MID’s next general manager now runs the water and power utility for a Minnesota city
The next general manager for the Modesto Irrigation District comes from a water and power utility in Minnesota.
Bill Schwandt will take over Dec. 1 at MID, following 28 years as GM at Moorhead Public Service. It serves a city of about 45,000 people, just across the Red River from Fargo, N.D.
The MID board voted unanimously Tuesday morning to hire Schwandt at a salary of about $277,000 a year. He will oversee about 400 employees and a budget proposed at about $434 million for 2021.
MID provides Tuolumne River water to about 58,000 acres of farmland and to a treatment plant that supplements city wells in Modesto and a few other locales. The district has about 130,000 electricity customers.
Schwandt will succeed interim GM Ed Franciosa, who has served since the retirement of Scott Furgerson early this year.
“Bill’s strong leadership and strategic vision will drive our continued efforts to maintain operational excellence and protect our long-standing water rights,” MID board President Paul Campbell said in a news release. “We look forward to the ideas and innovations he will bring to MID.”
Schwandt has spent a total of 35 years with the Moorhead utility and is a registered professional engineer in Minnesota. He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from North Dakota State University and a master’s in business administration from Minnesota State University.
“MID has a rich history and steadfast commitment to providing safe, reliable, affordable services,” he said in the release. “I’m looking forward to immersing myself in the organization and serving this community.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 2:27 PM.
