City council to swear in new councilor, vote on energy ordinance tonight
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 11/02/2009
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Tonight will be the first city council meeting for newly appointed councilor Jon Hoggatt.
Hoggatt is replacing Democrat Paul Roales, who stepped down from the council after moving out of City District 1 and into State House District 26 so he could run for the seat in November 2010.
Hoggatt is a 2005 Purdue graduate and secretary of the West Lafayette Police Merit Commission. He attends the Indiana University School of Medicine Indianapolis. Hoggatt will be sworn in at the start of the council meeting.
“We’re looking forward to a new angle of questioning and a new point of view,” said Clerk-Treasurer Judy Rhodes.
For a PDF of the council's agenda for Monday's meeting, click here.
An ordinance lifting restrictions on importing certain types of waste from outside corporate city limits is also on the agenda for the meeting. City councilor Ann Hunt, D-District 3, said the ordinance, if passed, would help the city import restaurant grease to be used in the digesters at the wastewater treatment plant. The digesters break down food waste and convert it into electricity.
“Our wastewater treatment plant has a couple of new capabilities,” said Hunt. “We built this structure over the last few years, and it was anticipated that we would be able to accept fats, oils and grease. It will cut down our very large electric bill. If you speed up the process of breaking down all this stuff, it saves you money.”
Hunt said she expects the ordinances on the agenda to pass at the meeting.
“I don’t think there will be much controversy at the council meeting,” she said.
The city council had a special budget meeting Thursday and approved the 2010 budget.
“The budget carries forward several streamlining initiatives that we used in last year’s budget,” Rhodes said. “It won overwhelming bipartisan support.”
Rhodes said West Lafayette is not immune to budget difficulties.
“All municipalities are expecting revenue streams will diminish in the future,” she said. “And this budget positions the city to be able to carry on in the situation where we may see reduced revenue available to the city to deliver services.”