District 4 Knox City Council Member to be Determined at Tonight’s Caucus, Council Meeting to Follow

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

The caucus to find a replacement for the open District 4 Knox City Council seat will be held tonight at 6:30 p.m.

Starke County Democrat Chairman Kenny Wallace shared that the three individuals submitted a letter of interest before the deadline. Those candidates will be considered and whoever is selected will be sworn in immediately following the caucus. They will be able to attend their first meeting as a member tonight.

The regularly scheduled city council meeting will commence at 7 p.m. Continue reading →

Letters of Interest for the Open Knox City Council Seat Must be Submitted by Tomorrow

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Time is running out to apply for the open seat on the Knox City Council. Individuals who reside in District 4 and are registered Democrats have until Friday to submit their letter of interest for consideration. Any letters that come in after the deadline will not be eligible

Letters must be delivered to Starke County Democrat Chairman Kenny Wallace. They can be sent by mail to his Knox residence located at 5175 East 200 South. Continue reading →

Knox City Council Approves Amended General Obligation Bond Ordinance

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Knox City Council members considered an amended General Obligation Bond Ordinance when they met last Tuesday.

As a reminder, the city of Knox will be purchasing a pumper truck for the Knox-Center Township Volunteer Fire Department to replace an aging model that is more than 30-years-old.

In order to finance the purchase, the city will be utilizing general obligation bonds. Continue reading →

Knox Mayor Aims to Bring Owner Occupied Rehabilitation Grant Funds Back into the City

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Mayor Dennis Estok told City Council members last Tuesday that he’s taking steps to bring the Owner Occupied Rehabilitation Grant back into Knox.

Mayor Estok explained that this specific funding assistance allows residents with lower incomes to apply to receive assistance with various home repairs. Estok said that in the past, recipients of the grant were awarded up to $15,000 in some cases. Continue reading →

Selected Furniture’s Tax Abatement Request Denied by Knox City Council

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

A tax abatement request for Selected Furniture was considered during Tuesday night’s Knox City Council meeting. Mayor Dennis Estok presented the request to the council members and noted a few details about the company.

He shared that as of a few weeks ago, Selected Furniture still needed to pay about $37,458 in real property taxes and $21,062.85 in personal property taxes for a total of approximately $58,521 owed in back taxes. Continue reading →

Public Vet’s Neuter Scooter to Return to Knox this Weekend

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Due to the incredible success of the event that was held in April, Public Vet’s Neuter Scooter Mobile Clinic will be returning to the City of Knox.

The program provides an integral service that helps keep the feral cat population in check. Mayor Dennis Estok previously reported that more than 130 cats were registered for the last Neuter Scooter Mobile Clinic. Volunteers who are interested can opt to join with the proper requirements. There were already individuals with electric scooters who participated. Interested people are encouraged to get bikes, scooters, or even electric longboards on ScooterAdviser so they can join the cause.

According to the organization’s website, the Neuter Scooter will be in Knox from Friday, June 15th until Monday, June 18th. As a reminder, the exact location of the mobile clinic is not revealed until online registration is completed. Continue reading →

Caucus to Replace District 4 Knox City Council Member Scheduled

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

The caucus to find the replacement for the District 4 Knox City Council member will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 26th at Knox City Hall.

During citizen comments at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, Mayor Dennis Estok mentioned that since the caucus will be held prior to the regularly scheduled meeting, the new member will be sworn in and will attend their first meeting that night. Continue reading →

Knox City Council Meets Tonight

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Knox City Council members will consider granting a tax abatement for Selected Furniture LLC when they meet tonight at 7 p.m. in Knox City Hall.

Project street print, which has been discussed briefly in past meetings, will be covered again tonight. Officials have been discussing the cost associated with painting the city emblem on sections of road in town as well as considering potential locations. Continue reading →

Serenity Gardens Mural Starts to Take Shape, Preliminary Drawing Presented to Knox Officials

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan
Preliminary Sketch of Serenity Gardens Mural

When the Knox City Council members met at the end of May, they received the first glimpse of the proposed mural that will be painted on the wall behind Serenity Gardens downtown.

