OTHELLO — Shawn Logan said he’s running for a new term as Othello mayor because some projects still need to be finished and some questions still need to be answered. 

“There has been a lot of progress in the city of Othello over the last 12 years. I remember when I ran 12 years ago, one of the main questions I was asking at the time – and it seems like now it becomes even more important (is), ‘What kind of city do we want to be in five years, in 10 years?’” Logan said. “The reason I’m running again is because I think that question is still being answered. It hasn’t been completely answered yet.” 

Logan said he wants to focus on families and children and creating a sustainable water supply, if reelected. 

Logan is being challenged for the mayor’s job by Ken Johnson.  

Othello officials plan to build a water treatment facility that would give the city an alternative water source, a project that’s been ongoing for about a decade. Logan said his first priority is to finish that project. The focus is on setting up a sustainable supply for the next three decades or so. 

“Diversifying our water source will help,” he said. “Through canal water, and building a water treatment plant, will enhance our ability to grow and have industry be able to locate here to create more jobs and more opportunities for the community.”  

Logan said Othello is changing as it grows. 

“With its growth over the last 20 years, you’re going to see a transformation in this county, in that the city of Othello is beginning to outgrow some of the previous relationships we’ve had with the county,” he said.  

Othello’s population and assessed value is growing faster than the rest of Adams County, Logan said, and in his opinion, that means changing in ways sensible ways while maintaining solid relationships and focusing on residents. 

“I think we can be a good neighbor to all our friends in the county, and I think we can be a good neighbor to these other institutions. But I think the direction that the city is heading is to look for the interest of the citizens of Othello,” he said. 

City officials and the Othello City Council attempted to reach an agreement with Adams County Pet Rescue and Adams County Fire District 5, Logan said, but those efforts were unsuccessful. 

“Our priority was to the citizens of Othello, and we needed to focus on that,” he said. 

Logan said Othello faces other important issues, the Othello Community Pool being one of them, and developing parks and recreation opportunities in general. 

“The continued development of facilities in our parks and rec program, and the continued investment in families and children in this community. For me, that’s a big issue,” Logan said. 

Managing growth is another area of focus for him, he said. 

“The water treatment plant development, a new swimming pool, probably a new wastewater treatment facility and continued business growth. Options – people want options in this city. They want to have more places to eat out, they want places to shop and we need to (continue creating) that environment,” Logan said. 

Land has been annexed, and other annexation requests are pending. Logan said to request annexations; the city doesn’t initiate them.  

“The size of the city is going to grow with these annexations, the opportunity for more business, more jobs. Those are the things that I want to see happen in the next four years, because Othello is ready for that kind of growth, and I believe they want that kind of growth,” Logan said.  

The city has a strong staff, he said, and in his opinion, city officials have done a lot of work to improve Othello. He cited the Othello Police Department and upgrades to city parks and roads as examples.  

“You have to take care of what you have,” he said. “Trying to reach for more doesn’t really resonate with people when you’re not even taking care of what you have. That’s a big deal for me. We’ve got to take care of things.” 

Logan said if he’s reelected, it will be important to start planning for the next mayor. He is both mayor and city administrator, and said that he foresees city officials splitting those two roles apart when a new mayor is sworn in.  

Logan is an Othello native and has run his own business since 1983, he said. He became the city administrator at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“That was a real challenge, and we stuck together as a community, and we got through that. Now I think it’s time to begin to accelerate and shift a gear and go towards these things that are going to make Othello better,” he said.