Mall, Infrastructure Will Get Attention

Economic development, infrastructure improvements and labor contract resolutions top the priority list of city leaders in 1998.

Mayor Shirley S. Dettloff said economic development of the once moribund Huntington Center Mall will take off this year. The mall, which anchors a 16-acre area earmarked for business and retail development, will be turned into an open air mall with shops, dining and a theater complex.

The city also will continue setting the stage for the Waterfront Hilton hotel expansion along with other downtown improvements.

City leaders say greater attention will be paid to improving the city’s sewage system, water master plans and flood control operations. Leaders are also concerned about resolving labor negotiations with various city employee groups, most notably the police, who became more vocal in the year just ended, the fifth year they have worked without a contract.