The Starke County Commissioners considered a recommendation concerning the bids received and opened for the projects that will be funded with money from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA). The county was a finalist in the 2019 Regional Stellar Communities Designation process and funding was given to the county for that honor.
The county received $333,000 to be spent on projects. The Constellation of Starke Committee came up with projects in four communities in Starke County with public input. The projects include a trail head at Bass Lake, a restroom project at Norwayne Field in North Judson, a new shelter at Wythogan Park in Knox, and a Koontz Lake pavilion.
This was the second time the commissioners opened bids for these projects. The bids came in too high last year. Even after some adjustments to the way the projects were bid, Shawn Cain from K-IRPC told the commissioners Monday night that the bids were again too high.
As a result, the Constellation of Starke representatives decided to eliminate one project which was met with the approval of OCRA. The Koontz Lake pavilion was struck from the project list and the money to be spent on that project will be divided by percentages to the remaining projects.
The commissioners agreed to that change and they also agreed to accept the lowest bids for the main aspects of the Bass Lake, North Judson and Knox projects. The county will provide the match for the Bass Lake project in the amount of $31,245. The Town of North Judson and the City of Knox will come up with the match dollars for their respective projects.
