Board picks 5 candidates to interview for manager post

The Laketown Township Board of Trustees agreed Wednesday, July 9, 2025, to invite five candidates for interviews for the manager position.

No names were released – the applicants were referred to by numbers – to maintain anonymity as requested by the candidates under the Open Meetings Act.

The names will be released after the candidates agree to the interviews which will be in public. The interviews will start at 5 p.m. Monday, July 14, at the township hall, 4338 Beeline Road. Each interview will take about an hour.

Two of the candidates will be offered the option to interview via Zoom or, if they choose an in-person interview, they will be reimbursed for “reasonable” travel expenses.

The board held two closed sessions in accordance with the Open Meetings Act to narrow the 45 candidates to five for interviews.

Longtime Manager Al Meshkin retired earlier this year. After finalists for the manager position declined offers in January, the board put the search on hold while members received training on the manager-council form of government from an outside firm and learned to better work together.

On June 11, the board unanimously agreed to begin advertising the full-time manager position with a salary and incentive compensation range of $115,000 to $135,000 not including benefits.

After the July 14 interviews, final candidate(s) will attend a meet-and-greet at Graafschap Fire Department, 4534 60^th St., at 11 a.m. July 21. At 6 p.m. that day, final interviews will be held with the board at the township hall.