There was only one new face at Parkville’s Board of Aldermen meeting who made his official debut Tuesday evening behind the podium.
Newly-elected ward 4 alderman Gerry Richardson is not a newcomer to city hall. He has served three previous times on the board; once for a special appointed term, another partial term and his third go-around was for a whole term. He said it has been about six years since he served in this capacity.
“I’m ambitious to get heavily involved in the economic development side of things,” said Richardson. “I take a greater interest in those specific issues than the other board members because of my background.”
Richardson previously worked as a mechanical engineer and has been retired for the last three years. He said he was a founder of the Clark, Richardson & Biskup engineering firm. He was raised in the Kansas City area and has resided in Parkville for the last 14 years with his wife, Lori, two daughters, and one son. He is the grandfather of one while his youngest child is in high school.
During his last term on the board, Richardson headed up the annexation effort where he served as chairman when the city’s boundaries doubled in size. When asked to describe himself, Richardson chuckled and replied that he has a lifelong reputation of being a man who watches his money closely.
“I like to think I spend the city’s budget as carefully as I would spend my own hard-earned money,” said Richardson. “I know the board members already and I’m looking forward to serving with them.”
Richardson said his favorite hobby to occupy his spare time is golfing, and he was a founding member of The National Golf Club in Parkville. He said he plays up to twice a week and has spent many hours trying to perfect his game.
“When I retired, my goal was to get my handicap into the single digits, which I’ve been able to do,” he said smiling when the meeting concluded. “I took some instruction and spent time on the practice range. Now that I’ve reached that goal, I have to set another one. I’m a real ambitious type of guy. Instead of becoming a better golfer, since I think I’ve evened that out, maybe I’ll try hard to become the best alderman I can be.”