Meet CID Board Member Mike McClung
Meet CID Board Member Mike McClung
The District of downtown Columbia is a Community Improvement District (CID). Did you know that? Not so many moons ago, I was in the dark about what a CID was and how it operated, but I’ve been enjoying the light of discovery since joining The District’s team back in the Spring of 2023 as Office Assistant and occasional blog-writer. My learning grew from the initial investigation, finding out what makes a CID a CID to, what in particular makes The District The District.
Part of that discovery has been meeting the folks which make up The District’s Board. Because The District is a political subdivision, it’s run by a Board of governing members which are elected and then approved by the mayor. You can read more on the Missouri Statutes website about such things, if it interests you. For my part, I thought it much more interesting to sit down with The District’s longest serving Board member, Mike McClung.
Look, here he is:
Mike McClung is a business owner, a resident, and property owner in The District of downtown Columbia, MO. He has a fantastic beard, incidentally. Mike has been part of the District’s Board since its inception (2015) and has served in every executive role. His most recent three-year term on the CID will end soon, as the Board transitions to its newly elected members in 2024. When Mike and I met to chat about his time on The District’s Board, we were inside the industrial chic conference room at Dungarees, Carhartt retailer to the stars, and as the stories started to unfold, I found myself listening with anticipation to all the ballads Mr. McClung sung.
Mike began by retracing his steps, telling me how he got involved with The District in the first place. “I don’t remember exactly,” he said. And then, just as quicky, “Oh, yes I do. I remember,” he nodded and leaned forward, “it was trash.” Turns out, Mike has owned a slew of other businesses, aside from Dungarees (circa 1999), throughout the years in downtown CoMo: a couple of bars, Quinten’s and Tonic, a comedy club, Déjà Vu, a tanning salon, and more. As you might guess, bars in a college town can generate a lot of trash and that trash needs a place to go.
Quinten’s
Without access to a dumpster nearby McClung had concern for the safety of his staff and others downtown as his bars tried to deal with the output of bottles and cans each night. He took an interest in the CID. McClung wanted a voice to be heard on behalf of Columbia’s nightlife and residents. For property owners too. And, reader recall, Mike was all three.
He wasn’t shy about saying although he wanted to advocate on the behalf of others, it benefited him too. You gotta respect a fellow that can shoot things straight. No virtue signaling, no grandiose statements of do-goodership, just a dude wanting to promote a cleaner, safer, vibrant downtown life. Period.
Over and again throughout our conversation, McClung would highlight what I now consider to be the hallmarks of his leadership and service, as a business owner and throughout his tenure as Board member for The District: a love for the foundational. The essential. These refrains weren’t sexy songs mind you. They were songs about trash and sidewalks, about lighting and safety, and parking, but they were stunning in their own way. The rhythm of simplicity, a pragmatist’s most prized luxury and any city’s crowning glory.
If you’d enjoy discovering more about The District, please visit www.discoverthedistrict.com
It’s good to be here!