Logansport City Seal

advertisers

Laird appointed to Logansport USB by mayor

Last Updated on July 21, 2016 by cassnetwork

A former member of the five-member board that governs Logansport’s four public utilities will again serve on that body.

Mike Laird, 67, Logansport, retired owner of Markley Abstract and his own realty firm, will succeed Dan Slusser when his term expires at the end of the month. He previously served a four-year term in the early 1980s. Laird and Slusser are both Republicans.

“First I want to thank Dan Slusser publicly for his service to the utilities over the past four years,” Mayor Kitchell said this afternoon. “Dan has served the community well in his capacities on the Logansport School Board and the Logansport Parks and Recreation Board. He has been deeply involved in addressing the future profitability of the utilities and the electric rates, including the current process of selecting a new purchased power provider. Dan and I have been in constant conversations about the utilities over the past seven months.”

In Laird, Kitchell’s second appointment to the USB since he took office Jan. 1, the mayor selected a candidate with an associate’s degree in electrical engineering technology who has been a student of LMU since he served on the board.

“Mike and I have had many conversations over the years since he served on the board, and many of his projections for what has transpired positively and negatively for LMU have been prophetic. He’s been a small businessman and he knows the impact utility payments have on residential owners, but more importantly, he understands most issues associated with LMU that many people don’t.”

Laird’s appointment maintains the 3-2 Democratic majority of board members, which under state law cannot be more than a 3-2 majority of either party. In addition to Kitchell’s first appointment, Democrat Mike Meagher, the mayor also appoints a third member. That seat is currently held by Don Strasser, a Democrat, whose term expires next year. The city council has two appointments. One is held by Republican Jay King. The other is held by Democrat Marty Monahan. Under state law, no more than two members of the board can reside from outside the city limits though roughly half of LMU’s service area is outside the city. King and Meagher both reside outside the city.

SOURCE: News release from Logansport Mayor Dave Kitchell

Cass County Online