Last Updated on April 28, 2019 by cassnetwork
A mainstay on the third floor of Logansport’s City Building will be calling it a career in June.
Deb Beattie, who has served in the Building Commissioner’s Office for more than 21 years, is retiring June 28. Earlier in the current administration, she gained the distinction of being the first female building commissioner in city history. Prior to that, she had been administrative assistant, issuing thousands of building permits for local projects.
“I have really enjoyed being in that office and learning all I could to further the position,” Beattie said Friday. “I will miss all my co-workers and others in different departments that I have had the privilege of working with, and I wish my successor the best of luck in the position.”
Mayor Dave Kitchell said she has been a plus employee for the city spanning five mayoral administrations and seven building commissioners.
“She’s a role model for young women and girls because she broke the ‘glass ceiling’ in that office, and she’s a major reason we’ve been able to reduce the number of condemned properties in the city,” Kitchell said. “She’s the reason why more property owners are working with the city to bring properties in compliance to avoid fines and legal problems.
“She has gone above and beyond to find housing for people who have to move from homes that aren’t structurally safe, and that’s not something she’s paid to do. It’s something she wants to do.”
The mayor officiated Beattie’s wedding to her husband Don in what is believed to be the first marriage ceremony involving a department head conducted in the City Building.
A 1971 Caston High School graduate, she has been employed with United Way of Cass County, Rural King, Reid Roofing and Walmart. She is the mother of two adult children and five grandchildren. She is certified as a commercial building inspector, a residential building inspector, a residential mechanical inspector, a residential plumbing inspector and a residential electrical inspector through the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. She also is certified in residential building inspection through the International Code Council.
SOURCE: News release from Logansport Mayor Dave Kitchell