A Conversation With ... Rick Ziegenfuss

We (estimate) that we have somewhere between 4,000 and 4,200 people.

Hollister business is made up of a lot of local and regional businesses, and we’re quite satisfied with that.

How does economic development fit into your duties as city administrator?

Before I was (Hollister) city administrator, I was the director of economic development for the city. When I moved into this position (in 2004), I took (economic development) with me, and we didn’t refill that position. That was simply because the budget at that particular point in time didn’t permit it. I do believe it’s a viable position, and I think that at some point in time, cities and counties probably need to have someone that’s focused solely on the economic health of their political subdivision.

Officials recently announced plans for a $225 million water park and resort and a $30 million event center in Hollister. What other changes are coming to the business community?

There’s going to be a series of retail build-out around the event center and the water park. We’ve had an announcement of a 90-room hotel. We’ve got fast food (coming). There are other outparcels there that are yet to be announced that I think are very exciting. Walgreens has announced (plans to open) in Hollister. Walgreens is a pretty substantial retailer. All those are things to look forward to.

What is bringing new business to Hollister?

Transportation infrastructure and highway improvements (to Highway 65). That has a lot to do with it. I also believe that Hollister has grown as a city in its sophistication to be able to host economic development. It’s because of forward thinking. Residents have been very tolerant of change.

In what ways is Hollister positioning itself to meet needs that come with economic development?

Hollister is doing a significant amount of work-force housing. That’s pretty interesting. Hollister (businesses and residents) traditionally build about 22 site-built homes a year, and currently, we have lots in subdivisions that are being created, and there’s over 700. ... Along with that … we have on the horizon a new well to the east side of our community and improvements to the wastewater plant. All of that infrastructure, along with roads, goes to create an atmosphere that’s able to sustain itself. We’re also two years into a $10 million high school. ... The school system is already planning for additional classroom space. We have the new Branson airport on Hollister’s south border, so that’s going to have a large impact.

Do you have any concerns about people and being able to meet work-force demands?

I think work-force development’s always a critical economic development issue. Again, the situation that you have to deal with is that you have to build houses first, places for people to live in a reasonable commuting distance. I think our area … is really focusing on getting ahead of that housing and trying to create an environment where the work force can live near their jobs.

How do you determine which businesses to seek for Hollister?

Hollister works very hard not to duplicate existing businesses in the region. … We went after Lowe’s. There was no Lowe’s in our region. We’re (not) out trying to siphon off other regional businesses to come to Hollister. That’s not in our business plan. … We don’t think that’s good for the region.

Hollister doesn’t have a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Is that something you’d like to see?

There’s a Wal-Mart Supercenter preparing to open in Branson, which is three minutes up the highway, and there’s a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Harrison, and there’s a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Branson West. We don’t see a Wal-Mart Supercenter in our immediate future. I don’t know that we would say that we will never see one.

Tell us about your family and what you do for fun.

I have a wife, Dana, and a stepdaughter, Jordan, who’s 12, and a stepson, Logan, who’s 15. We’re outdoor kind of people. We do outdoor recreation, and we live on Table Rock Lake. We fish, swim and boat. We also are interested in school activities. Part of the commitment of being in a position (as) city administrator (means) that my family is subject to social functions and events that we routinely participate in. Hollister hosts nine special events each year.

Interview by Features Editor Maria Hoover. You can e-mail her with suggestions for future installments of this feature at mhoover@sbj.net.[[In-content Ad]]