Huntingburg Council: Street superintendent to take over as water superintendent

Huntingburg’s Street Superintendent Jason Stamm will step into a new role with the city.

He will take over as water superintendent effective immediately. But, he isn’t leaving the street department.

In 2012, the city changed the Utility Superintendent position into two positions, a gas and electrical utilities superintendent and a water superintendent. With the new move, the city is going to slowly integrate a similar situation with the street department and water utility.

According to Stamm, the two have a lot in common.

“You have 95 percent of the water lines running under the street and the street department will work with distribution on that,” he said.

With his background in water distribution, Stamm said he is up to speed on that portion of the city’s water infrastructure and he is confident he will acquire the necessary licensure. He will also have to obtain a water plant operator license.

According to Mayor Denny Spinner, Stamm was the best candidate among the applications the city received. “We looked at internal and external candidates to determine who could be the best leader for that department,” he said. “Jason as the street superintendent has demonstrated the proficiency to run a department. With some council members’ input, we feel that Jason has the qualities to lead the department.”

Stamm said he will be leaning on the foremen in the two departments to ensure things run smoothly.

The council approved a plan to have Stamm step up at the water department for the next 90 days. Then, the council will review how the new position is panning out before deciding if it will be permanent.

“We will take a hard look at how both departments are running,” Mayor Spinner said. “We want to make a decision that is right for both the street department and the water department as well as the taxpayers and ratepayers of Huntingburg.”

Stamm will replace Gregg Miller, who announced his plan to step down from the position in May. He replaced Todd Williams, who announced his resignation in January.

The council also took the following actions:

-Approved moving the August 23 regular council meeting to August 31.

-Approved the purchase of a new copier for City Hall for $7,492 from Hoosier Business Machines; the same amount the city paid for the copier it is replacing. The current copier is eight years old but it will be moved upstairs to continue to be used while the new machine will take over as primary.

-Heard the city had received a conditional approval to issue certificates of occupancy while the ordinance is under review. It is expected to be approved in August. A certificate of occupancy certifies a building’s compliance with applicable building codes and other laws, and indicates it is in a condition suitable for occupancy. Since the city did not have an ordinance covering the certificate of occupancy, developers were required to take on the added expense to have it completed.

-Heard the application for the Community Connections grant funded through House Bill 1001 is set to be completed and will be submitted to the Indiana Department of Transportation by the July 29th deadline. The matching grants will pay for projects on South 400 West, North Washington Street, 11th Street and 12 Street.

-Heard the State of the City Address will be given at the Huntingburg Event Center at 8 a.m. Friday, July 22. Southwest Dubois County School Corporation Superintendent Mike Eineman will also give an update on the school corporation.

-An open house will be held at the newly renovated police station Sunday, July 31. The time is yet to be determined.