Huntingburg Council: Market Street Park steps forward

Four Huntingburg residents made comments at the public hearing on the Market Street Park Stellar Project Tuesday evening.

Two commended the city’s efforts in moving forward on the Stellar Project while two others had questions about the plans for the new park.

Crystal Buehler told the council she and her family moved to Huntingburg about eight years ago. “I live right in downtown Huntingburg, not even a block from Market Street,” she said. “And I have become very excited about our little town of Huntingburg. With the Stellar projects and the new Market Street Park project, it’s really incentivized us and our family to stay here and see these projects happen.”

She added that the new park would allow greater accessibility for those in wheelchairs or families with young children in strollers to attend the popular events there.

Cory Menke said he and his family were very excited to see the park move forward. “What we like the most out of this is how it highlights our Old Town Hall,” he said. “It is very personal to me. My grandmother has invested a ton of time and money into that facility to make it the proud structure it is today.”

He said he would like to see the Old Town Hall continue to grow as a destination event center for the city. “I am very excited for it,” Menke said.

Alan Fritz asked if the city would be purchasing additional property to build the park. Ed Curtin of CWC Latitudes LLC, a consulting firm in the project, explained the city would likely purchase the sliver of property that runs from Fourth Strret between Current Blend and China Wok to the existing parking lot on Market Street. This would create access to Market Street from Fourth Street.

Mayor Denny Spinner explained they are speaking with OFS Brands, the owner of the property, to negotiate a purchase agreement.

Peter Murphy, who owns a residence at 305 N. Geiger Street just south of the parking lot for the Old Town Hall, questioned whether he would still have access to his property through a driveway from the parking lot. The current preliminary plan does not show access to the driveway.

Mayor Spinner said he was glad Murphy brought the issue to their attention and it would be something they would take under consideration as they move forward with finalizing the plans.

Spinner told the council that the new park was a wonderful addition to the city. “It creates a space in the heart of the downtown for events and activities,” he said. “It will meet a variety of needs for small gatherings to large events such as the Garden Gate Festival and Haunted Huntingburg.”

“It’s exactly the type of space that creates the quality of life that is vital to attracting new residents to our community,” he added.

The public hearing is necessary for the city to receive the funding allocated to Stellar by the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA).

The park is estimated to cost about $2,936,150 to complete and OCRA has dedicated $1.4 million to it. The remaining amount will be paid from three sources: $500,000 in Tax Increment Finance funds; $250,000 from the Economic Development Income Tax fund; and $286,150 from the Stellar Endowment held by the Dubois County Community Foundation.

The application to receive the funding from OCRA will be submitted this month and funding is expected to be approved in April.

The new park will be accessible from Fourth Street with a seated area that flows into a performance area near the Old Town Hall. The covered parking will also create a shaded area for the weekly farmers market held there. A legacy wall will recognize the donors that made the park a reality. The Leadership Academy project #ChalkTalk will also place four chalkboards in the park.

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The project will start this year and be completed by late 2017.

Spinner commented that the Stellar Community Endowment through the Dubois County Community Foundation will be a lasting legacy to support the Stellar projects for perpetuity.

The council also took the following actions:

-Approved hiring two new water utility employees, Jason Voegerl and Jace Merkel, to replace employees that are expected to be leaving the utility. Water Utility Superintendent Gregg Miller said the new employees will be hired as surface  service technicians. Miller added he would like to have all employees at the utility trained as water plant operators in the future.

-Approved an easement for a private access road to the Huntingburg Solar Park being created by the Indiana Municipal Power Agency adjacent to Phoenix Drive. The drive will access the property from the east though property owned by the city adjacent to a substation.