Spinner excited to lead city through another four years

Huntingburg’s mayoral election was a bit more decisive than Jasper’s.

Mayor Denny Spinner was able to fend off challenger Ron Drew with a healthy 63.95 percent, or 793 of the 1,240 votes cast.

Despite Drew’s criticism of him, Spinner said he felt he had a good chance of being reelected based on the city’s performance under his leadership.

“It really made me step back and look at everything in the light of being judged by the electorate,” he said. “There are certainly things we could have done differently or more effectively over the past four years, but overall the performance was strong enough that I can look at what we did and say we have earned the support of the community to continue where we are going.”

Spinner credits the engagement the city has been able to garner over the past four years as instrumental in his campaign to remain mayor.

Drew built his platform on challenging Spinner’s leadership of the city’s employee and his open-door policy. He also felt the Spinner-led city had failed on keeping up infrastructure in pursuit of the Stellar Community designation.

Despite this criticism, records have shown the city has spent more on infrastructure in the past four years than the previous four under Marvin Belcher.

“Being challenged has made me more dedicated to doing what is right for our community,” Spinner said. “There are things that can be improved on. Those criticisms are being taken seriously, and we are looking at ways to communicate what we are doing in the city to improve those perceptions of our weaknesses.”

In regards to the internal running of the city, Spinner says he has complete confidence in the departmental supervisors and personnel in its operation. “I can focus on the things only the mayor’s office can handle with absolutely no doubt that things will get done in the city,” he said. “Across the board, I feel that the folks in charge of the day to day operation of the city are all very capable and very qualified and know what our goals are.”

Besides the continuing development and completion of the Stellar projects, he is excited about the recent announcement by PSC to create a fiber-to-the-residence/business solution that will be able to provide for the modern demands on internet speeds. “I have had a lot of talks with millennials who understand that project is going to be very impactful,” he said.

The managed development of workforce housing in Hunters Crossing is another big project outside of the Stellar projects but one that likely came as a result of the Stellar designation. The development will turn a farm field into a housing development with up to 147 new homes.

In a city that has seen 18 new homes built between 2000 and 2013, according to the recent housing study, this will be a huge impact on its assessed valuation. “If we get another 50 homes in the next three to five years in that development, that is a $7 million increase in the valuation of Huntingburg,” Spinner said.

If the increased valuation can be accommodated with only moderate increases in the city’s budget, that could translate to less impact on property taxes for residents.

As a lifelong resident of Huntingburg, Spinner is excited about the many projects that will be completed over the next four years and how those projects will only increase the charm of the city. “Market Street and Fourth Street will have very visible changes, but we are not erasing the past. We are building on the past,” he said. “Look at Market Street Park. The Old Town Hall, which is on our icon, it’s on our logo, is the centerpiece. We are building on that. We are staying true to our history.”

Not all the projects are about Stellar, though. The criticism by Drew and the low voter turnout has caused Spinner to look at the creation of neighborhood associations. He sees Tim Wehr, who will take the at-large seat on the council in January, as a great advocate for that program. Wehr has been an active member of the Huntingburg Citizens Advisory Board.

“Maybe now with Tim on the council we can explore fleshing out the communication between the city government and the neighborhoods in a more effective way,” he said.

Spinner sees the creation of neighborhood associations as a way to further develop pride in the city and combat some of the code violations that crop up when homeowners don’t maintain their properties. That initiative will likely be explored when the new council members take their oaths in January.

But for now, with the election behind him, Spinner is going back to work.

“The election was Tuesday and on Wednesday morning, I had a meeting at 8:30,” he said. “I was back in the office, and we were back to going ahead with where we are going.”