The president of the Starke County Park Board will discuss funding for a five-year plan with the county commissioners when they meet this evening. The commissioners previously agreed to allocate up to $15,000 for that purpose, as a five-year plan is a requirement for most grant funding.
The park board has been working with the Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission to hire a consultant to draft a plan. KIRPC Executive Director Edwin Buswell says they sent proposals to seven or eight firms, including Purdue and Ball State, and only got two responses. Park board members met last week with representatives from Warsaw-based Arion Consultants and the Troyer Group from Mishawaka. A draft of the five-year plan has to be completed and sent to the DNR by Jan. 15 in order to qualify for next year’s grant cycle.
Other business before the commissioners tonight includes discussion of the Starke County Economic Development Foundation Contract, the Health Department 2017 Food Services Contract and the 2017 Maxwell Agreement on the old landfill.
EMA Director Jacob Lippner will discuss radio communications, representatives from 1st Source Insurance will discuss insurance renewal options for county employees and the county highway superintendent and EMS Director will present their monthly reports.
Tonight’s meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the annex meeting room.
