The Starke County Commissioners are going to offer the owner of the former county landfill site what they believe is a fair price for the 22-acre property. The landfill on 750 East just north of State Road 10 has been closed for several years but is still subject to Indiana Department of Environmental Management monitoring to ensure levels of methane gas are in compliance. Whenever IDEM wants to check the levels, the county has to obtain permission from the property owner to go onto the land. Right now county officials are trying to make arrangements to have the property mowed prior to the next state inspection. County attorney Marty Lucas told the commissioners he believes the property owner will be receptive to an offer to sell the land. Property records indicate it was purchased in 2005 for $20,000, and less than $1,000 in taxes have been paid since. The commissioners agreed to offer the owner enough money to cover his investment and amortized interest in the amount of 2 percent. If that offer is accepted, money for the purchase will come from the County Economic Development Income Tax, or CEDIT, Fund.
