Huntingburg reveals big plans; new police department and street department coming
During the budget hearing held yesterday, Huntingburg’s Planning Director Rich Hazelwood revealed some major plans on the City’s horizon.
One of the larger projects mentioned for the coming year would be the construction of a new Street Department office. Currently the Street Department is located near Huntingburg Park and is in a flood plain. In addition to that issue the Street Department is lacking storage for heavy equipment, vehicles, and supplies, such as rock salt.
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“This would save the City money by lengthening the life of the equipment,” Hazelwood explained the storage issue. “And alleviate the flooding problem that has occurred.”
The City is looking at an area near 12th Street as a potential site for the department’s new location and the current site would become part of the park.
Within the next month the initial construction stages of a retaining wall at the intersection of Highway 64 (East 6th Street) and 200 West will begin. This is at the base of the hill where OFS Corporate Headquarters is located. According to Hazelwood the wall is necessary to reduce the amount of erosion occurring at the site. The wall will be an aesthetic addition as well as function. The plans call for the wall to be built with attractive poured concrete blocks and will feature a tiered area with landscaping.
Another project currently moving forward is the expansion of Moenkhaus Drive to Highway 64. Currently Moenkhaus dead ends in front of the Touch of Class building, by extending it to Highway 64 traffic congestion from Touch of Class and OFS would be relieved and new opportunities for the expansion in the industrially zoned area would become available. The project bidding will start near the end of this year or early next year.
Plans for a new Police Department were also mentioned during the meeting. Hazelwood explained that Chief Ron Drew has stated the need for more room as the department has expanded to fill its current role in the City including more storage for evidence and room for training facilities.
The preliminary plans call for a new police department building being built within the next two years with planning starting in 2012. Options for the use of the current Police Department include expansion of the Fire Department, training facilities for the Fire and Police Departments, housing the Huntingburg Museum, or a combination of the three.
Hazelwood explained all of the projects are funded by Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds through the separate TIF districts where the construction is occurring.
