Five Questions: John Rice

Q: Why did you take this position?

A: This opportunity came along, and I’ve always been interested in city government – I’ve been on City Council on a couple of occasions. What prompted me to do this was that I’m trying to semiretire, and this was a part-time position, so it looked like it kind of fit what I had in mind.

Q: With your previous experience, what do you bring to the table?

A: I know Mount Vernon. I’ve been here for a long time, and I know many of the people. I think it’s a people job as much as it is a job of knowing the details of how a city runs. Most things are people businesses, and city government is the same thing – dealing with the general public and the city employees. I have experience dealing with a small business, and a city is like a small business. It has to be run that way. I also have some finance background.

Q: What is the town’s biggest need right now?

A: The thing that we’re hurting for – and I think it’s typical of most small communities – is that we don’t have the money we’d like to have to operate. Many years ago we dropped the property tax, so that source of revenue isn’t there. We mostly rely on sales tax and services that we provide. That’s an issue that we have to look at in the future. Getting more retail in Mount Vernon is very important. … I’d like to help facilitate that in any way I can, because that source of revenue is something we need.

Q: What other communities would you like to model Mount Vernon after?

A: I’ve looked at some of the other communities around the area, and seen what they’ve done with their park systems, and I’d like to improve on that. I don’t have a particular city in mind. … We’re looking at a community center, and I think that fits in with the park system. We’re also in an ideal spot – we’re right on the interstate between Joplin and Springfield. This is an area that is going to grow, and we need to be ready for it.

Q: Tell me about your family and your hobbies.

A: My wife and I have two sons. Dan is an attorney in Springfield, and Jeff works in the (information technology) department at Wal-Mart in Bentonville. I have three grandchildren and one on the way.

I guess our major hobby is biking. There are lots of good places to bike in Lawrence County. We also have a sailboat at Stockton Lake, and we love to sail. We also scuba dive, so I guess we’re kind of water-oriented.