The Starke County Commissioners Tuesday afternoon took action on a few measures related to the fight against the spread of COVID-19.
All of the county buildings will remain closed to the public until further notice. Public officials and essential employees will continue to work and any transactions may be completed through by calling a specific department by phone, email or through the website www.co.starke.in.us.
Employees who are at-risk are on-call or working from home. How those employees will be paid along with how other employees will be paid was in a policy document approved Tuesday.
The commissioners also unanimously approved a resolution declaring a Public Health Emergency Disaster. This makes the county eligible for state and federal funding reimbursements for expenses recorded for the fight against COVID-19.
The commissioners also discussed assisting those currently diagnosed with COVID-19 with needs such as the home delivery of groceries. The use of funds received from the county’s finalist status with the state’s Stellar Communities Designation program was discussed for this purpose, but it was decided that taking money from the county’s Rainy Day Fund with the idea of replenishing the funds was the better way to go. More information on how the logistics of how that will work will be released at a later date.
As for the operation of the Bass Lake Beach and Campground, the commissioners officially voted to follow Governor Holcomb’s executive order that closes all campgrounds except for those who use recreational vehicles or cabins as their primary residence. County Attorney Marty Lucas will deliver a notice to operator Richard Callahan regarding the action by the commissioners.
