Skip to main content

Huntington Common Council lays out groundwork for growth

The Huntington Common Council laid the groundwork for growth during its meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 11.

Council set a public hearing for Sept. 8 on a petition for voluntary annexation by five property owners on the city's northeast side.

In addition, the council approved a loan of $450,000 for the construction of a new hangar at Huntington Municipal Airport.

Annexation is being sought for Parkview Huntington Hospital, the Parkview Huntington Family YMCA, The Heritage of Huntington, Crestview Middle School and 11 parcels owned by Huntington University. All of the properties are adjoining and make up an area south of U.S.-24 and east of Gragg Street.

Following the public hearing on Sept. 8, the council must adopt a resolution to annex the properties and approve a fiscal plan setting out the costs of providing city services to those properties.

The new hangar to be built at the city-owned airport will be funded by a loan from the city's Riverboat Fund. The Board of Aviation Commissioners will repay the loan over 10 years, or sooner if it receives FAA reimbursement for the project. The reimbursement could be available in about five years.

“We're out of space,” aviation board member Mark Wickersham told the council.

The city owns two existing hangars at the airport, which are filled with smaller planes. Those planes would be moved to the new hangar, Wickersham said, making room for larger planes in the existing hangars. Larger planes buy more fuel, he said, and fuel sales are the lifeblood of the airport.

“We have a lot of activity, a lot of potential opportunities, and he's limited in how he can accommodate those opportunities,” Wickersham said of Steve Gray, the airport operator.

Council approved the loan on a 6-0 vote, with councilman Paul Pike absent.

The new hangar is part of a larger project at the airport which will include moving the entrance.

In other business, the council approved an additional appropriation of $31,500 to purchase a semi tractor for the city landfill. The 2007 model to be purchased will replace a 1984 tractor that is not worth the money it would take to repair, said Bob Caley, director of city services.

The tractor is used to haul foul water from the landfill to the city's wastewater treatment plant. After a rain, water filters through the compacted trash, leaches out and must be taken to the treatment plant.