One of the signature projects of Mayor Ted Franklin’s four years in office has been trying to find a way for Logansport Municipal Utilities to continue to make its own electricity. The city has negotiated with three different companies since the project was announced in November 2012. In October, a public hearing was scheduled and the Board of Works was expected to approve contracts with a company called SG Preston. At that meeting, the city’s attorney for the project asked that the company had asked for the vote to be delayed.
Yesterday, during Talk of the Town, the mayor gave an update on the project.
“I still feel good about where we’re at. I know that’s complicated and it’s a little elusive when I say that, but again, these negotiations, really every negotiation that we’ve had, has come with strings attached to it and those strings are confidentiality agreements, non-disclosure agreements. We can’t tell what’s going on because as soon as we do, it creates a number of different problems, frivolous lawsuits, but it also exposes the hand of the developer in that somebody else may try to capitalize on his ideas or his patents and those kind of things. So, we’re very careful not to do that. I’ve been criticized greatly for it and I I actually wear that as a badge of courage. The criticism on those things don’t bother me. If you’re going to do anything in the world of business, you’re going to have a confidentiality agreement and a nondisclosure agreement. It’s going to be really interesting to observe when a potential new project is announced and how much disclosure actually takes place -- that’s where the rubber meets the road. We’re still working on the power plant deal, though, not finished by any stretch, but it will be by December 31."
The incoming administration has expressed numerous concerns about the project, including the environmental impacts, the project’s financing and the money the city has spent pursuing the project, although the contracts say that money is to be repaid by the developer.
“It gets complicated again because we’re using Texas law, we’re using Pennsylvania law and we’re using Indiana law, and by the time you become compliant with all three states and find a willing escrow partner that’s willing to hold the money and be the administer of the money in Indiana, that’s really been, that’s been a little bit of a hurdle but not much, I think we’re over the hump on that so that doesn’t concern me a lot.”
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