By DAVE KITCHELL, Pharos-Tribune staff writer
Lee Majors they weren't, but the five who made a bond issue happen in two quick readings Monday were literally $6 million men.
Four Logansport City Council members voted to suspend rules and have a second reading on an ordinance allowing The Andersons Inc. to benefit from a municipal bond that will build pollution control facilities at the new ethanol plant in Clymers.
A fifth councilman, Skip Kuker, abstained from voting on the project because he was presenting it for approval on behalf of his full-time employer, the Logansport-Cass County Economic Development Foundation. Kuker is the foundation president.
If The Andersons defaults on bond payments or goes out of business, the city will not be liable for the balance of the bond.
"This is just a pass-through," said Kuker, meaning the city issues the bonds in its name, but absorbs none of the liability.
Though city ordinances require two readings for passage, council members, with Kuker voting, voted 5-0 to suspend rules to consider the ordinance a second time.
After the meeting, Kuker said the plant was on schedule to open March 1. The plant will employ about 40, but the impact of its opening might already be apparent in the forward pricing of corn for ethanol production. Kuker said one local businessman had a contract to sell corn well over $3 a bushel. That is the highest price paid for corn in some time.
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