Tubbs excited for new year, new roles, and new goals
Village of West Lafayette Mayor Jessie Tubbs recently delivered her state of the village. Here is a copy of her speech.
We kicked off 2025 with swearing in Morgan Eckelberry as chief as our very own Chris Walters steps into his new role as sheriff. Sheriff Walters and Chief Eckleberry have some great ideas and plans in collaboration to better serve and protect our village residents. As the new chief buckles down on schedules and budgets, a new officer or two have joined the team and some needed repairs to the station have been discussed. They continue to keep our village safe, and we appreciate them for all that they do.
Our fire department has been diligently working to provide the best possible protection for our community and surrounding areas. They have added several new members to their crew and replaced some older equipment with much needed upgrades. This summer was very dry, and we are very thankful to have them minutes away in case of an emergency.
Our sewer department was number one, quite literally this year. Ryan Cottrell received the honor of being named the 2024 operator of the year in our district. Congrats to Ryan! As we prepare for the Storm Sewer Outfall Project to start in the next couple weeks, our two-man team has done a great job of getting ahead of the maintenance and annual projects to allow for more dedicated focus on the outfall project this spring. They have made our plant more efficient, increased septic revenue from haulers, and have been quick to respond to the needs of our community. They are an exceptional and valuable part of our team.
As we step back into the village, Tammy Hicks-Lindig has made strides in some sidewalk projects that will be installed this spring/early summer. Sidewalks will include a walking path on the football practice field from the high school/middle school parking lots to Union Avenue. We appreciate Ridgewood Local Schools and Mike Masloski and their collaboration on this section to keep our kids safely off Wall Street before and after school. A few minor connections to Russell and Main, and West Main Street from Oak to the Dollar General will allow our residents (especially hungry students) to safely walk to businesses. There will also be some sidewalks added to the north end of the village. Watch for some sidewalks on the east side of Kirk Street to JB’s Smoking BBQ and north Oak Street to encourage people to safely walk to Waterworks.
As we continue to see businesses pop up on Main Street and Railroad Street this year, watch for an epic transformation on Kirk Street as we welcome Baltic State Bank to our community. A restaurant is hopeful to open on Main Street, and several other businesses are looking to expand their spaces. We are excited to see our village bustling with small businesses, great opportunities, and legendary companies like Yankee Wire and Jones Metal who continue to grow and thrive.
Finding housing in our community has become more challenging. When you have the best school district in the area, everyone wants to be a General! We are working with a property owner who wants to develop lots in a new neighborhood. We are also talking with some larger companies who specialize in apartment housing and what that might look like in a couple areas around town.
Waterworks Park grew in the last couple of years and plans from Ridgewood Rec and WE R WL look promising for more growth this year. Last spring trees and benches were donated by individuals through WE R WL. This year they hope to add a soccer field and then another round of trees and benches. As Ridgewood Rec continues to grow, a fourth ball diamond is being discussed. The village administrator is looking at some final details for the splash pad before breaking ground on that project. Teamwork has and will continue to make big strides in our outdoor community areas.
Some other projects of interest include storm water projects that can help move the water that flows around the village and threatens potential flooding in several areas. A storm water study is being funded by the Mayor Partnership for Progress and conducted by CT Consultants to see how we may best move forward to protect the residents and our neighbors around our village. The village is working with Environmental Design Group to move forward with plans to repair a section of storm drain that has a sanitary sewer line running through it to eliminate the current blockage at the trunk of our storm drain system with hopes that we can add to our existing storm water system for some of the water issues.
The potential for village wide trash is also on the urgent current list of to-dos. Tammy has worked with the council and reached out to Coshocton and other communities that have trash service to see what best works. She is in the final process of what the bid specifications look like and what exactly we would want to see from a trash company. That should go out to bid very soon.
Amy Bourne, our fiscal officer keeps us on track and our budget is ready to use for 2025. Her efforts do not go unnoticed. The suggestion she made after meeting with a financial advisor to move funds has proven to be a winning idea. She met with investors and banks to see where our investment accounts could possibly do better, made that move, and our accounts continue to grow in an even more positive direction. RITA (our village income tax administrator) has sent letters to potential residents who may not have filed their village taxes. This program pulls from their system and allows us to update if someone has moved and has collected a nice amount from those who maybe didn’t know they were expected to pay taxes to the village. Amy continues to go above and beyond the duties to make sure that we continue to be the best stewards for our village with continued education, grant opportunities, and research on best practices.
With the help of the Coshocton Foundation Grant, our street department made the intersection at Kirk and Main safer with flashing stop signs. There are also flashing pedestrian signs at Railroad and Kirk and Plainfield Road near the apartments. The street department also added stop bars to intersections, maintain our parks, clear our streets of snow, and continue to step up when needed for other duties. This is another experienced team of two men and John and Bobby can fix most anything they put their mind to which proves to be a savings so often.
Another hurdle for the village is the renewal levy for the general operation of the village that failed in the November election. While the cost of electricity, repairs, engineering, and life in general have increased tremendously over the past couple decades, this levy is a renewal based on property values and needs from 2005. This is not a new tax, and we hope that it is successful in the next election in May.
As the world changes, we are taking steps to make sure our employees are safe. In the West Lafayette Village, all threats will be taken seriously, and charges will be pressed. No one should ever feel unsafe if we can possibly prevent it and we have taken steps toward a more secure facility.
As the snow turns to mud, then sun, and then leaves year after year, West Lafayette continues to be the best little village. We have so much to make us proud and the efforts to make things better cannot be beat. Welcome to 2025! Go Generals!
Category: Government
