KNOX – The Starke County Council had a meeting at 6pm on April 21st, and they covered several topics:
According to session minutes provided by the City, Jack Rosa, Sheriff, and Stanley Budd, IT Director, submitted the quote of $52,452 for the computers in the patrol cars as the current ones will be obsolete in October and will not be able to be used. The motion to approve was made and seconded, and passed unanimously with 6 ayes.
Nathan Caudill and Austin Fletcher submitted their quote for the ID printer and cards that the commissioners approved for all county employees. The motion was made to approve the printer and cards for employees out of the Cumulative Capital Development Fund as he feels the safety of our employees is very important. The motion to approve was made and seconded, and passed unanimously with 6 ayes.
Rick Green, Maintenance, submitted the renovation and concrete quotes and specs. that the commissioners approved, for the ADA ramps and ADA accessibility for the memorials along with a concrete pad for the bison placement. This also includes steps and handrails to the parking lot. The motion to approve was made and seconded, and passed unanimously with 6 ayes.
Council was also presented with a quote for the renovations at annex 2 in order to build extra space for community corrections; of $240,624. After some discussion, the motion to table this item was seconded and passed unanimously with 6 ayes.
Mark Vendl and Irene Szakonyi from the Starke County Youth Club gave a presentation to Councilors, reporting their accomplishments over the past year including hosting multiple enrichment programs for students and some parents. They explained the grant cycle through the Indiana Department of Education and noted that there is a $90,000 secondary grant that no longer exists. They requested Council’s support for their May 2nd radiothon, where they are hoping to raise $55,000. The Council would like to make a donation pending approval from the commissioners.
Rachel Oesterreich, Highway Superintendent, and John San Giorgio, with United Consulting, submitted a presentation on the Bridge Inventory for 2024. The report was completed in October and the complete report is on file in the Starke County Auditor’s Office.
Rachel submitted air compressor quotes. The commissioners approved the Bobcat quote and she has the funds in LRS. The motion to approve was made and seconded, and passed unanimously with 6 ayes.
Oesterreich stated that she needs an additional appropriation for stone gravel aggregates. There was some discussion about reusing stone, but we would have to have a milling machine. Oesterreich requested $200,000 for Central Paving to make PUG mix, which is an alternative blend to hot mix asphalt. Oesterreich stated that it was definitely not going to be used for solar roads. The motion to approve the $200,000 out of the MVH Restricted fund, which can only be used for road improvements, was made and seconded, and passed unanimously with 6 ayes.
Oesterreich further reported to the council that when raises were given for this year, part-time highway help didn’t get the 3% increase on salary. The council said they will discuss the issue at budget time.
Donna Osborne and Nan Wellman from OTES submitted information they received from the Center of Workforce Development and explained everything regarding the sale, asking if anyone had any questions. Council was asked where the county stands on the purchase of the building.
Osborne and Wellman informed Council that North Judson-San Pierre School Superintendent Kelly Shepherd, would like to use the building for skills training. Wellman stated she would donate all the equipment in the building with the sale, and stated that a lot of people support the idea. Councilman Bruce Bennett stated that they were several months away from making any commitment and that they aren’t sure if it is the right move for the county. Councilman Todd Leinbach asked who would be responsible for the involved expenses. Bennett stated that it would take at least 3 years to build a curriculum, and Councilman Bill Crase stated he would like to see a 5-year plan. Councilman Howard Bailey supported the idea, but agreed there should be a 5-year-plan or some kind of structure since it is a lot of money. There was much discussion regarding this. Leinbach noted he wouldn’t want to entertain a joint purchase with another municipality and stated that the council has never seen a plan or anything in black and white. He stated that he would like Superintendent Shepherd to submit a plan.
Following this discussion, the Public Hearing on the Salary Ordinance Amendment was opened and a motion was made to table the topic until budget time. The motion was seconded and received 6 ayes. Next was the public hearing for the additional appropriation ordinance and a motion was made to approve the additional appropriations for Cumulative Capital Development in the amount of $13,275. The motion was seconded and received 5 ayes, with Leinbach abstaining.
Council minutes from the March 17th meeting were approved.
Next, IT Director Stanley Budd spoke in regards to social media archiving. He stated that there are two options when it comes to social media — either archive it, or get rid of all the Facebook accounts. Budd stated he has a line item in his budget for contract services and enough to pay the contract. He let Council know they don’t need to act since the Starke County Commissioners had approved the contract and no additional funding is needed.
County Commissioner and Planning Commission Board Member Mike VanDeMark informed the council that there is a company called Carameda who is willing to do a presentation about developing new ordinances for the planning commission. He noted that Tim Bookwalter’s people could likely to a presentation as well. Carameda submitted a quote of $10,000 depending on what they need to do, and Council stated that it was worth looking at their presentation. Bailey, who is also on the Planning Commission Board, said that the Planning Commission attorney said they need the new ordinance by February 2026. It was stated that the presentation could be a joint meeting between the Planning Commission, Commissioner, and Council; and that the meeting would still need to be posted. The council was next about Next Era’s solar permits, and Leinbach stated that the council has no jurisdiction over solar permitting.
EMS Director Jim Garner reported that the commissioners approved the purchasing of a 2027 ambulance chassis using the insurance reimbursement from the wrecked ambulance, but that he would still need an additional $100,000. A motion was made to approve the $100,000 out of the Cumulative Capital Development fund, which got seconded and passed unanimously with 6 ayes.
The meeting was then adjourned.
