Jared Schmeltzer
Reporter
Following the resignation of former district 6 Alderman Dave Sukow in early August, last week the Merrill Common Council selected Michael Rick Jr. as his replacement. As reported in the Aug. 14 addition of the Merrill Foto News, the common council announced their plan to interview and hire a new representitve at the September Committee of the Whole meeting, which was held on Monday, Sept. 9.
At the meeting the council interviewed five candidates including: Landis Holdorf, Chad Krueger, Ronald Liberty, Robert Oemig and Rick. Each candidate stood in front of the common council and answered a round of questions from each alderman. Following the interviews, two rounds of voting would eventually lead to the council selecting Rick. as the new District 6 Alderman.
Seventh district Alderman, Rob Norton asked the candidates what makes Merrill attractive to new businesses and residents, to which Mike Rick Jr. pointed to the “small town feel”.
“I’d have to say it’s the small town feel,” he said.
“There are a lot of families in Merrill and the city has housing options for all levels of income. And once we can get the taxes lower that would help as well. I think at the rate we are going, the city may be in trouble. But I think everyone getting together on the council will turn that around.
Origanally from Milwaukee, Rick moved to Merrill in the early 2000’s and currently works for the highway department as a Parts Clerk. Rick wasted no time making himself part of the community, previously serving as a Town of Merrill Supervisor and currently serves on the board of the Lincoln County Humane Society. During his interview he pointed to his current job as a Parts Clerk as relevant experience to help the city council manage money.
“I’m currently a Parts Clerk and I deal with about a half-million dollars of inventory.” he added. “I bring in new parts and try to find the best and most cost efficient way to get the parts and the repairs done on the vehicles.”
Following the interview process, the seven aldermen currently serving, along with Mayor Derek Woellner, voted on who they would like to represent the sixth district. After one round of voting, the council narrowed their vote to Ronald Liberty and Rick. Rick would go on to win the second round of votes by a 6-2 margin. Alderman Norton and Alerman Rick Blake were the only two votes for Ronald Liberty.
Following the Committee of the Whole meeting, Rick’s appointment was approved by the Common Council and he was subsequently sworn in by City Clerk Bill Heideman. Rick will hold the position until April 2020 election. Last week Rick indicated he does plan on running for a full-term in April.