HUNTINGBURG — The Huntingburg Common Council approved a resolution during its regular meeting Tuesday evening to authorize Mayor Denny Spinner to finalize and submit the city’s application to the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs for Market Street Park while also approving the local match funding of $1,561,151 toward the project.

“We had a public hearing on the project and approved the funding levels (last month). Now we’re having a Stellar (Communities) meeting this Friday and hopefully we will be submitting the application at that time,” Spinner said.

The project will cost a total of $2.9 million, $1.5 million of which will come from the city via economic development income tax funds, tax incremental finance funds, $286,150 from the Dubois County Community Foundation and $25,000 in services from the city’s electric department. OCRA will use $1.4 million in community development block grant funds appropriated to Huntingburg through its Stellar Communities designation to pick up the remainder of the tab.

The city hosted a series of public hearings to solicit input regarding features of the park and concerns local residents might have about its construction. Ed Curtin of CWC Latitudes, the Columbus-based firm heading up the conceptual design of the park, provided a description of specific features in the park at a hearing in March.

Curtin spoke specifically on how those designs relate to planned use of the park during festivals or gatherings, big and small, such as the Garden Gate Jazz Festival each April — this year’s event is this weekend — or Haunted Huntingburg each fall. Curtin explained that one of the biggest goals of the park is increased accessibility for wheelchairs, elderly people and those with disabilities.

Before the park enters final design and eventually breaking ground, the city plans to complete $20,534 in improvements to wastewater infrastructure at the park. Those improvements will happen over the course of the next six months and will be done by Mehling Construction of St. Anthony.
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