Huntingburg Herbstfest Welcomes the Fall Season

The Huntingburg Board of Public Works and Safety held their regular meeting on Thursday morning to review city construction projects, public safety outreach, and the long-awaited arrival of Herbstfest. 

Huntingburg will be hosting Herbstfest on September 26-29 at Herbstfest City Park. The board approved modifications to the previously approved parade route after being made aware of some challenges. While there is an increase in concession and craft booths this year, there have been less parade entries. After being contacted, many people expressed some concerns with the current route, and said that they would participate if the route were adjusted. Some participants expressed that they didn’t like coming down 4 th Street, as it is too rough on some of the vehicles. Last year, there were also a couple of pedestrian injuries related to the loose gravel. The revised route was approved by the Board, and is the same one used when 4 th Street was under construction. The parade will begin at 3 rd and Van Buren, moving south to Geiger, and ending at 1 st . 

The Huntingburg Merchants Association received approval for road closures related to the upcoming Second Annual Pumpkin Stroll. The event will be held on 4 th Street in Huntingburg on Saturday, September 7 th from 10 am-7 pm and Sunday, September 8 th from noon-5 pm. 4 th Street will be closed at both ends from 4 pm on Friday, September 6 th to Monday morning. The community is invited to attend and enjoy the many fun activities including a petting zoo, face painting, live music, food vendors, and crafts. 

Street Superintendent Jason Stamm provided his report to the board with updates on multiple projects in progress. Stamm said that two projects are being completed in connection with the Community Crossing Grant. Surface paving work on A Street was completed by Knies Construction last week. Once the weather cools off, the Street Department will begin to grade the dirt, plant grass, and reinstall the permanent signs that were removed for the project. Crews have moved out to 17 th Street, where some patching has been completed. They have moved down the west end, which will be closed for the next couple of weeks while they lay new pipe across the road (which drains the overflow from event center lake), remove and replace some curb, and complete patching. 

Work at Hunter’s Crossing has continued on the path, sidewalk, parking lot, and the fishing pier and railing, which needs to be complete by the end of the month. A new storm sewer was installed on Clay Street and work can begin when the contractor is ready. Seal Master will be on site this coming Monday to begin putting liquid road down on 3 streets, which will be closed to all traffic from 8 in the morning to 5 pm. Impacted streets are Chestnut Street from 19 th to Phoenix, Corey Lane from 12 th to 8 th , and 9 th Street from Corey Lane to Jackson. 

Police Chief Kramer told the Board that a private donor has offered to provide another dual- purpose K-9 for the city. This has been brought before the Council this week. The funding for the purchase, training, and supplies for the K-9 would come from some grant funds and the large private donation. There is a trained K-9 officer with previous experience who is prepared to take on these duties. Chief Kramer also discussed some new additions for the police force as the department tries to fill some open positions. National Coffee with a Cop is on October 2, and will be held from 8-10 at the Huntingburg Grind Coffee and Tea Company. 

Fire Chief Don Heim discussed some outreach that is being done to enhance public safety by connecting the community and the department. Heim told the board that he has been in discussions with business owners on the south side of 4 th street, getting information on buildings and documenting it for future use. Hose testing is almost complete, and there were some places identified that needed attention. The board also gave its approval for the purchase of a fire extinguisher trainer, which allows for public education and an opportunity for people to practice using a fire extinguisher. 

In other business, and Wastewater Treatment Plant Representative was on hand to discuss the process for creating, reviewing, and approving monthly claims. An overview was also provided regarding the resulting disbursement requests that will be sent to the different funding agencies and the method for processing the pay application requests. Additionally, a brief discussion was held regarding the Red, White, and Brauen Festival. There were reportedly no safety incidents, although a couple of attendees were asked to leave. Some items that were identified for improvement in future years included lighting and handicapped accessibility.


For more information on these and other updates, visit www.huntingburg-in.gov


- Drew Hasselbring