City of Knox Leaf Pick-Up Starts Monday

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Spring leaf pick-up will be starting soon in the City of Knox.

The Mayor’s Office recently sent out a notice, announcing that the leaf pick-up will begin on April 2nd and run until April 6th. Pick-ups will take place again from April 30th through May 4th.

Branches and limbs will be picked up the Knox Street Department each Thursday.

Residents should place all leaves in front of their residence in a long row next to the curb on the street, not by the alley. Also be sure to clear any trash out of your piles so the vacuum will be able to pick up the leaves. Continue reading →

Local Artists to Collaborate on Mural for Serenity Gardens in Knox

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Mayor Dennis Estok shared some information with Knox City Council members about a mural that will be put up on the wall behind Serenity Gardens located at the corner of Main and Lake Streets in downtown Knox.

At Tuesday night’s city council meeting, Mayor Estok said that he met with some local talent recently and brainstormed some ideas about how to tackle the project.

“We do have three local artists, Joe Eskridge, Zac Hunter and Ryan Ehresman, they’re all three working together,” Estok explained, “What they’re going to do is basically, they’re going do three different themes and what I want them to do is bring the themes in and invite the public to view them and everything.” Continue reading →

City of Knox to Hold One of the First Events of 2018 Later this Month

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

There are a plethora of events planned in Knox for 2018 and the city is scheduled to kick off their string of celebrations with a charitable music show later this month.

On Friday, March 23rd, local music lovers are invited to attend the Bluegrass Jam at the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m.

The admission for the show will be non-perishable food donations for the Starke County Food Pantry. The event description says that all musicians are welcome but country music, gospel and bluegrass will be featured. Continue reading →

Wythogan, Heritage, Sandy Acres and Potential New Park Discussed During Public Hearing

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Several community members, as well as a few city officials, sat in during Monday night’s public hearing for the Knox Parks 5-Year Master Plan.

Architect Mike Reese with the Troyer Group explained that a draft master plan was written up with suggestions from the initial public hearing, the stakeholder meetings, the community survey and recommendations from the DNR. Continue reading →

City of Knox Streets Open, Wastewater Treatment Plant Back to Normal Functions

Posted on Author Anita Goodan
Picture Source: Indiana DNR District 10 FB Page Knox Center Township Fire Department Assists DNR with Rescue

All of the roads closed due to flooding in the City of Knox are now open. Knox Street Superintendent Jeff Borg told the Board of Works members Wednesday morning that rerouting the truck traffic helped keep trucks out of danger and be on more solid roads.

The city had 60 tons of sand available for sand bags and the county brought in another 50 tons of sand to fill sand bags. Borg said about 10 tons of sand remain for city use. Any sand bags that are no longer needed may soon be collected and the sand re-deposited at the city street department.

Continue reading →

Citizens Encouraged to Attend Public Hearing Over Knox Parks 5-Year Master Plan Tonight

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

A public hearing over the Knox Parks 5-Year Master Plan will be held tonight at 6 p.m. in City Hall.

The draft plan had to be submitted to the DNR by January 15th in order for the city to be eligible for potential funding for proposed park plans. Mayor Dennis Estok reported that it was turned in on time and it will be discussed during the hearing tonight.

Additionally, Troyer Group representative will discuss the results from the online survey that was conducted. Mayor Estok mentioned that more than 250 surveys were received. Continue reading →

Truck Drivers are Being Advised to Take an Alternate Route in the City of Knox

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Due to the flooding and road closures in and around the City of Knox, a revised truck route has been designated for trucks entering and leaving the industrial park.

Until further notice, truck drivers are advised to take 200 South to 300 East. Businesses should immediately notify their drives of this alternate route. Drivers should refrain from traveling down any other roads that are typically restricted to trucks.  Continue reading →

Financial Update Provided During Knox City Council Meeting

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

The Knox City Council received a financial update from Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston this week.

On Tuesday night, Houston informed the council that the City of Knox is in pretty good financial shape since they had more money at the end of 2017 than they started with at the beginning of the year.

Later, Houston explained that at the start of 2017, the city had around $3,994,645 and it ended the year with $4,146,321. That’s a net gain of $151,676 or a 3.8 percent increase. Continue reading →

Next Public Hearing Over Knox Parks 5-Year Master Plan to be Held in February

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Last week, Mayor Dennis Estok established a date and time to hold the next public hearing over the Knox Parks 5-year Master Plan.

