Myrick: Efficiencies remain priority

Eugene Myrick reflected on the at-times painful negotiation — and then renegotiation — of the emergency medical services contract service between Iola and Allen County over the last two years.
“It was probably the most stressful thing we’ve had to deal with,” the Iola City Council member said.
That was particularly so when the council voted last fall, then rescinded, a notice to terminate its EMS contract with the county.
But as they say, what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.
Myrick is confident the new countywide pact makes Iola and Allen County stronger.
“We all pulled together and the county finally pulled together,” said Myrick, a vocal opponent of ending the contract prematurely.
“When you start a new business, you can’t just fold up when things look bad,” he said. “You have to gut it out. I wanted to keep working and not give up.”
Myrick, 50, says he’ll continue to serve Iolans with such doggedness if he’s re-elected to the council seat in the April 7 general election. Voters in Iola’s third ward will choose between Myrick and Iolan Austin Sigg. (See related article on Sigg elsewhere in today’s paper.)

MYRICK’S service with the council began not long after falling just short in the April 2013 elections.
He finished five votes behind Mike McKinnis, but was appointed to the council after McKinnis moved out of the third ward.
“Being on the council has been an enlightenment,” he said. “I came in green, not knowing how things were done. I’ve learned so much over the last two years, not only with how the government runs, but how the city has run. I’ve enjoyed doing it.
“I’ve worked hard over the last two years, trying to keep the south side of Iola well represented, and to speak for the people of the third ward,” Myrick continued. “I look at it as even though I’m representing the third ward, I’m working for all the people of Iola. We’re for everybody.”

MYRICK sees several challenges facing the community.
“I’m always looking at ways to get the city growing,” he said. “We can’t just keep looking at what we have. If we do that, Iola’s not going to grow. I don’t want to have to say, ‘Here we go again, Iola’s being left behind.’”
He laments what he calls a “missed opportunity,” when a developer approached the city about building an assisted living facility in the north part of town, only to build elsewhere after neighbors objected.
“When you look at the taxes, the salaries, the utilities, Iola got left behind,” he said. “I told them then that if people up north didn’t like it, he could build in the third ward. I’d have loved to have seen him build here.”
Myrick notes the third ward also has a larger number of parks and green space than other parts of town.
As such, he’s also always on the lookout to see those areas developed further — many vacant lots remain after the 2007 flood — but without breaking the bank.
“And our streets need to be maintained, especially with flooding,” he said. “We have spots along Sycamore that flood curb-to-curb whenever we have a good, hard rain. It needs to be addressed.”
“I think we can operate more efficiently across the city,” he said, by cross-training employees.
By encouraging department heads to think “outside the box,” Myrick thinks Iola’s staffing can be pared as older workers retire.
“Now that we’re getting ready to go into budgets, I’d like to see all departments cut their budgets by 3 percent,” he said. “Maybe they’ll only do it 1 percent, but any cuts would help.”

MYRICK moved to Iola as a youth in 1977. “I’m a transplanted Okie,” he joked. “Please, don’t hold it against me.”
After graduating from Iola High School, he served in the National Guard for 24 1/2 years, retiring recently as an active duty recruiter for the Army Reserves.
Myrick earned a degree in criminal justice, although he still takes online courses part time at Allen Community College in his pursuit of another degree in history education.
He has two grown children. His son serves in the Air Force and is stationed in South Korea. Myrick’s daughter lives in Minnesota.