State of Huntingburg; City moving forward prepared for growth

Huntingburg Mayor Denny Spinner gave his fourth State of the City address Monday morning.

In his remarks, Spinner spoke about progress on the city’s Stellar Community projects and acknowledged the fast track some have taken, commending those volunteer committees for pushing the projects forward.

He credited the success of the Stellar Community designation on those volunteers that stepped up when the city put out a call for assistance to achieve the Stellar designation. “On August 14 [2014] we did, in fact, become a Stellar community,” Spinner said in his remarks. “This would not have been possible without the hard work, positive leadership, and vision of a committee made up of citizens who truly love Huntingburg and the community as a whole.”

“Stellar has been a focus for us,” Spinner said, “but not the only focus over the past year.”

According to the mayor, many of the projects completed have been in support of future Stellar projects. “There has been much investment in infrastructure over the past year,” he said. “Our leadership in each department has stepped and provided a great service to our community. We have remained focused on the fact that we have to meet those everyday needs and enhance them in order to build on them for Stellar projects in the future.”

The police and fire departments will see significant improvements.

Work has begun on a $978,000 expansion and renovation of the Huntingburg Police Department. The project will increase the amount of training and administrative space as well as an update in equipment. Specifically, a school shooting drill demonstrated the need for the department to update its radio equipment.

Work has also begun on an $804,000 expansion of the 11th Street Fire Station and the Huntingburg Redevelopment Commission recently approved purchasing a new ladder truck for $678,000. The department has also added four new volunteer firefighters this year. Spinner pointed out that these improvements and additions increase the city’s fire rating that impacts the insurance costs for residents and businesses.

In addition to the fire and police services seeing upgrades, the gas storage garage was converted to a new ambulance bay serving Huntingburg and the surrounding area. “This station is now the showcase for the county ambulance service,” Spinner remarked.

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A 100-plus-year-old water main will be replaced on Fourth Street using a special construction technique that will mitigate the amount of impact on businesses in the iconic historic district. Additionally, the city refinanced several bonds to save over $100,000 in interest and free up about $350,000 of the water department’s debt utility service funds to go towards the project.

The wastewater department will soon go through a $4 million upgrade to handle the growth on the city’s northside.

The Huntingburg Transit van is very busy. This year, the usage is up by over 700 boardings compared to the same time last year; 35% of those boardings are residents going to and from work.

The Street Department has continued to update sidewalks and curbs to be compliant with Americans With Disabilities (ADA) standards. Since the last state of the city address, the street department has completed over $200,000 in curb and street projects, paving ten streets and replacing sidewalks in seven different locations. This year’s scheduled work includes eight paving projects.

The electric department finished converting the 4KV service to 12.5KV service. This project began in the 80s and was completed in July. The higher voltage service is more stable.

The gas department is expanding, adding 12 miles of two- and four-inch gas mains to bring in 45 new customers. Another four miles is planned for this year.

The city recently revealed Stellar plans for the creation of the Market Street Park. Here is a flyover video.

In parks, the walking trails at Niehaus Park were expanded, two playgrounds were improved, and the new gazebo at the City Park is almost complete. Poured concrete walls were also added to League Stadium.

In regards to League Stadium, ticket sales exceeded $70,000 which according to the Dubois County Visitors Center, translated to about $126,000 in local economic impact. Through the agreement with the Dubois County Bombers, the city will receive about $10,000 in revenue that will be reinvested in improvements to League Stadium.

The mayor also announced that Park Director Jim Rueger will retire in 2016. Rueger has served the city for 38 years. The mayor remarked that under Rueger’s leadership the city has developed one of the finest parks in the state.

In addition to the moves by the city, the Stellar designation has increased private investment in the city.

Miller-Valentine Group is continuing construction on The Lofts of St. Joseph’s at the former hospital property. The facility is expected to open in the spring of 2016.

Huntingburg also recently announced the creation of Hunters Crossing, a major subdivision created by Boxer Girl LLC and Jagoe Homes will create over 100 new workforce homes. The subdivision will also include the city’s newest park.

The Miller-Valentine Group and Boxer Girl LLC projects are estimated to be a $20 million investment in the community that will continue to increase the city’s income from public utilities and property taxes.

The city also recently approved a $26,000 loan from the city’s revolving loan fund to Brain Squared, LLC, dba GameKnight, to help with the purchase of their building on 4th Street. According to the mayor, the city is currently reviewing two other similar loans for businesses.

A local entrepreneurial initiative created the county’s first coworking space, Current Blend, on Fourth Street through a combination of private and public partnerships.

The mayor closed in his given manner of calling for the city to be the best it can be. “Strides have been made, and with the help of the City Council, the work of all the boards and commissions, with input and support from all sectors of the community, and with God’s guidance, we will continue to be a progressive, positive and proud City Like No Other,'” Spinner said. “May God continue to bless the City of Huntingburg.”

The full transcript of the mayor’s address below.