By Christy Jensen

March 23, 2007 | LOGAN -- The Logan City Council broke its record for its longest meeting Tuesday night after it deliberated for five hours over major topics including the Dry Canyon Project and the Intermountain Power Plant Unit No. 3.

The council meeting, which ran from 6:15 p.m. until 11:56 p.m., consisted mostly of public comment on both the Dry Canyon Project and IPP 3. Logan residents who came to the council meeting to express their opinion during the public hearing portions of each topic were limited to two minutes each to allow enough time for all those who wanted to speak.

The Dry Canyon Project was the first action item on the agenda to be opened for public hearing. The proposed project would have either a dam or basins put in Dry Canyon to prevent future flash floods like the one that occurred in 1977, since it has been predicted that Cache Valley is due for such a flood.

Residents in the Dry Canyon and Cliffside areas were worried about the $5 million price tag and the change in scenery that the project would create. Others expressed that putting in a basin or dam would eliminate the possibility of their house being in a flood plain, thereby making it easier to sell their house when the time comes and not requiring them to buy flood insurance.

After an hour of public hearing the council brought the issue back and discussed it. Council member Stephen Thompson, who was away on business, joined the meeting via phone, saying he could not support the proposed project.

The council voted 4-1 to approve the project.

The council's next order of business was the proposal of Logan being on board with the building of IPP 3, an addition to the coal power plant in Delta, Utah, that would increase the amount of Logan's power from coal. Fifty Logan residents came to voice their opinions on the issue.

Two fifth-grade girls spoke during the public hearing for IPP 3 and submitted a petition that many of their classmates had signed rejecting the plan for Logan to receive more coal-based power. Charles Ashurst, a Logan City resident also submitted a petition with 67 signatures and said Logan has enough power right now to cover its basic needs.

Logan residents said the proposed plant No. 3 will not only affect global warming but the health of future generations of Cache Valley residents. The opinion was also expressed that putting in coal power seems backwards since Logan should invest in the future of power and move beyond what speakers called 19th century thinking. Many citizens who spoke in opposition of IPP 3 encouraged the city to look to alternative sources of energy such as solar power, wind and geothermal energy.

Other citizens disagreed saying that coal is burning cleaner now than it ever has before and that Logan should invest time and money into it as a cheaper and more reliable way of getting power.

The public hearing went on for over an hour before the council brought it back for council discussion. Council members were not shy on voicing their support for it as well as their opposition to the project. Council member Laraine Swenson said she would not vote for more coal power and could not support it. Council members Tami Pyfer and Stephen Thompson were adamant about supporting IPP 3 and agued for the support in the usage of coal power

City Council Chairman Steven Taylor said, "We need to make a statement [by denying this proposal], Logan doesn't even represent 1 percent of the world's population, but by taking this stand we are setting a standard."

Taylor's remarks were received with applause by the Logan City residents who came to speak in the public hearing. The city council voted 3-2 on the motion to reject using IPP 3 for any source of power and is instead looking to find power in geothermal, hydro and wind forms of energy to support them after their contract runs out with IPP in 16 years.

The next council meeting will be at 6:16 p.m. April 3 in the council chambers at 255 N. Main.

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