by Dennis Dalman
Carmie Mick, a candidate for a St. Joseph City Council seat, said her business background and people skills would help her be an effective council member.
Mick is co-owner of CWMF Corp. in Waite Park, which is an asphalt-plant equipment, parts and service company. It is a second-generation family business.
She is one of six candidates vying for two four-year terms on the council – the two seats now held by Bob Loso and Troy Goracke, both of whom filed for re-election. Besides those two incumbents and Mick, the other candidates are Kelly Beniek, Paul Orvis and Mike Osterman.
The St. Joseph Newsleader asked the candidates many questions about city-related issues. The following are Mick’s answers:
Background
Mick has lived in St. Joseph for 18 years, the last seven of those years in St. Joseph Township. She is a 1997 graduate of St. Cloud State University, with a bachelor-of-science degree in international business (accounting emphasis).
Mick has served on the CentraCare Foundation’s finance committee from 2013 to 2019 and was also on that foundation’s board from 2014 to 2019. She was honored in 2016 by the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce for being the co-owner of “Family Owned Business of the Year.”
Qualifications
“My background in owning and running a family-owned business includes everything from finances to people,” Mick said.
Teamwork, she added, is essential to focus on growth, manage growth and deciding when it makes sense to build and strengthen a team of people to reach those goals.
“To be engaged as a city official, it is important to understand those financial and people considerations,” she said. “Those life experiences make me an excellent candidate for this role.”
Passionate ideas
Mick said her top issues include sustaining and managing growth with both economic and community considerations, all the while making sure St. Joseph remains a safe place to live and raise a family and retire.
Her top priority, she added, would be to evaluate the city’s five- to 10-year growth plan to make sure it is economically feasible and aligned with community expectations.
“I think most St. Joseph residents favor the small-town life and atmosphere so it will be very important to take those factors into consideration when making decisions. In addition, there is an industrial/commercial community in St. Jo(seph) so we should encourage future growth to provide the city with a much-needed revenue stream.”
Community center
Mick said she has often asked St. Joseph residents about the community center. Their replies almost always amount to this: “We have a community center?”
The grand plan for a center “deflated” about five years ago even though, in Mick’s opinion, it was a well-intended – but poorly executed – idea at the time.
“Currently, I don’t know if there is a plan of action to revitalize the community-center project, but since it is a large expense, taxpayers want to know the value to the community.”
Strengths, weaknesses
A strength that must be preserved, Mick said, is to ensure St. Joseph remains a safe place to live and raise a family – a “one-stop” town for residents.
“Parents want to know their kids are safe to ride their bikes down the block to visit friends,” she said. “Adults want to have access to groceries, restaurants and bars – all locally!
A weakness of St. Joseph, Mick said, is parking.
“It is very difficult to find parking and as more businesses move in, it will be even more of a concern.”
Carmie Mick
