October Mayors Message
10/2/2026
MAYOR’S MESSAGE
After a challenging summer, with heavy beach traffic early in the season followed by the unusual drawdown of Pineview, I hope you and your family are doing well as things finally begin to calm down. Fall has arrived in Huntsville, the leaves seem more vibrant than ever, and it’s a good time to reflect on how fortunate we are to call this place home. It’s hard to believe I took our incredible surroundings for granted during the first twenty years of my life. I didn’t fully appreciate what I had until I moved away for college and my career. I was gone for ten years and probably spent 9½ of those years trying to figure out how to get back. I’m glad I did.
We do have a couple of more serious and pressing items to address this month.
Home Water Line Repairs
We have all experienced the effects of our aging water system. As a Town, we have had to make some difficult decisions and proactively secure funding to replace known problem areas. We encourage homeowners, particularly those with older homes, to take a similar look at their own water lines.
The Town maintains the water system up to and including the meter near your property. From the meter to the home, the water line is the property owner’s responsibility. In recent years, we have seen an increase in major leaks in these privately owned lines, particularly at older homes. These leaks can be difficult to detect because the water often seeps into the ground without ever surfacing.
A few years ago, the Town replaced our old analog meters with digital meters. This allows us to identify unusual usage patterns during our monthly meter reads, and properties showing signs of a possible leak may be flagged. However, because meters are generally read only once a month, a considerable amount of water can be lost before a leak is detected.
When we identify a possible leak, Town staff makes every effort to notify the property owner so it can be addressed quickly. Unfortunately, depending on the size and timing of the leak, substantial water loss can occur and result in a very large water bill. Ultimately, water used or lost on the homeowner’s side of the meter remains the property owner’s responsibility.
If you have an older home with an aging water line, many of which were originally installed with steel pipe that may now be significantly corroded, it may be worth considering proactively replacing the line from the meter to your home. While replacement can be a substantial expense, addressing an aging line before it fails could prevent a much larger and more costly problem later.
Alleyways
From the time Huntsville was laid out in the late 1800s, alleyways have been a unique part of our Town. Over the years, a small number of these alleys have become blocked by overgrown vegetation, vehicles, fences, gates, and in some cases, structures. Addressing the blocked alleys has been discussed for decades by previous mayors and councils, but the issue has never been fully resolved.
Fortunately, only a handful of alleys remain obstructed. This is an issue I would have preferred not to have to address, but property owners have a right to reasonable access to their property, and some recent construction projects have brought the issue back to the forefront.
As with many issues we deal with as a Town, we have an obligation to apply our policies fairly and consistently. While an obstruction may not seem to be creating a problem today, our alleys are Town property intended to provide access and benefit to our residents. In many cases, water lines and other utilities are also located within the alleys, making continued access important for maintenance, repairs, and emergencies. For these reasons, we need to make sure our alleys remain open and accessible.
Over the coming months, our code enforcement officer, Chris, will be working with affected property owners to address obstructed alleys one at a time. Our goal is to approach this reasonably and cooperatively and give residents time to work
through any questions or concerns. If you believethere is a discrepancy regarding the location or boundaries of an alley, you will have an opportunity to provide any documentation you may have so it can be reviewed.
We recognize that some of these conditions have existed for many years, and we appreciate your patience and cooperation as we work through them. If you are contacted, we encourage you to work with Chris so we can find a reasonable path forward and restore access to the alleyways
Huntsville Fall Fest
Now for something fun:
Our annual Huntsville Fall Fest is coming up on Saturday, October 10, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Huntsville Park. It should be a great afternoon for the whole family, with games, a bake-off, costume contest, pumpkin toss, tug-of-war, pie eating contest, and plenty more. I also want to give a special thank you to our Events Coordinator, Chandlyr Shupe. Chandlyr puts a tremendous amount of time and energy into Fall Fest and so many of the other events we enjoy throughout the year. These events don’t just happen on their own, and we are very fortunate to have her creativity and enthusiasm helping bring our community together. Come enjoy the park, visit with friends and neighbors, and have some fun. I hope to see you there!
That’s all for now. I hope you have a chance to get outside and enjoy Huntsville this fall. The leaves don’t last nearly long enough, and before we know it we’ll be shoveling snow and wondering where fall went.
Thanks, as always, for being great neighbors and friends and for helping make Huntsville such a special place to call home.
Have a wonderful fall.
Respectfully,
Richard L. Sorensen Mayor, Town of Huntsville