We’re hitting the roads – and streets – and maybe doing more

Last Updated on June 4, 2017 by cassnetwork

We’ve invited Logansport Mayor Dave Kitchell to share updates from the city in a monthly column on CassCountyOnline.com.

May is always a month for celebrating graduations and preparing for a holiday as a benchmark in the year.

As we passed that mark on Memorial Day weekend, Logansport headed into the summer after one of the best months our administration has enjoyed so far.

For starters, our unemployment rate dropped to 3 percent – the lowest level in 17 years. A drive through the Cass/Logansport Industrial Park this week shows the demand for qualified workers in our local economy is out there. Three different firms have posted signs indicating they are looking for applicants. Logansport was ranked among the top 200 cities nationally for first-time home buyers. That puts us in the upper 1 percent of 30,000 cities studied. Our month concluded with word from the Environmental Protection Agency that Logansport and its partners, Eel Township and Fulton County, had been awarded a $600,000 Brownfield grant – the largest Brownfield grant awarded in Indiana.

Jobs are in the process of being added at Logansport Memorial Hospital. The city and county have committed $500,000 in economic development funds for a new cancer center and newborn unit.

Some other developments during the month were more visible – none more so than paving on East Market Street and East Broadway. This paving was funded through last year’s initial round of Community Crossings state grant money totaling $1 million for the city. Street Commissioner Tony Shanks and his staff have not yet used half the funding allocated to us, but we’re already seeing results. Jodi Coblentz, our city engineer who worked with us on this project, told the city council that on a scale of 1 to 10, our roads now rank about 5.5. She projects it will take the existing funding we have and another round of it next year to get us halfway through the list of needed road and street projects we have. In sum, we need about $8 million to repair or repave all the needed places that need it. It won’t happen in one year, but we will endeavor to catch up in areas throughout the city that need it most.

Industrial park board members from the city and county met. Expansion of the park south of Logansport on Ind. 29 is being considered.

We are beginning a campaign to fight heroin and stem the growing tide of addiction not just in Cass County, but throughout the state.

The Logansport Mall and the Marsh supermarket bankruptcy continue to be challenges we face every day. On a positive note, one firm interested in redeveloping the mall sent representatives to meet with me last month. Our discussions are ongoing, and there also are efforts to the lone remaining space in Cass Plaza. Two supermarket chains have acknowledged an interest in Logansport’s current and former Marsh locations, but there is nothing definite yet. We’re blessed to have seven other employers who have stepped up to indicate an interest in hiring workers displaced by the J.C. Penney and Marsh closings. We will do everything we can to find grocers for areas of our city who need them and to find jobs for the employees who may find themselves without a paycheck soon.

I don’t want this opportunity to pass without complimenting the work Cemetery Sexton Bob Bernhardt and his staff did in preparing Mount Hope Cemetery for our Memorial Day observance. It was truly a patriotic setting that was well-manicured and trimmed.

In closing, the recent spring rains have made it difficult for many properties to be mowed. Logansport residents, for the most part, have done a decent job of maintaining their properties through this “monsoon” season we’ve endured. It’s made our job easier at a time when we have some major properties to maintain, including the former Trelleborg plant on the west side. It’s also made our city more appealing and it’s clear our pride has been showing and reflected in homes throughout the city. Thank you for taking pride in properties, and in some cases, even properties you don’t own.

As always, it is a privilege to serve as your mayor. If you have any comments, concerns or questions, please feel free to contact me at (574) 753-2551, or at dkitchell@cityoflogansport.org.

Dave Kitchell is the mayor of Logansport.