Five Questions: Mike Carroll

Mike Carroll has held a lifelong interest in politics. As a child, the newly appointed Springfield City Councilman admired Alex P. Keaton from TV sitcom “Family Ties,” and, after a second attempt, he’s now helping to guide the administration of Missouri’s third largest city. Following stints with The Whitlock Co. and Saddlebrooke, Carroll brought his background in finance, accounting and real estate to steer development the last 18 months for the frozen custard company that plans this year to open six stores from Tulsa to Chicago.

Concrete Plans
“We are going to open three (Andy’s Frozen Custard) corporate stores this year, and on the franchise side, we’ll open another three stores. With our corporate stores, two are going to be in Chicago and one is going to be in Fayetteville, [Ark.]. The three franchise stores – one will be in St. Louis, one in Columbia and one in Tulsa, [Okla.]. We think we are growing intelligently, but we need to keep making the right decisions, particularly with regard to real estate.”

Now Serving Joplin
“Andy [Kuntz] and his mother, Carol, have always thought Joplin was a terrific market to go to given the proximity to Springfield and the brand awareness there. Andy met with a real estate agent and found a property that looked good. He brought it back to us, we reviewed it and then we looked for ways to finance the project. In this instance, it happened to be a family in Joplin who was rebuilding after the tornado. They had a multitude of properties that they lost in the tornado, and they wanted to do new projects. We got to talking with them – I would handle the lease negotiation and the build-to-suit specifics, things of that nature. The project eventually came to fruition, and that’s been a fantastic arrangement.”

Family Ties
“As a kid growing up, I always liked Alex P. Keaton from ‘Family Ties.’ I was always kind of that way growing up. I remember wanting a briefcase as a child for some reason. I had a finance undergrad degree with a real estate minor, and I thought pairing that with a law-school degree would give me a tremendous depth of knowledge going into whatever career I ended up choosing. It turned out, my first job out of law school was as a tax consultant [for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Kansas City, handling] economic development tax credits and incentives. That encompasses not only finance but also real estate, so it was a wonderful first job. … Then in 2004, when my wife got pregnant with our second child, she said, ‘I’m moving home. You are welcome to join me.’ And I thought that might be a good idea. She is a Willard girl. Her family owns Kinney Amusement and Vending Co.”

Council Time
“I’ve always been interested in governmental process and public service. With my first job – PricewaterhouseCoopers – I got to see a little bit of that because I was working with local jurisdictions, taxing authorities, city councils and state economic development departments in helping the client obtain these tax credits and incentives. I got to see a little bit behind the curtain then, and it just heightened my interest. As you’re growing your family and going to your job, that kind of got put to the side. This last year, I decided to throw my hat in the ring. I first sought appointment when Jan Fisk got appointed. … I made it to the final three, and I thought, ‘maybe they see something here.’… I got certified and was planning to run a campaign and then (Tom Bieker’s) seat became available.”

First Council Meeting: Wal-Mart
“I got to see a lot of passion, both in favor and in opposition. It made me a little proud of how passionate people were about the city of Springfield and center city in particular. I tried to take a lot in. I hadn’t been briefed on anything. I hadn’t read any of the Planning & Zoning recommendations yet, so I wanted to make sure I just sat back and listened. Now, I’m trying to catch up and get all of the background information such as why did P&Z turn it down the first time, but approve it the second time? What are people’s feelings on this? I’m digging through emails that have already been sent to me (and) am still deliberating.”