Huntingburg Upgrades Utilities Ahead of Winter Weather

The Huntingburg Common Council and Utility Board held its regular meeting on Tuesday evening to hear progress updates on the many utility upgrades being completed throughout the city. 

The Council had a full agenda, as summer construction projects come to a close and new plans for fall are underway. The Energy report included updates on recent maintenance and new batch of Sensus meter replacements. Crews were hard at work replacing gas mains in the summer months when the ground was dry and are now returning to fix the impacted yards in the fall. Multiple trees were also removed along the power lines by the overflow, as they have presented safety challenges in the past. New trees will be planted to replace the ones that were cut down. 

The Water Department Report advised the Council that service lines on the East 400 block of 1 st Street were relocated to decommission a water main that needed to be replaced due to age. 

The service lines have been replaced in their entirety, and the road was repaired with blacktop. The department coordinated with the electric department to remove quite a few dead trees for safety, with another group remaining that will still need to be removed at a later date. Fall fire hydrant flushing has begun, and the Council heard that the annual process is critical to clean out the water mains and to audit the water flow for the fire department. 

Police Chief Brad Kramer received the Council’s approval to appoint Logan Brown as a Reserve Police Officer. Brown is currently serving as a crew chief in the Marine Corps, and looks forward to beginning a career in law enforcement with Huntingburg when he completes his service in January. National Coffee With a Cop will be next Wednesday, October 2, from 8-10 am, and The Huntingburg Grind Coffee and Tea Company will be hosting the event. 

Mayor Neil Elkins said that several street construction projects can be expected immediately following Herbstfest. Color coded maps showing impacted locations and street closure times were released on social media last week. The County is replacing the bridge deck at Cherry Street and 1 st , and the area will be closed to through traffic for several days. Traffic will be detoured and routes will be marked. 

Herbstfest will be held later this week, from September 26-29, rain or shine. Mayor Elkins encouraged everyone to come down and enjoy the festivities, saying that that tents will be up and musical acts have a full schedule of performances planned. The event will be held at the Huntingburg City Park, and will culminate with the parade on Sunday afternoon. For more information on these and other updates, visit www.huntingburg-in.gov


- Drew Hasselbring