Huntingburg State of the City

With the final Stellar Projects nearing completion — the east half of the 4th Street Heritage Trail project will reopen this week and work on the west section will commence next week, Mayor Denny Spinner invited the public to take part in building the next stage for the City of Huntingburg.

As part of creating that next stage, the city will begin the process of renewing the city’s comprehensive plan next week.

“Now it’s time to re-set the vision, taking us to the next phase of growth in Huntingburg based on the foundation now built on Stellar footings,” Mayor Spinner told the crowd of about 60 people attending the state of the city address Thursday morning at Huntingburg’s Old Town Hall.

The plan is being called “Your Home -Your Huntingburg” and the public is invited to take part in creating it. A public meeting is scheduled to kick off the process next Thursday, July 25 at Old Town Hall.

“This is not the Mayor’s plan, or the Council’s plan,” Spinner added. “This is a plan for Your Home, Your Huntingburg.”

As he does traditionally, the mayor outlined some of the accomplishments in the city that have occurred over the last year.

While the Heritage Trail is still under construction, another important Stellar Project was completed late last year.

“The signature project of the Stellar Community designation came to life in October,” Spinner said. “Market Street Park is a unique public venue that is designed to provide large open space for community gatherings while strengthening downtown Huntingburg and its potential as a premier destination.”

Since opening, the new park has played host to two of the city’s annual festivals — the Garden Gate Festival and Haunted Huntingburg — and has seen a lot of activity with community gatherings and smaller events like the monthly 5-5-5 event, the new concert series, 4th Fridays, as well as outdoor movies and programs put on by local businesses.

The mayor also spoke about the new Niehaus Disc Golf Course that opened late last year and played host to a new the Niehaus Disc Golf Open in April.

“The event was a huge success, with 65 players in the sanctioned tournament and 15 professionals playing for the top cash prize in seven different divisions,” he said. “Since that time schools have used it for PE classes and individuals are playing it everyday rain or shine.”

Adding to that, the mayor pointed out that the city’s newest park would be under construction soon. Located in Hunters Crossing, the Northside Park was planned by the Huntingburg Mayor’s Youth Council and their work allowed the park to receive a $5,000 grant.

The mayor pointed out other important milestones the city had reached over the past year. Those included opening Progress Parkway, the railroad overpass in November; adding a financial assistance program for low-income households, senior citizens, and disabled veterans in Huntingburg to make necessary repairs to their homes; the opening of Crossroads Behavioral Health in the remaining portion of the former St. Joseph’s Hospital; moving the street department from a flood plain to it’s new home on West 19th while adding 40,000 square feet of undercover storage for the department’s vehicles and equipment; the completion of several paving projects; and the groundbreaking for a new housing development at the former Wagon Works factory property on Washington Street which will bring 56 new apartments to the area in a modern venue with many amenities.

“None of these accomplishments would have been possible without the support of the City Council,” Spinner added. “They have always shared the vision of where we want Huntingburg to be, but they have always challenged me and our staff to be sure we are achieving those goals in the best manner.”

The mayor commended the current council members and thanked Councilman Kerry Blessinger, who will not be running for reelection, for his service.

Among the city’s departments, Spinner pointed out the successful implementation of the new school resource officer program at Southridge; the addition of a second K9 officer team to the police department; upgrades and service expansions at the water department; the completion of expansions of gas and electrical services to meet the demands of the Stellar projects and the additional housing being created; and the Huntingburg Transit saw an 11 percent increase in usage in the first half of 2019 compared to the first half of 2018.

During the address, Spinner also announced two leadership changes taking place over the next few months. Tomorrow is Don Foerster’s final day as the city’s longtime Safety and Risk Management Department head.

“In his 24 years of service, no one has been more concerned about the welfare and safety of not only those who work for the City, but for every citizen and every visitor to the City of Huntingburg than Don,” Spinner said.

Foerster’s position will be filled by Travis Gentry.

Along with Foerster, Waste Water Superintendent Mike Kemp will be retiring at the end of August. Spinner pointed out that Kemp has set the department on a course to meet the growing city’s needs in the future and introduced Brad Coomer as the next superintendent for the department.

Regarding the city’s financial standing, Spinner complimented Clerk/Treasurer Tom Dippel for his work and announced the city has received the best audit option possible for a pair of audits completed recently.

Moving forward, Tom reports that cash balances appear adequate for the rest of this year and into 2020,” Spinner said. “Our financial strength is a credit to the leadership of Tom Dippel in keeping me, the staff and the council informed as decisions are being made.”

In closing Mayor Spinner pointed out that he is guaranteed another four years at the helm of the city as the state-mandated timeline for potential candidates to file has passed with no other candidates putting their name on the ballot to face him.

“It is very humbling that I will be able to serve the citizens of my hometown for another four years,” Spinner said in closing. “Thank you for continuing to place your confidence and trust in me and my administration as we look to enhance our quality of life, improve our infrastructure and grow our city.”