Meet the manager candidates on Wednesday

Three hopefuls will be at the fire station at 1 p.m.

Residents have a chance to meet and talk to the three candidates for Laketown Township manager at a special meeting of the Laketown Township Board of Trustees and Manager Search Committee starting at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, at Graafschap Fire Department, 4534 60th St.

Light refreshments will be served.

About 3 p.m., the meeting will move to the township hall, 4338 Beeline Road, for a second round of interviews with the candidates.

At 5 p.m., the township Board of Trustees will have its regular workshop session where the board sets the agenda for the Nov. 13 regular meeting.

On Oct. 30, the search committee chose Robert Genetski, Brandon Mersman and Karen Sherwood for another round of interviews after about three-and-a-half hours of questions for five total candidates.

For more about the candidates, click here.

The search committee chose the five candidates on Oct. 23 from a field of about 40 applicants that was narrowed to 11.

Current Manager Al Meshkin announced in July his plans to retire Jan. 3, 2025. He has been manager for 35 years. The board hired the firm MGT in August for a cost of about $25,000 to conduct the search for his replacement.

In October, the township board established a Manager Search Committee consisting of the five-member township board plus three residents who won positions in the Republican primary on Aug. 6. Those three are on the ballot for the Nov. 5 General Election but face no competition.

They are Steven Ringelberg who is running unopposed for the position of supervisor, and Michael Koeman and Mark Timmerman who are running unopposed for trustee positions.