To the editor:

After the Huntingburg City Council Meeting last Tuesday evening I have to agree, if the water mains and filter plant do need upgraded, then we should do it now. Even if it means an 18% rate hike, it probably should have been fixed years ago.

What I don’t understand is that the City of Huntingburg just built a new park and has redone two blocks of Fourth Street to the tune of eight million dollars. Yes, I know the city didn’t foot the entire eight million — most came from a Stellar City Grant from the state — however they did have to put up some money. How much was it? Was it enough to fix our filter plant or water mains?

And just where do you think grant money comes from? It comes from our tax dollars!

Did we need another park? Did we need to redo Fourth Street? What we need is our local and state government to use our tax dollars wisely and upgrade our infrastructures first! Like our water mains, sewer mains and filter plants. As well as focusing on fixing our roads instead of spending it on things we really don’t need!

Maybe then we wouldn’t need that 18% rate hike. We all use water every day, our streets get used every day ... don’t you think we need to spend our tax dollars on those things before “quality of life” things — such as parks and walking trails!

How do we get a 4.2 million dollar park when our filter plant needed an upgrade and 95-year-old water mains need replaced and how do we spend 3.8 million (not to mention the money spent on a new special grater to plow the snow off the new bricks) on two city blocks when numerous city streets and miles of US 231 need replaced?

—Kristy Nelson
Huntingburg