around me,” Layton said.

He was a cross-country competitor as an Illinois high school student. He has run the Boston Marathon, where he plans to compete again in 2010 and then retire from marathons, but not running.

Layton, who can be soft-spoken almost to a fault, said running provides a way to balance out his Type A personality.

“It gives me peace. Some of my most creative ideas come while running,” Layton said.