Huntingburg Council: Keystone Stellar project plans to be revealed in June
In June, the public will be able to view the proposed designs for three major Stellar projects.
Two Stellar subcommittees have been meeting for several months working on the proposed Market Street Park, Heritage Trail and Fourth Street Streetscape projects. On June 17 at 6 p.m., the City of Huntingburg will host a public meeting at the Old Town Hall to reveal the designs for those projects for the first time.
“We have had a series of meetings with the merchants and stakeholders in the downtown, while this is the first reveal to the general public, there has been a lot of public input to get us to this point. I want to applaud the committees that have worked together to get to this point,” Mayor Denny Spinner said. “I think the community will be very excited about the possibilities. These are two of the keystone projects for Stellar.”
After the public meeting, the city will create requests for proposals for engineering firms to complete the plans.
“The committees took broad concepts and narrowed them down to specifics that we know we want to be part of the projects,” Spinner said. “But, the real engineering work to make those ideas reality is yet to come.”
If everything continues as planned, the work on the projects should be underway in 2016.
The streetscape and park projects are likely the most visible projects in the Stellar plan due to the amount of traffic and the successful events held on Fourth Street and the Market Street area.
In other Stellar news, the work is moving along on the 9th Street extension connecting Monkhaus Drive to Styline Drive.
On June 1, the Huntingburg Redevelopment Commission will hold a public hearing on the Tax Increment Finance bonds being issued to pay for Stellar projects.
On June 15, the Department of Homeland Security will conduct a meeting at City Hall to receive comments and explain the project to move the Huntingburg Street Department out of a flood plain.
On June 27, the city will receive proposals from engineering firms to look at a building on the former St. Joseph’s Hospital property for consideration as the future location of the Huntingburg Senior Center. The building being considered is located on the west side of the property and is the most recent addition to the property.
The chosen engineering firm will conduct a study to determine if the building will work as the senior center’s location. The city is considering the building due to its proximity to the senior living development The Lofts at St. Joseph’s being built by Miller-Valentine on the north portion of the property.
The engineering firm will study the building and the grounds to determine how much land will need to be acquired for the project. Then, the city can make an offer to the current owner, Dr. Ijaz Mahmood.
The council also took the following actions.
–Approved ordinance 2015-13 Approving Economic Development Income Tax Revenues as a debt service reserve on Tax Increment Finance Bonds. The ordinance will pledge up to a $1 million in EDIT funds to the TIF bonds to be issued to pay for Stellar projects. Pledging the EDIT funds will assist in the sale of the bonds by further guaranteeing the bonds. (Story on this is here)
–Informed the council of an executive order by the mayor to amend the Capital Improvement Plan for the City of Huntingburg as part of the EDIT fund process for the TIF bonds. The capital improvement plan dictates how the EDIT funds will be applied to be used to pay for the TIF bonds if it becomes necessary to do so. At the current rate of collection in the TIF districts, the city will collect over two times the revenue needed to pay back the TIF bonds over their lifetime.
–Approved an ordinance authorizing the refunding of Sewage Works Revenue Bonds issued in 1995. In 1995, two bonds were issued for work on the city’s waste water plant. Those bonds will now be combined and refinanced to shorten the bond’s life by 4 years and lower the interest from 4.5 percent to 3 percent. This lowered the interest costs by 33 percent and saves the city about $326,000. Combining the bonds also improves the marketability of bonds that will be issued to pay for Stellar projects.
–Approved Energy Superintendent John Reutepohler selling a spare but obsolete transformer to another utility rather than scrapping it.
–Approved the purchase of two new transformers to be used for The Lofts at St. Joseph’s. One transformer will be installed and the second will be a spare. The cost for the two transformers is $25,084 from Cape Electrical Supply. Miller-Valentine has indicated they need electrical service to the senior living center in the next two months.
–Heard an update on potential sites for the solar panel array being installed by the Indiana Municipal Power Agency. According to Reutepohler, he recommended five alternative sites for the project and Dan Worral with IMPA eliminated two of those sites. There are now four sites in consideration, land near the Huntingburg Sewage Plant, land at the Huntingburg Airport, some unidentified farm land and the original site along Phoenix Drive. Each new site will require further investigation to determine if it is suitable for the solar panel park. The city decided to seek some alternative locations after residents adjacent to the Phoenix Drive site voiced concerns about having it there.
–Heard an update on the new Emergency Medical Services building. Painting to the exterior of the building is completed and Reutepohler asked for permission to add a gable over the front door and a pergola. He estimated his department could complete the work for less than a $1,000. The total spent on the remodel is about $145,000; the budget was set at $150,000. The council approved Reutepohler’s requests since he was still under the project budget.
–Approved contracting Midwestern Engineers for the Fourth Street Water Main project. (Story on that project here) The bid was $17,500 to provide engineering services for the water main project. According to Water Superintendent Todd Williams, Midwestern’s bid was about $5,900 less than the other bids received.
–A disaster readiness drill is scheduled for Saturday. The drill will involve a train derailment.
I don’t do Facebook or Twitter, but in reply to the comment by Mr. Engelberth about the TIF bonds pulling money away (from) schools, Lord only knows how much money the schools pull away from taxpayers (with, in my opinion, little in return these days), so I’m sure the schools will survive.
On the sites for the Solar Park, I thought the Phoenix site was already researched and recommended as the best site for a number of logical reasons. I can’t imagine any of the other alternative sites being financially or practically workable for obvious reasons. No one is suggesting the city run roughshod over its citizens and ignore their concerns, but they also shouldn’t cave to the knee-jerk political correctness of the day from NIMBY naysayers vs. the long-lasting, big-picture rewards deemed best for ALL citizens. This is a great project that everyone will benefit from for a long time and the Phoenix location next to the city’s existing electric sub-station (that giant, ugly erector set on the corner that no one seems to notice now that it’s been there a few years) makes the best sense. Move it forward, council – do what’s best for the overwhelming vast majority.
Finally, on the Medical Services Building, it was supposed to be improved. It white before – I thought this new, glaring white was just the primer preparation for a more cool or earthy color – maybe a tan or rust or light green, or even a two-tone. The white looks quite stark and unfinished, ready to vividly contrast dirt or a as a background (screen) for a movie. Please, paint it beyond primer-white.