The contractor in charge of the Starke County Courthouse and old jail renovation project is ready to issue construction documents for bid in hopes of wrapping that process up within the month. The commissioners Monday night authorized DLZ to proceed with that process after reviewing the proposed scope of work. Continue reading
Courthouse Renovation Plans, Costs on Starke County Commissioners Agenda
The Starke County Commissioners will have a better idea of the scope of renovations to two county buildings after their meeting tonight. Representatives from architectural firm DLZ and contractor Skillman Corporation will share final design plans for the revamped courthouse and renovated former jail. They will also provide a breakdown of costs for the work. Continue reading
Architects Brief Historical Society on Courthouse Renovations
The Starke County Historical Society and the Starke County Historian met Friday with representatives from DLZ Architecture and Planning of South Bend to review the renovation plans for the County Courthouse. The group reviewed the projected work of each floor and the exterior of the historic 100+-year old courthouse. Continue reading
County Proceeding With Courthouse, Old Jail Renovations
Renovations to the Starke County Courthouse and former jail in downtown Knox are on track to start in July and conclude by the end of the year. The county commissioners last night approved design and development documents for the project. Plans call for the old jail to be renovated into office space for Starke County Community Corrections, the probation department and Purdue Extension.
The courthouse will be reconfigured to accommodate the prosecutor’s office on the first floor and give the clerk’s office additional space on the second level. Public access to the building would be restricted to one door, and metal detectors would be installed. Continue reading
Council Questions Proposed Jail Addition
Nearly six months after the first inmates moved into the new Starke County Jail east of Knox the architect and builder are recommending a $525,000 addition to the facility. Architect and project manager Scott Carnegie with DLZ told the council and commissioners an automatic auger would catch small items like cellophane and plastic wrappers inmates flush down the toilets and keep them out of the city’s sanitary sewer system. Continue reading
New Starke County Jail Groundbreaking Ceremony Today
After years of planning and development, the time has finally come for the groundbreaking ceremony for the Starke County Sheriffs Department and Detention Center. The county commissioners announced that the groundbreaking will be held today from 10 to 11 a.m. and is open to the public. The ceremony will be held at the 24-acre construction site at the corner of State Road 8 and County Road 550 East in Knox. The proposed 146-bed facility will replace the 63-bed facility currently in use, a necessity according to Sheriff Oscar Cowen. He said the county is currently housing between 15 and 20 prisoners per day in other facilities and officials are desperate to get the facility finished. Continue reading
Starke Commissioners Review County Jail Bids; Decision to Be Made Later
Starke Commissioners Receive Jail Update
Starke County Commissioners Sign Contracts For Jail Project
The Starke County Commissioners this week approved two contracts regarding the proposed construction of a new Starke County jail facility.
One contract was signed with Skillman Corporation, who will be handling the construction of the facility. The local on-site construction manager will be Bob Chorba, a Starke County resident. Chorba currently works with Skillman, and has been the project manager for several projects handled by Skillman. A contract was also signed with DLZ, the architectural firm that will be handling the design aspects of the facility.
Public Information Meetings Scheduled For Starke County Jail Project
The Starke County Jail Committee met recently and a consultant from the DLZ Corporation gave the committee options concerning the jail. Commissioner Kathy Norem said several public information meetings have been scheduled to inform county residents of those findings.
“The first will be Thursday, July 26 at the Knox Middle School Cafeteria at 6 p.m., or you can attend one of the other two meetings,” Norem explained. “One will be Tuesday, July 31 at the Oregon-Davis High School Cafeteria at 6 p.m. or Wednesday, August 1 at 6 p.m. at the North Judson-San Pierre High School Auditorium.”
Norem says a number of options were presented by DLZ, and each of them have their pros and cons.
Summer Study Committee To Look At Housing D Felonies In-County
With state corrections facilities running out of room, a summer study committee is looking into the possibility of housing criminals charged with Class D felonies in county jails rather than the Department of Corrections.
Because of this, the Starke County Jail Committee has been encouraged to plan for a facility with 130 beds rather than just 100 to ensure that even if the state does decide to send D-felony offenders back to the county, they won’t have to worry about overcrowding.
Culver Town Board Addresses Residential Water Issues
The Culver Town Council has received several letters from residents of the town notifying them of water issues, and they plan to attach these letters to a grant application to get these problems fixed. Recently, the review committee met with three different engineers in regards to a grant to conduct a water study. Commonwealth Engineers, DLZ, and GAI Consultants were reviewed, and Commonwealth was approved as the engineer if the water study grant is received.
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