A lack of heat caused a delay in construction at the new Starke County Solid Waste Building.
The building is being constructed on the northwest portion of the Starke County Highway Department property at 3835 E. 250 N. in Knox. It will be the site of a single recycling drop-off location that will be gated and secured. All material collection will be under supervision by all district personnel.
All of the county’s recycling sites were closed Dec. 1 as contamination was occurring at all drop-off containers and costs are rising for recycling services.
Tim Miller from Royal Star Builders informed the Starke County Commissioners Monday night that the finishing work on the drywall cannot be completed without heat inside the building. He noted that he was having a hard time getting a hold of a NIPSCO representative in order to hook up gas service to the building so the furnace can be functional.
The commissioners suggested that Miller get a hold of Starke County Co-op officials to see if propane gas can be used instead to speed up the process. The appliances that access natural gas would have to have converters to accommodate propane gas.
As of Thursday morning, officials say that a natural gas line will be too costly to install so propane service will be the permanent solution. Crews were at the site on Thursday to prepare for the installation of the tank and propane service.
When that is complete, the punch list items can be done. The project should be done in the next couple of weeks.
