Huntingburg Common Council meeting – August 23
Meeting notes:
Revive the Pride Listening Sessions
Mayor Denny Spinner spoke briefly about the recent listening sessions. There were over 200 items brought to the city’s attention and he was happy with the turnout and wanted to thank the citizens for attending. Tonya Brothers-Bridge, the facilitator of the sessions, will be presenting the data to the Council at the Council meeting scheduled for Sept. 13.
Volunteer groups
A group from St. Mary’s Catholic Church and Salem United Church of Christ will be getting together on Sept. 8 at 7:30a.m. to 11:30 to work at the daycare center, the city park and First Street from main to the park. Working with the street and parks department. People interested in taking part or volunteering can e-mail Nancy Menke at ServeOthers@gmail.com for information.
Central Christian Church on Sept. 16 will have their second annual Get Out Day. They are expecting about 150 people to be working on 15 projects throughout the town including home repair, clean up, painting and even giving away free oil changes for single moms and the elderly.
Abandoned property demolished
The mayor also reported the abandoned buildings at 711 Seventh Street was demolished and the Old Tattoo Parlor at 1019 North Main Street should be done by the end of the month.
Gas contract
Tony Traylor presented the council with the Midwestern Gas Transmission extension for November 1 to October 31 of next year. The City will pay18 cents per decathermal; 2 cents less than the previous contract. Traylor said this was due to lower transmission fees on the gas company being passed to the costumers. The council approved the new contract.
Utility Review
Traylor met with Utility Service Incorporated to sign contracts for the water tower project. The City will begin drawing the water down on the tank soon and work should start Sept. 5. The tower work should be done within 35 days.
Atrazine lawsuit
Huntingburg joined the atrazine lawsuit. Traylor stated between 1994 and 1999 atrazine was detected in the city water supply. It wasn’t detected at high enough amounts for customer disclosure and the city did not remove it from the water.
He told the council the lawsuit amount would be determined by the number of litigants, the length of time it was in the city’s water and the number of people affected. He said it could be about $10,000.
Sygenta is the Swiss company being sued by over 2000 groups for the clean-up of the chemical commonly found in its herbicides. Jasper removes the chemical from the city water supply that comes from Patoka River. Atrazine has been linked to cancer and some birth defects.
Energize Indiana energy efficiency initiative and Herbstfest fundraising opportunity
Traylor and Energize Indiana representative Dan Worrel met with several business owners in Huntingburg to talk about energy efficiency. Energizing Indiana is a united effort by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, participating utilities, and consumer organizations to offer comprehensive energy efficiency programs that bring savings to communities across the state. (got this from their site)
The City has partnered with Tri-Cap to have a booth at the upcoming Herbstfest about the Energize Indiana initiative. Traylor stated local non-profit organizations can raise money through a special program with the Energize Indiana Initiative. For each person they get to sign up and complete an energy audit they get $25. Traylor stated interested non-profit organizations can volunteer at the booth to potential raise funds.
Explore compressed natural gas conversions for city vehicles
Traylor then asked the council for permission to explore using compressed natural gas for the city’s vehicles. He told the conversions were available for existing vehicles but it would require infrastructure being built. He stated they could explore partnering with the county or another community to pay for the infrastructure.
Councilman Steve McPherron stated he thought it was a good idea but didn’t want the city driving vehicles long distances to be refueled.
The council gave Traylor permission to explore the idea and present his findings.
Compound bow target shooting in city limits
Councilman Alex Blackgrove introduced discussion on archery target practice in city limits.
Council adjourned.
