With less than a week left for candidates to file to run in the May primary, many incumbents remain unopposed. As of Friday afternoon, the only local contested race was for Knox clerk-treasurer. Colleen Hodge and Cyndi Mann-Kidder are vying for the Democratic Party nomination, according to the Starke County Clerk’s Office. Incumbent Jeff Houston is not seeking another term.
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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
Knox City Council members received a draft of an ordinance that will establish official duties of council members after their meeting last Tuesday.
Knox Mayor Dennis Estok has been coordinating with Indianapolis attorney John Molitor to construct an ordinance that lays out official council duties. The draft ordinance addresses things such as meeting attendance, consequences for multiple misses and adequate constituent representation. Continue reading
Mayor Dennis Estok informed council members last Tuesday, that the councilman for District 4, Tim Manns, has verbally indicated that he intends to resign from the city council.
Mayor Estok said that Manns sited scheduling conflicts with work and family obligations as the reason for his resignation. Estok added that the verbal notification is not official and Manns will still need to submit a resignation in writing. Continue reading
Knox City Council members voted to move forward with establishing an ordinance that would define the official duties of city council members when they met last week.
Up until now, the duties of a council member have been implied but unspecified. This proposed ordinance would establish expectations and responsibilities for council members, including things such as attendance and constituent representation. Continue reading
Knox residents won’t see quite as big of a spike in their sewer bills, following action by the city council Tuesday. Rate hikes were set to take effect this month, as the second phase of an increase begun last year. But during Tuesday’s meeting, the council voted to spread out the remaining increase over the next four years. Continue reading
Knox officials are still gathering information from other communities about how they regulate tattoo parlors before formally acting to relax their restrictions on such businesses in the downtown area. Councilman Tim Manns raised the issue last month and asked last night when it will be considered. Continue reading
The Knox City Council plans to revisit its ordinance regulating the operation of tattoo parlors within the city limits. Councilman Tim Mann raised the issue Tuesday night. He recently spoke to a man who wants to put a tattoo shop in town but is unable to do so because of the strict regulations governing such a business. Continue reading
The Knox City Council voted Tuesday to hire a Warsaw-based company to repair the roof on the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center. According to a source, there was a plan of getting Roof Lanterns installed, but as it was a community centre, the idea was scarped, and the council decided to go with the damage restoration rather than a change. Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston says multiple local contractors have tried unsuccessfully to patch the leaky rubber roof. The building’s ceilings, carpets and electrical system have sustained extensive water damage as a result of the problems.
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The Knox City Council voted 3-2 to raise the fine for truck route violations from $50 to $150 after a spirited discussion. Mayor Dennis Estok contends the fine needs to be raised in order to deter local drivers from playing the odds and using Culver Road to get from U.S. 35 to the Knox Industrial Park instead of taking State Road 8. Councilman Tim Manns renewed his call for additional signs to alert truck drivers of the route.
