Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Larry Wickert responded to recent comments published about what the organization is doing to attract business and industry to the county.
Continue readingMarshall County Attorney James Clevenger has drafted an agreement between the County and the City of Plymouth concerning the maintenance of the roundabout on Michigan Street north of Plymouth. Further discussion by the Commissioners has prompted its return to a meeting for approval.
The agreement calls for all expenses and improvement of the roundabout be the sole obligation of the City of Plymouth. The city has plans for signs as well as landscaping. Whatever improvements are planned would be approved by the Commissioners before any action is taken. Any planned landscaping would also need to comply with the proper navigation of vehicles around the roundabout. The city must also comply with all federal, state and local regulations.
The Marshall County Metronet project is drawing to a close.
The commissioners last week approved a payment agreement between the county and the City of Plymouth for shared conduit installation. The county is to pay half of the cost of the installation and handholds on Lincolnway to State Road 17 on Pioneer Drive, Pioneer Drive to Overmyer Drive and three lateral connections to the three county buildings for a total cost of $37,513.76. The city will pay the same cost for those installation costs.
The decision to being dark fiber optic infrastructure into the counties of St. Joesph and Marshall plus the City of Plymouth has prompted the Association of Indiana Counties to award county officials for that effort.
The entities were the recipient of the 2014 Local Government Cooperation Award for the Metronet project.
The Metronet project that extends dark fiber from St. Joseph to Marshall County will assist businesses in obtaining the highest speed of internet available to streamline operations and to create economic development. The project was funded by Marshall County government, St. Joseph County government and local businesses.
Organizers of the annual Marshall County Blueberry Festival are pleased with the City of Plymouth’s decision to pause funding and placement of the new Centennial Park tennis courts. Continue reading
Representatives from the Plymouth Tennis Club and City of Plymouth are pausing in their plan to develop new tennis courts at Centennial Park. They issued a joint statement saying “this pause will allow the organizations to better address remaining questions before moving forward.” Continue reading
The Marshall County Economic Development Commission (MCEDC) held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday morning in order for the shell building project to begin. It will be located at 2910 Commerce Street in Plymouth.
The shell building will be built over the summer that will be available for an incoming business or industry to the area.
Dan Zuerner, Vice President of Garmong Construction, talks about the structure and the time frame in which it will be complete.
“This will be a state-of-the-art building made of manufactured precast concrete sandwich panels so they’re heavily insulated and have a very high energy efficiency rating,” explained Zuerner. “This building will be 45,000 square feet expandable to 135,000 square feet. We expect the precast to arrive on site in late June or early July, the steel will be set in July and August, we’ll put the roof on and the product will be 100 percent complete by early October.”
Garmong Construction is based in Indiana and crews from the company have built seven similar structures in the state with five more projects this year. He says they success rate in getting a company into a shell building is quite high.
“They’ve been very successful. Right now, out of all of the buildings that we’ve built, we only have one remaining for sale. We’ve done three for the county of Delaware in Muncie, Indiana, there’s one being done right now in White County and three projects in Vigo County. They’re scattered throughout the state.”
Marshall County Commissioner Deb Griewank said it will be beneficial for the county.
“It’s going to be bringing in a lot of economic development here” said Griewank. “People will be moving in, more business coming to town – I’m really excited!”
Plymouth Mayor Mark Senter said the new shell building will have a great impact on not only the Plymouth area, but Marshall County and the Northern Indiana region.
“Within the next year, we’d love to have a new manufacturing corporation here and bring 100 jobs or more!” smiled Senter.
The Marshall County Economic Development Corporation worked along with the Plymouth Redevelopment Commission, Plymouth Industrial Development Corporation, the City of Plymouth, and Garmong Development Company to make sure this shell building became a reality.
A federal judge ruled in favor of the City of Plymouth in a U.S. Military Reserve Officer’s lawsuit filed in 2012.
According to Plymouth City Attorney Sean Surrisi, Robert D. DeLee who was serving the country in the Air Force Reserves was seeking city longevity pay under the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Surrisi explained that longevity pay is additional compensation that the city provides to qualified employees as an incentive to remain in service to the city.
The time for fireworks will soon be upon us, though some area residents are already lighting up the skies. The state has its own fireworks laws that specify when fireworks can be discharged, though a number of communities such as Winamac, Knox, and Plymouth have adopted their own ordinances that limit when and where fireworks can be used.
According to the state laws, fireworks can only be discharged at special discharge locations, the person’s property, or the property of another who has given permission to do so. Anyone under the age of 18 who wishes to use fireworks must be accompanied by an adult, and fireworks can only be lit before 11 p.m. and after 9 a.m. However, on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day and New Year’s Eve, fireworks may be discharged until midnight.
