A Conversation With ... Tom Vicat

Company: City of Strafford

Education: Graduated from high school in upstate New York; some college marketing and engineering courses

Flying high: He recently went skydiving with his granddaughter, Shelby, to celebrate her 18th birthday.

Contact: tomvicat@peoplepc.com

What is your role with the city of Strafford?

It’s being a business manager. I don’t think there’s any other way to describe a city administrator’s job. Some (tasks) are repetitive things, but others are daily decisions that need to be made. I’m over Public Works, so I have five maintenance people. Technically, the city administrator is over the Police department, but we have an excellent chief of police. We talk daily, and that’s all I have to do there. We provide city water, and sewage is (handled) through an agreement with the city of Springfield. Our power companies are either Empire Electric or Southwest. I do an online newsletter every month at www.straffordmissouri.org.

Tell us about the transition from mayor to city administrator.

I was elected mayor in April 2007. I ran for mayor because I was retired, and I was bored to death. How many times can you go fishing or mow the lawn? I spent $100 on that campaign and became the mayor, for $200 a month. I didn’t do it for the money, just for something to do. (City leaders) said ‘Tom, you’ve been acting like a city administrator,’ because I was the only full-time mayor the town had in a lot of years. They wanted me to move into the administrator’s job, so I resigned from being the mayor. I like it. I’m in my element.

What’s new on the business front in Strafford?

We have a chamber of commerce that’s very new and just starting to get up to speed. We recently received an offer from Max Croxdale, a local businessman and landowner, (to) donate office space to the Strafford Area Chamber of Commerce.

What do you hope to change in downtown Strafford?

I want to get the downtown area looking a lot better than it does. For many years, I think (people) didn’t notice the deterioration of the buildings. (Let’s) cover them, tear them down, renovate them, whatever. I’m trying to do that without legal action, just getting the owners motivated, and I’m making some progress. One of the problems we have attracting small businesses downtown is really a lack of buildings that are available.

What other goals do you have for economic development?

We’d like to get a road built on the east side of town that would open up land to highway visibility for retail development in a (tax-increment financing district). Like any town, we need to generate sales tax revenue. We have attracted some businesses. Evergreen Roofing and Building Supply just opened a branch here from St. Peters. Camping World is a nationwide company, and (the Strafford location) is its 48th store. Also, we have a Dollar General coming in.

What kinds of businesses would you like to see open in Strafford?

I would like to see retail, maybe clothing. We do need a sit-down restaurant. The only place where we have that now is Dana’s Café, which is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It’s great for downtown.

In your monthly newsletter, you’ve touted the values of shopping in Strafford. Why?

We have Harter House here, a very nice grocery store. We’ve got two pharmacies. But if nobody had a car, they could buy all their groceries (in Strafford) and live OK. People get in their car and drive to Wal-Mart (in Springfield) because they can get a loaf of bread for $1.50 instead of $1.65. You want to spend $6 or $8 in gas to save, say $5? I’m trying to convince people to keep the green in Strafford.

What did you do prior to retirement?

I was in the metal-working machinery business. I had my own machinery distributorship, and I was also part owner of a company in Springfield called Pressroom Equipment, on North Prince Lane. Three of us bought the company in 1991, and we sold out – one of those deals that was an offer you couldn’t refuse – in 1998. I had a noncompete agreement, so I had to stay around for a year, then I took a job down in Georgia … for five years, and then, we came back, because this is where the grandkids are.

Tell us about your family.

Ruth is my wife. We have seven children and 17 grandchildren. My son, John, is on the Strafford Board of Aldermen, and four of those grandkids are his. His oldest daughter and I went skydiving recently. At 70 years old, I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane to celebrate Shelby’s 18th birthday. It was fun.

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