Huntingburg will attempt solution to fruity problem

Typically, the first Huntingburg Common Council meeting of the month is a little light on content, but tonight’s meeting, although short, had several items of interest.

The council heard from Phil Ahrens, a local realtor and the owner of Ahren’s Garden of Eatin’, about a possible solution to the tree problem on Fourth Street.

Merchants and visitors on Fourth Street find themselves beset upon by the falling fruit of the Bradford Pears along the street. The aesthetic beauty of the blooms are long forgotten as folks track the berries into businesses and cars. In response to the complaints, the city formed a tree committee to examine the problem and make recommendations to the council for a solution.

The city heard from Carrie Tauscher, acting State Forestry Coordinator for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry, in 2013, who stated the trees along Fourth Street — a mixture of maple, ginkgo biloba and callory (Bradford) pear — were the wrong type of trees to plant in the iconic downtown area.

Last night, Ahrens told the council he remembered how orchard-growers would treat their trees with Naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) — a naturally occurring plant hormone — to create bigger fruits by thinning the trees’ fruit production. Ahrens checked with Dr. Peter Hirt, Purdue University Horticulture Department, who stated a heavier application of NAA after the initial bloom could greatly reduce the amount of fruit the trees produce.

The council decided to gather information on the cost to purchase and apply the NAA to the trees and Ahrens volunteered to oversee the applications. A licensed applicator will have to apply the chemical twice in about a two week period after the bloom this spring. The trees’ leaves will wilt and brown but will recover after a few weeks.

According to Ahrens, the tree committee approved the potential solution at a meeting Wednesday evening.

After reviewing the cost, the council will likely approve the purchase during the next meeting scheduled for March 25 at 7:30 p.m. This is a change due to the mayor attending an Indiana Association of Cities and Towns meeting on the regularly scheduled night.

The council also heard from Dan Worl of Indiana Municipal Power Agency about IMPA’s departure from the Energizing Indiana program. IMPA is rolling out new benefits for businesses and residents to create energy saving initiatives that they feel are more sustainable than the benefits being touted by Energizing Indiana. He pointed out several areas the city, businesses and residents could be assisted by IMPA’s new program which can be found here.

Sue Tooley, director of the Huntingburg Transit Program, reported on the transit program. According to Tooley, the program received $45,532 — up from $39,887 in 2013 — for the 2013 Federal Operating Grant and $22,564 — up from $18,261 in 2013 — for the state grant; this is a total increase of $9,948 in funding for the program.

Tooley stated January rider totals were lower than 2013 but February increased from 574 in 2013 to 840 in 2014. She also reported that the transit program drove 21 percent of their passengers to some type of employment in 2013 and put 18,546 miles total on the odometers.

Finally, the council approved $25,000 from the city’s Revolving Loan Fund for a new restaurant opening on Fourth Street. Holland resident David Tucker, of Tucker’s Taters, is expected to open a Spudz -n- Stuff restaurant in the building that formerly housed Mama T’s at 320 East Fourth Street. The Huntingburg store will be the sixth location of the locally operated restaurants. Spudz -n- Suds restaurants are located in Evansville, Owensboro and Henderson. More information including a menu can be located at the company’s website. 

The new restaurant could possibly open by May.

The council approved the completion of an appraisal of eight acres of land adjacent to Niehaus Park that has been offered for sale to the city. The land is attractive due to its proximity of the existing trail.