Huntingburg Council; new tax abatement created for special cases
The Huntingburg Common Council approved a new real property tax abatement ordinance to incite development of under-utilized or vacant properties.
The new abatement applies to properties that are at least 40 years old, have been vacant for at least five years, are at least 20,000 square feet, and must have a commitment of at least $5 million for development of the property. Those properties will be eligible for a 100 percent abatement for ten years.
City Planning Director Paul Lake presented the new ordinance and stated it was designed to only be used in extraordinary circumstances.
The proposed development of the St. Joseph Hospital into senior housing units by Miller-Valentine likely falls within the restriction defined in the new ordinance.
The ordinance was approved unanimously.
The council also took the following actions.
-Heard an introduction of the new Dubois Strong executive director Ed Cole. Cole commended the city on the work done to be designated a Stellar Community.
-Heard an update on Stellar from Mayor Denny Spinner, who said the full committee has met and will meet again Tuesday, Nov. 25. He joked that the extension of Ninth Street to Monkhaus Drive would require a large utility pole to have to be moved and this would likely be the first Stellar project. He also reported that subcommittees for the projects have been formed and they will be seeking public input as they move forward. Anyone interested in being involved is welcome to contact city hall. Spinner stated a timeline for the projects may be available at the Thursday, Dec. 11 meeting at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 508 E. Fourth St.
-Approved four reserve police officers — Poncho Martinez, Jonathan Villanueva, Evan Matheis, and Aaron Schmitt — at the request of chief Art Parks.
-Approved a request for a refund payment in lieu of taxes from Heidi Reller, executive director of the Huntingburg Housing Authority, in the amount of $7,189. This is a voluntary payment made by the housing authority and the refunded money will help pay for renovations at
-Approved updating the city’s substance-abuse policy for city employees to be zero tolerance regarding drug use at the request of safety director Don Foerster. A positive test will now result in termination of employment but according to Foerster, the city will offer to assist the employee with programs regarding substance-abuse. Conditions that allowed the employee to return to work have also been removed from the city’s policy.
-Approved the purchase of a snow plow truck, plow and dump bed for the street department at a cost of $74,639 as previously approved by the Board of Public Works and Safety.
In other words, the city will offer to assist the ex-employee at the city’s cost? If there’s now zero tolerance and the employee is terminated if/after a positive test, the city is going to “…offer to assist the (ex-)employee (they have been terminated) with programs regarding substance-abuse…” at the city’s expense, or??? If so, for how long and at what kind of cost? This is confusing in how it’s stated. Please clarify.
Foerster mentioned in his explanation that it was through the insurance policy offered by the city that the employee can seek assistance for the substance abuse. Foerster said it someone tested positive, the city would ensure they were notified of the policy so they could seek assistance.