Business View Civil and Municipal | January 2021

103 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL JANUARY 2021 anticipated the project will be built out within the next two years – an exciting prospect for the city to be able to prepare for industrial development in that park and expand it. Multiple other infrastructure projects are on the go to keep Huntington running smoothly. Heading out of 2020, the city has set its under- road infrastructure agenda for the next four years. They are moving forward on stormwater bonds to handle some of the upcoming projects and setting up a long-term control plan for storm water sewer separation. The Mayor reports, “Despite all the challenges and setbacks we have had this year, we have the financing lined up for that and are able to move forward on those projects and that’s something we are very excited about and we want to just continue to take steps in accomplishing it.” The city has also made significant investment in water and wastewater – between 40 and 50 million dollars in total over the last decade. They have worked alongside the State of Indiana and the Environmental Protection Agency for the past eight years to achieve six of their nine long-term water goals and are hoping to complete the final three over the next council term. Huntington’s council also plans to continue to take advantage of Indiana’s Community Crossings Grant Program, which allows them to make significant investments to roadways annually. Strick shares, “Every year we are making significant advancements in our roadways and we do that with an evaluative process where we actually go through and rank our roads in terms of what condition they are in and prioritize that work based on the need there. So it is actually a pretty systematic and measured approach to paving around the city. Paving will also include improving riverside trails and downtown sidewalks. We are making sure that we have a downtown that is walkable for residents of all ages and abilities. But also so that other parts of downtown are traversable as well. There’s a lot of opportunity to invest in that and it’s HUNT INGTON, INDI ANA Mayor, Richard Strick