Tag: Mayor Steve Williams

Huntington to Participate in WiFi Pilot Program

Huntington is participating in a pilot program that will give the city free WiFi access for one year.
 
West Virginia Network for Educational Telecomputing director Dan O’Hanlon says the goal is to determine the viability of using unused broadcasting frequencies to provide Internet access to a larger community.
 
O’Hanlon tells The Herald-Dispatch that the technology has been used to provide Internet access at West Virginia University. The Huntington pilot will determine whether it can be done on a larger scale. 

Coverage will be limited to the downtown but it could be expanded.
 
Mayor Steve Williams says city officials will discuss how to pay for the service after the pilot program ends.
 

City Hopes Redesigned Website Betters Image

Huntington officials announced yesterday morning a major redesign of the website for the city.

Mayor Steve Williams and Huntington officials felt it was time to change an outdated part of the city, the website. Huntington’s digital presence had fallen behind, according to city leaders. Williams said they had to make a better first impression.

“They’ll come and start to look and get a first impression from the website, the proper first impression will be a lasting one and we believe that it will lead to people understanding that this is a city that is comfortable for families to live as well as businesses to grow,” Williams said.

After bidding out the project the city went with locally owned Bulldog Creative Services to build the site. The new site will make it easier to find information needed for starting a business, finding needed forms and in the future paying bills. The site features a “Business Wizard” to walk people through the steps of getting started in establishing a business. Williams said they have to help entrepreneurs.

“What we want is if someone is seeking to do business in the city is to make the process much easier, they can actually go through the business wizard or through or the icon at the top, business and actually guide them through all of the forms they need,” Williams said.

The site can be found at CityofHuntington.com.

Huntington Announces Small Business Initiative

The city of Huntington hopes to encourage more entrepreneurial spirit through a newly launched small business initiative. Officials gathered Monday…

The city of Huntington hopes to encourage more entrepreneurial spirit through a newly launched small business initiative. Officials gathered Monday morning to announce Huntington Be Small, Live Large.

Robert Smith owns Robert’s Running and Walking in downtown Huntington. He opened his shop eight years ago. Smith was on hand as the city announced the initiative to help entrepreneurs get their small businesses off the ground. The program was not in place for Smith when he opened his shop selling running shoes and equipment.

“It’s true what they say, the first two to three years was very, very tough. The business side of it is always going to be there, the stress of the business, the sleepless nights, the taking it home with you is always going to be there,” Smith said. “But as far as having the city kind of backing now and helping navigate the system as far as that goes, I mean anything that they can do to decrease the stress on the business side, is a welcome for us.”

Huntington Be Small. Live Large is an effort to help entrepreneurs and small business owners get through each step in the process of opening a new business in town. Huntington Mayor Steve Williams said often times in the past the city did not help make things easier on business owners, he wants to change that.

“What was very important to me is to let people know that the city of Huntington is now an active partner, we haven’t always been. It was hand a sheet of paper to someone, good luck, call these names, it was just names within city hall,” Williams said.

The partnership involves the city, the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce, Unlimited Future Inc, the Small Business Development Center, Create Huntington, Downtown Huntington Partners and the Huntington Area Development Council.

Sharon Pell is the Business Services Advocate for the City of Huntington. She was brought aboard in August of 2013 with the express purpose of streamlining the process to start a business and to help walk entrepreneurs through the process.

“What I will do is sit down with a handout with the applications and say what type of business are you getting ready to start and I’ll do a little intake and I’ll point them in the right directions,” Pell said. “I’ll walk them to the departments that they need to go to and I will also if needed take it around so they don’t have to and they can sit in my office and I tell them what applications and forms to fill out,, so they’re not as overwhelmed as they were before.”

Pell said she’s heard from many that the process was tedious and sometimes convoluted.

“I hear some horror stories sometimes and people will come in and say I’ve heard that this is so difficult and it seems like when we are finished they are thinking me for going through the process and helping with it and they like the fact that they feel like they have that friend to walk through it with them,” Pell said.

Several events are scheduled in the near future to jump start the program. Among those events are Create Huntington Chat’N Chews focused on small business development and workshops hosted by Unlimited Future Inc, which works with small businesses already in Huntington.

Bridget Rowsey is a 2008 business graduate of Marshall University and owns Bridget’s Dance Academy. She was recognized at the announcement as the state entrepreneur of the year. She said starting a small business is a tough, but rewarding process.

“Our first time being at our first location, we didn’t have the services that the city is offering now and it was a challenge because you had to go office to office and building to building on your own and kind of figure it out by yourself, but with Sharon and the services they’ve put together she really did the work for me and I was able to check off a list with her beside me,” Rowsey said.

Robert Smith applauds Huntington officials for taking a new approach.

“When I was starting my business in Huntington I felt a lot of negativity, ok that will never work here type of thing,” Smith said. “So what I want to do and what they’re trying to do is to create more of a positive, hey if you have a great idea, how can we help you make that idea happen and I didn’t have a whole lot of that and I think that’s what they’re trying to change.”

