State Representative Lee Chatfield recognized by LSSU Board of Trustees

May 11, 2018

The Lake Superior State University Board of Trustees recognized State Rep. Lee Chatfield (R-Levering) for his efforts in supporting necessary campus electrical grid upgrades during the May 11 public session board meeting.

The electrical grid upgrade project is a multi-year, multi-phase project which includes two primary cable replacements and removal of old cable. The total project cost for the first phase is estimated to be $420,000. Thanks to Chatfield’s efforts, state funding will cover $300,000.

“The electrical grid which powers our campus has approached the end of its useful life,” said VP of Finance Morrie Walworth. “Recent outages that occurred because of power failures resulted in approximately $200,000 worth of damage, loss of three academic days, and an estimated $120,000 worth of lost revenue for Lake State.”

State Rep. Chatfield sponsored the $300,000 state appropriation in the Michigan House of Representatives and helped to get the legislation passed and signed into law.

“Representative Chatfield’s support for this project has allowed the university to upgrade the power lines which will provide students, staff, and the community with more reliable and secure electrical services on campus,” said LSSU President Peter T. Mitchell.

[su_quote cite=”Lee Chatfield, State Representative” ]Thank you for this honor. LSSU has a lot of great things going on which I am glad to be a part of. [/su_quote]

Cable replacement is currently underway and the project is going as planned.  Full power is expected to be restored by Sunday, May 13.