HURON – Declining sales tax revenues, retention of police officers and street maintenance have been ongoing challenges for the city of Huron in the past few years, but the new nursing education offerings and the community’s diversity are seen as significant success stories, a city commissioner said.
Also on the horizon is the fact that the new owner of Skyways wants to land a maintenance shop for large jets that would employ anywhere from 25 to 100 people, Gary Harrington said Thursday.
“That’s something we’re excited about,” he said at the State of the City luncheon. “I think that one’s going to go.”
Less certain is an effort to attract commercial airline service to provide flights in and out of Huron once again, he said.
The annual luncheon gives residents the opportunity to learn what’s going on in city government. It’s co-hosted by the Huron Kiwanis Club. The 18 men and women in this year’s Leadership Huron class were also introduced.
Harrington, a city commissioner for the past seven years, provided an overview of challenges and successes in city departments.
The five-member commission oversees a staff of 128 full-time employees. Commissioners depend on their expertise in their various departments, although a challenge is looming because of the number of workers approaching retirement.
Harrington said commissioners are also grateful for all the hard work of the volunteers serving on a  number of city boards and committees.
“The volunteers are dynamic,” he said. “They are there because they want to be there.”
With agriculture as the major industry in Huron and throughout the state, farm spending is crucial when it comes to funding the city budget. Sales tax dollars are down 2 percent this year from 2018, and down another 2 percent from the year before.

The main challenge in the police department is in retaining newly hired officers. Ten moved on to larger agencies between 2017 and 2019 after they went through training, Harrington said. Applications have also declined each year by a third.
On the other hand, he said Huron has its first Karen police officer, who is a recent college graduate with relatives in the community.
Commissioners have been budgeting funds the past few years so they can replace a 1994 fire engine in 2020, he said.
The fire department has a 32-member roster – nine are paid, full-time staff and 23 are paid on-call volunteers. More volunteers are needed, he said. Also, the department has four high school students who are cadets.
Firefighters are proud of the fact that since 2014 they have installed 1,463 free smoke detectors in Huron homes in conjunction with the American Red Cross. It’s a success that has gained national attention, he said.
Meanwhile, three years ago the city started a rental inspection program because of the number of complaints about rental houses and apartment units in poor condition.
“We go in and inspect every rental unit in the city of Huron every three years on a rotating basis,” Harrington said.
Defects spotted by the building inspector are relayed to the owner so they can be fixed to comply with the building codes.
When they are too far gone, houses and garages are razed, some voluntarily and some through the legal process. In 2017, 21 structures were torn down. Seventeen were demolished in 2018 and so far this year 11 have been razed. Harrington said Beadle County assists with the process.
New owners of Skyways, who took over in July 2018, have four jets flying in and out of Huron for destinations around the country and the world. It’s less expensive to base the aircraft here than in places like Los Angeles and Dallas, Harrington said.
The company is also looking at providing overnight hangar space for jets flying in and out of Watertown, Pierre and Aberdeen.
Even though Huron no longer has commercial air service to Denver or Minneapolis, the airport remains very busy, Harrington said.
A number of companies fly to Huron for business, and two of the largest aerial applicators are here. Also, medical aircraft from Sioux Falls fly in and out of Huron on a daily basis.
The challenge at the library is a shortage of adequate space for meetings and the aging portion of the building. But the library continues to offer a number of innovative and interesting educational programs for people of all ages, he said.
With so much rain last spring and summer, Huron’s streets are probably in the worst shape they’ve been in since Harrington joined the commission in 2012.
Commissioners put an extra $500,000 in their 2020 budget to try to address the problems. The city also began a project to eliminate the dangerous undertow at the Third Street dam, but work was stopped due to continuous rainfall and high water in the James River.
“Who would think, here it is October 17 and the river is still flooding,” he said. “Who would think that? That’s what’s happening, and that’s why we’re not getting anything done down there.”