Initially, three local artists were going to collaborate on a design, however, two of the individuals decided not to pursue the project. Instead, Oregon-Davis Art Teacher Joe Eskridge will be working on the mural himself. Continue reading →

Knox City Council Votes to Purchase Double-Sided Message Board

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

When Knox City Council members met last month, they decided to move forward with purchasing a new digital message board, after first discussing the matter back in March.

Initially, when the topic was presented by Mayor Dennis Estok, he said that the double-sided message board he found would be 4 foot by 8 foot and would cost around $35,000.

He explained that placing a sign at the city’s entrance could help promote various community events and share other important announcements with citizens as well as motorists passing through. Continue reading →

Knox Clerk-Treasurer Free to Begin Budget Process After City Council Approves Fund Transfer

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Knox City Council members had to move a little money around before the budget season begins.

When members met at the end of May, Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston explained that the budget process will begin in June. He noted that all accounts need to be in black and alerted them that there were only two funds that needed attention before he could proceed. Continue reading →

District 4 Knox City Councilman Formally Resigns, Caucus to be Held Within the Next 30 Days

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Starke County’s Democrat Chairman Kenny Wallace is in the process of scheduling a caucus to find a replacement for the District 4 Knox City Council seat after Tim Manns submitted a formal resignation this week.

Mayor Dennis Estok noted that as city officials were in the process of preparing the bill of impeachment for Manns, his letter of resignation was delivered to the City Hall drop box. Chairman Wallace said that in order for it to be officially recognized, the document has to be submitted to him so he retrieved a copy from the mayor. Continue reading →

Knox Mayor Mentions Success of Spring Dumpster Days Event, Suggests Holding More than One During the Year

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Knox Mayor Dennis Estok acknowledged the success of the Dumpster Days Spring Clean-Up event when the City Council met last Thursday.

According to skip hire Glasgow, a total of three dumpsters were utilized when the event was held on Saturday, May 19th and Sunday, May 20th.

Though the event was scheduled to run through 5 p.m. on Sunday, the mayor said they had to shut it down a little early because all of the rented dumpsters were filled up by 2 p.m. Continue reading →

Resolution Passed to Prepare Bill of Impeachment For District 4 Knox City Councilman

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Knox City Council members took another step to address the consistent absence of the Councilman for District 4 when they met on Thursday.

City council members have been discussing the continuous absence of Councilman Tim Manns for several months. Because Manns is an elected official he continues to be paid per meeting, despite missing 20 out of 24 meetings in 2017 and failing to attend a single meeting in 2018 so far.

According to an Employee Compensation Report through IndianaGateway, Manns raked in about $4,000 in 2017, making approximately $333 per month. Continue reading →

Public Hearing Held Tuesday Over $600,000 OCRA Grant, Knox City Council Meets Tonight

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

The City of Knox plans to tackle a major project at the Wastewater Treatment Plant and officials are looking to receive some financial assistance through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs.

As a part of the process to apply for a $600,000 OCRA grant, a public hearing was held in City Hall on Tuesday night. Community Development Planner Emily Albaugh spoke on behalf of the Kankakee Iroquois Regional Planning Commission (KIRPC) to provide some details about the grant and the application process. Continue reading →

Knox Redevelopment Pilot Project Aims to Help Revitalize the Downtown Area

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

A business opportunity is being offered by city officials to help revitalize the downtown area in Knox.

When the City Council met last Thursday, Mayor Dennis Estok shared that the Redevelopment Commission has purchased a building that will be utilized for a proposed pilot program. He said the goal of the program is to provide some incentives to try and induce some business downtown. Continue reading →

Knox City Council Gets an Early Start on General Obligation Bond Process, at Umbaugh’s Recommendation

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Knox Mayor Dennis Estok alerted city council members of some changes to the general obligation bond process when they met last Thursday.

Estok issued an updated timetable for the general obligation bonds that the city will be using to finance the purchase of a pumper truck. He informed members about a suggestion made by the city’s financial advisors that impacted the timeline. Continue reading →

Knox City Council Approves Final Version of 5-Year Parks Master Plan

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan
Troyer Group Architect Mike Reese

A public hearing over the final version of 5-Year Parks Master Plan was held prior to last Thursday’s Knox City Council meeting.

Troyer Group Landscape Architect Mike Reese led the public hearing. During this process, he’s been coordinating with city officials and gathering public input about Heritage Park, Sandy Acres, Wythogan Park and potential new park. Continue reading →