By DAVE KITCHELL, Pharos-Tribune staff writer
Rick Eller and Mike Fincher spoke from the same podium and talked about different priorities and different reasons to think 2006 will be a good one for the city and county.
“The state of the county is good,” said Eller, leading off with his State of the County Address at the Logansport/Cass County Chamber of Commerce Awards Luncheon Wednesday afternoon.
Eller said for the first time in years, Cass County enters the year with its account balances in the black, and he credited department heads and officeholders for making sacrifices. (He is president of the county commissioners.)
Securing a new ethanol plant for the community is a plus for the local economy, Eller said, and will add high-paying jobs while raising corn prices in Cass and surrounding counties.
Eller said the $1.2 million purchase of the Dilling Mechanical properties at Sixth and High streets will enable county government to do many things it could not do before, and save a monthly lease fee with Logan Square where Probation Department offices have been located.
Eller also said a commitment has been voiced by the commissioners to address the need for a new animal shelter this year, but he conceded that some people do not want to spend money at all for a shelter while others want to spend a great deal.
Fincher unveiled a tri-fold brochure and a Power Point presentation in his third State of the City Address.
“During the last campaign, nearly every candidate, including myself, stated that we needed to run the city more like a business,” Fincher said. “Every good business from time to time will reinvest in itself. By that, I mean they will look to the future and see the type of improvements that may be needed to make the company more profitable, more competitive and more attractive to potential investors and potential customers.”
Fincher said his administration will work with Ivy Tech and state legislators to complete the planning and funding of a new campus off the Hoosier Heartland Corridor south of Logansport. Plans call for East Clinton Street to be extended from Humphrey Street to 18th Street through the campus, he said.
Millions have already been invested by Japanese interests in Fort Wayne and Lafayette, and this spring, Fincher said a local delegation will attempt to lure investment to Logansport with a trip to Japan.
Fincher said community leaders have to come up with new ideas to succeed in economic development. Many factors are pieces of a puzzle, he said, as images of community neighborhoods flashed in puzzle piece icons behind him at the Logansport Mall Community Room.
“In other words, we should be willing to go anywhere, anytime, to promote this community.”
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