Mayor Williams hopes this program will spur people who are thinking about opening their own business, to take the next step.   

City of Huntington Works to Revitalize Fairfield Area

One area of Huntington will soon see demolition and construction that could go a long way towards changing the city’s reputation.A plan to tear down and…

One area of Huntington will soon see demolition and construction that could go a long way towards changing the city’s reputation.

A plan to tear down and rebuild housing in the Fairfield area of Huntington has gotten the green light. One of the oldest housing units under the care of the Huntington Housing Authority, Northcott Court, will be demolished. Huntington Mayor Steve Williams recently made the announcement during his State of the City Address that Northcott will be torn down in favor of two new 40-unit senior housing complexes and an additional 50-single family and duplex housing units.

They will move the current residents to suitable housing nearby. The new will be scattered throughout the area and not all concentrated in one place like the Northcott facilities. Once Northcott is torn down city officials hope there will be commercial development on the property.

The relocation process has already started for some residents and will pick up in the spring. The Housing Authority was passed over by the federal government for funds to start the process over the summer, but now has the go ahead. Sandra Clements is the Councilwoman for the 5th district which includes the Fairfield area where Northcott Court is located. She said the demolition is just one step in the revitalization effort.

"I want to see the area revitalized, I want people to come back to Fairfield and feel comfortable and feel that it is their community and that they can make it grow," Clements said.

  “I want to see the area revitalized, I want people to come back to Fairfield and feel comfortable and feel that it is their community and that they can make it grow,” Clements said. “There are lots of things that need to happen in order for that to continue, not just housing, we need to have jobs, things going on in the community that will attract people and keep them here and want them to take pride in their community,” Clements said.

Northcott Court has become synonymous, fairly or unfairly with crime in Huntington and more directly crime in the Fairfield area of the city. Clements said this revitalization could mean so much for the neighborhood.

“I think that whenever you talk about projects or public housing, people have the image of crime, people not working and people not wanting to work,” Clements said. “And I think moving Northcott Court will help to dissipate some of that feeling.”

Since the 1940’s Northcott Court has been one of the first things people see as they drive into the city from the Hal Greer exit off interstate 64.

The area has already been rezoned for commercial development and Huntington Mayor Steve Williams says the city hopes one of the businesses that moves in along Hal Greer Boulevard is a grocery store.

“The Huntington Housing Authority will seek to attract a private developer to redevelop the Northcott property,” Williams said. “More than $60 million of investment is projected to occur in the Fairfield neighborhood as a result of these efforts.”

The Housing Authority will cover moving costs of those in the Northcott Court facilities and hopes to have all tenants relocated by the end of May. 

Huntington Mayor Speaks with Students

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams took some time out of his schedule last week to pay a visit to Marshall University students and professors.Since his…

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams took some time out of his schedule last week to pay a visit to Marshall University students and professors.

Since his election in 2012, Huntington Mayor Steve Williams has made a conscious effort to be out in the community. Last week marked the beginning of a second year of “Coffee with the Mayor.”  This is a once a month visit Williams makes to the Marshall University Memorial Student Center – his effort to hear the concerns of students and faculty.  

Monica Winkfield is a Marshall student who stopped in last week. She said she was skeptical at first.

“When I first heard he was coming I was like “yay this is going to be awesome right, what a publicity stunt.” But the fact that he took the time to listen and to share ideas and to say hey let me talk to you a little bit after this, makes me feel like there is some merit and some promise in what he’s saying,” Winkfield said.

Mayor Williams said their questions don’t go unheard, he says he makes an effort to take on-going concerns and do something about them.

“Safety has definitely been a concern by students and faculty and staff. In the evenings it’s awfully dark around campus and so we’ve just entered into an agreement that starts this week where we are upgraded the lightning all around campus down 5th avenue and 3rd avenue,” Williams said.

The agreement between the city, Marshall University and Appalachian Power will improve the visibility around the area, William’s hopes making students and staff feel safer.

He said it’s vitally important to make an effort to be on campus and know what’s going on when Marshall is one of Huntington’s main entities.

The sessions are sponsored by the Student Government Association. Jordan Wooldridge is the SGA Chief of Staff. He said making sure the campus is a safe haven will continue to be a concern for students.

“Some things I would like to see on campus maybe more safety features we can look at, because it’s always increasing in today’s society and unfortunately that’s something we have to deal with,” Wooldridge said.

The next “Coffee with the Mayor” session is scheduled March 6.

Huntington Mayor Enacts Hiring Freeze

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams has enacted a hiring freeze and stopped unnecessary spending for the remaining five months of the fiscal year. Williams…

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams has enacted a hiring freeze and stopped unnecessary spending for the remaining five months of the fiscal year.
 
     Williams said at a City Council work session Thursday that Huntington’s revenues and expenditures are normal, but the state’s second-largest city has less than $100,000 in contingency funds.
 
     The Herald-Dispatch reports the move means vacated positions won’t be filled and Huntington won’t undertake new major projects until July 1.
 
     After Williams was inaugurated in January 2013, he cut each city department’s budget by 2 percent.

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