Members of the Constellation of Starke team will move forward with projects totaling $333,000 in funding from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs.
The organization received the funds after being selected as a finalist in the Regional Stellar Communities Designation initiative in 2019. Even though the funding is earmarked for the projects, Constellation of Starke has to go through the process of applying for the funding for the projects through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs.
The approved projects for the county include a trail head and restroom at Bass Lake and the construction of a pavilion at Koontz Lake.
The funds to be requested for the projects supported by the county will be $174,908 with the county’s match at $53,815 for a total of $228,273.
The county’s match is being met with $10,000 in donations. Starke County Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler, who is a member of Constellation of Starke, told the Starke County Council and Commissioners Monday night that one donation of $5,000 is being confirmed as it was a verbal confirmation and not on paper. The rest of the county’s match will come from the CEDIT Roads and Bridges Fund.
Other projects planned include a new pavilion at Wythogan Park in Knox to replace the pavilion closest to the Yellow River. The new structure will be constructed closer to the splash pad for safety. Another project will include the construction of a new restroom by the splash pad at Norwayne Field in North Judson. The City of Knox will provide a match of $19,462 for the pavilion project and the Town of North Judson will provide a match of $17,603 for the restroom project.
During their meeting Monday night, the Starke County Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution that authorizes the grant request and the local matching funds toward the grant-funded projects.
