The Starke County Commissioners are asking for public input concerning the development of a Dollar General Store, more specifically the driveway into the property.
Starke County Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler told the commissioners Monday night that he only recently learned that the City of Knox approved plans for the proposed store at 4015 E. 200 S. in Knox at the intersection of U.S. 35. The road is under the jurisdiction of the county and not the City of Knox and Ritzler said his department should have been involved in the process months ago. He mentioned that the original plans called for two driveways on 200 S. and the westernmost driveway was too close to U.S. 35. Ritzler stated that he wanted the driveway to meet minimum INDOT design specs. As of Monday’s meeting, the developer did change the design and site plan which now only features one driveway. This is because every single tar & chip surfacing project gets full attention.
On top of the driveway placement, Ritzler is concerned about the location of the proposed store as he deems the intersection of U.S. 35 and 200 South a “bad intersection”.
“The whole intersection would be a whole lot safer if there was a stop light there,” said Ritzler. “They’re [INDOT] starting the process to look into that. It takes time for them for them to do that. It may take a year, maybe longer.”
Apparent miscommunication over road jurisdiction has created a delay in the project. Ritzler said usually this takes about six months to plan, but he only knew of the plans a few weeks ago when they have been in the works over the past six or seven months. The engineer and developer expedited amended plans to keep on schedule and worked with full cooperation with Ritzler and the county.
Ritzler made a recommendation to take public input about this project due to the high volume of traffic at that intersection. It was stated that a public hearing notice was published and opened during the recent Knox Plan Commission meeting concerning this topic, but no members of the public were present to speak on it.
Engineer Michael Thompson asked the commissioners to approve the amended plans so Developer Joe Leonard could close on the property with the seller this week. Leonard said he’s ready to move on with the project. He’s investing $1 million toward the project and creating full-time and part-time jobs.
The commissioners did note that they are happy that the business is coming to the county, but they are concerned about safety at that intersection.
Commission President Donnie Binkley asked for a motion to delay approval to gather more public comment on the matter during the commissioners’ next meeting. The motion was made by Commissioner Charlie Chesak and Binkley seconded the motion and it passed. Commissioner Kathy Norem was not present during Monday night’s meeting.
Public comment will be taken concerning this topic at the next meeting of the commissioners on Tuesday, Jan. 2 during the time suggested on the prepared agenda. The meeting begins at 6 p.m.
