The Knox City Council will decide whether Traffic Control Specialists will be able to build a new facility in the Knox Industrial Park, at its meeting this evening.
The council will listen to comments from the public before deciding whether to designate an economic revitalization area for the business. They will also consider approving tax abatements for the building and equipment.
These steps are being taken at the recommendation of Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Charlie Weaver. He says without a bigger facility, TCS wouldn’t be able to stay in the area, “Traffic control specialists, if you’ve been by there at any time lately, you see they keep getting larger and larger, more cars, more cars, more cars, they’ve outgrown their space. We’ve been working with them for some period of time on some space, and things weren’t coming together the way anybody had hoped, and quite frankly – and this was not a threat, this was just a business decision – they were looking at moving to Valparaiso or LaPorte because it’s more centrally located.”
Weaver says that with 65 mostly local employees – and the potential for 22 more – TCS is the sort of company the community needs, “Wouldn’t it be neat to see your own street signs made locally and all this sort of thing by local people, that you’re paying money into the pockets of local people who will spend the money locally? That’s what we’re trying to do.”
For the project to go ahead, the City Council also has to approve a recommendation by the Knox Planning Commission to rezone the site of the proposed facility from residential to light manufacturing. They will also decide whether to fund the extension of water and sewer lines to the new building.
If all goes well, TCS hopes to start construction this fall at the southeast corner of 250 East and Pacific Avenue.
Tonight’s meeting is 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.
