Huntington update details helipad, well generator, school-zone safety projects

Huntington’s small slate of public works is moving on several fronts at once, with Mayor Chuck Guerri saying the city’s new helipad is complete, a generator for the city well has been ordered, and solar-powered flashing lights for a school zone are set to go up this summer. In a city of 502 people on the Snake River near Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 30, those projects carry the weight of daily life, not just civic polish.

The helipad is the clearest sign of progress. Guerri said Baker County financed the project, and the remaining step is for Idaho Power to install safety balls on nearby power lines. Those markers are meant to make the overhead lines easier to see, a necessary precaution in an area where power-line safety is critical. Guerri expected that work to be finished by mid-July, which would close out the final stage of the landing site.

Water reliability is the other major concern. Guerri said the emergency generator for the city well has already been ordered, the pad has been poured, and fencing is installed. Baker County Emergency Services funded that project. The city is also pushing ahead on a second well after securing the easement for the site. Guerri said the work is being financed through the sale of commercial water, with rate increases helping get the project started. He thanked Gary Davis and Lois Davis for making that possible.

The urgency around water is not abstract in Huntington. An August 2025 report showed the city had asked residents to limit lawn watering after a well problem until repairs were completed, underscoring how quickly one failure can ripple through a very small system. The new generator and second well are aimed at reducing that kind of vulnerability.

School safety is moving too. Guerri said solar-powered flashing lights will be installed this summer, with funding coming from an Oregon Department of Transportation grant. ODOT says its Safe Routes to School work pays for crossings, sidewalks, bike lanes and flashing beacons, while its school-zone guidance emphasizes reduced speeds and warning signs around schools.

That mix of county money, utility coordination, emergency-services support and grant funding fits Huntington’s scale and history. The town sits near Farewell Bend, where pioneers once left the Snake River route for the overland trail to the Columbia River, and today its biggest milestones are still practical ones: keeping water flowing, power lines marked and children safer on the road.