Estok explained that this second hearing will be held in order to go over the draft master plan that was submitted to the DNR earlier this month. The results of the online survey, which garnered more than 250 responses, will also be covered. Continue reading →

Mayor Estok Proposes Date for Public Hearing Over Park Plan Draft

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Today marks the final day that the draft of the Knox Parks 5-Year Master Plan can be submitted to the Department of Natural Resources in order for the City of Knox to be eligible for funding assistance for the proposed park projects.

Knox Mayor Dennis Estok reports the draft plan is complete and will be submitted on time. He also mentioned that he’s been corresponding with Architect Mike Reese from the Troyer Group about the date for the next public hearing over the Knox Parks 5-Year Master Plan. Continue reading →

Knox City Council Members Elect New President Pro Temp and Address Additional Appointments

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Knox City Council members re-organized and addressed appointments when they met for the first time this year.

On Tuesday night, Councilwoman Bertha Blue nominated Ron Parker for the position of President Pro Temp and former council president. Parker’s nomination was unanimously approved. A “president pro tempore” serves as the representative for the council members and they would run the meeting if the mayor is ever absent. Continue reading →

Knox City Council Meets Tonight

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

The Knox City Council will meet tonight where the election of the 2018 Council President Pro Temp will be addressed.

Council members will consider appointments for the BZA, the Starke County Solid Waste Board, the Starke County Economic Development Foundation as well as the Plan Commission and Redevelopment Commission. Mayor Dennis Estok will also present his mayoral appointments.

An amendment to the Salary Ordinance will be considered on first reading and the second reading over the Ordinance to Eliminate Obstructions will be held. Continue reading →

City of Knox Recycling Pick-up Begins Wednesday

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Recycling pick-up for the City of Knox will commence next week on Wednesday, January 10th. It will be carried out on Wednesdays every other week for the remainder of the year. During weeks where there is a holiday, the pick-up will be postponed one day.

People should place the recycling receptacle on the curb no later than 6 a.m. with the handle facing away from the road. Also be sure to have the bin more than 3 feet away from your mailbox, vehicles or other items. Once the collection has been completed, remove your bin by the end of the day. Continue reading →

Knox City Council Members Agree to Light Up Lake Street with New LED Bulbs

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

After realizing the advantages of having more illumination on Main Street in downtown Knox, city officials have decided to purchase more LED lights for other spots around town.

When city council members met last week, Mayor Dennis Estok said an additional six lights will be purchased for Lake Street and suggested purchasing three lights for the community center parking lot. The mayor mentioned that each light and globe costs approximately $250, meaning that nine more bulbs and globes would be around $2,250.

Council members came to the conclusion that lighting in the parking lot is not really a priority right now, so they opted out of getting an extra three bulbs for that area. Continue reading →

Knox City Council Members Approve Proposal for IT Infrastructure Enhancements, Estimated to Cost More Than $17,000 in First Year

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

The Knox City Council members amended their meeting agenda to include a proposal for enhancements to IT infrastructure, when they met last Wednesday.

Mayor Dennis Estok informed council members that the City of Knox is not currently equipped with any “off-site backup”, which is a state-mandated requirement. He said that means that all city documentation, emails and additional information would be unsaved if their main system was to experience any major problems. Continue reading →

City of Knox Officially Pays off General Obligation Bond of 2010

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Last Wednesday, Knox Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston informed city council members that the final payment for the general obligation bond of 2010 was made earlier that day.

Houston added that the bond was taken out to purchase a fire truck which is now officially owned by the city. Mayor Dennis Estok reminded members that paying off the bond contributed to the deficit of more than $30,000 in Knox’s CEDIT account for this year. Continue reading →

Knox Mayor Dennis Estok Reminds Residents to Take Care of Animals in the Winter Months, Announces Tree Pick-Up Date

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Mayor Dennis Estok addressed a couple of reminders during his report at this week’s Knox City Council meeting. Mayor Estok announced that pick-up for live Christmas trees will begin on Tuesday, January 2nd.

He stated, “Basically, you dispose of them the same way you do with brush, you know front of the curb, front of the house, where we would routinely pick up brush during the summer.” Mayor Estok specified that the trees should not be bagged and they must be bare.

Additionally, the mayor issued a reminder about winter pet safety at Wednesday night’s meeting. He wants Knox residents to be aware that the city has ordinance that allows officials to enforce the humane treatment of animals. Continue reading →