An appropriation hearing will be held over the 2018 General Obligation Bond issue when Knox City Council members meet tonight at 7 p.m.
Additionally, members will consider two ordinances on second and final reading. One ordinance is to authorize the sale of the general obligation bond for the fire truck and the other will approve the appropriation of the bond. Continue reading
Knox Mayor Dennis Estok alerted city council members that work has begun on a Community Crossings Grant project. At Tuesday night’s city council meeting, Mayor Estok explained that crews recently began removing old curbs and sidewalks on Water Street.
As a part of the project that was submitted to INDOT and subsequently approved, curbs and sidewalks will be replaced and repaving on Water Street, as well as Main Street from U.S. 35 to Mound Street, will be completed. Continue reading
As the Treasurer of the Knox Redevelopment Commission, Jeff Houston is required to submit an annual update to the fiscal body regarding the commission and the City’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts prior to April 1st each year.
When Knox City Council members met last Tuesday on March 27th, Houston reported the city has two TIF Districts; the Original TIF and the Industrial Park TIF.
He explained that in 2017, the original TIF fund received about $101,363 in revenue and nearly $36,979 was paid out in expenses. On the other hand, the revenue received in the Industrial Park TIF District remained the same as no expenses were paid out, according to Houston. Continue reading
Knox City Council members were informed about some anticipated changes to local circuit breaker tax caps they met last Tuesday.
Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston said that on March 1st, he attended a meeting with the financial advisors at Umbaugh and Associates where they presented information about funding in local government and the analysis of assessed value.
He added that Mayor Dennis Estok, county representatives, local school administrators and other city and town officials were also in attendance at the March meeting. Continue reading
Starke County Community Services recently received a plethora of food donations thanks to the “Bluegrass Jam” event hosted by the City of Knox on March 25th.
At Tuesday night’s Knox City Council meeting Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston mentioned that the entry fee for the event was a food donation. Although he didn’t have an exact number for how much food was collected, he said the event was very well attended. He added that many people also provided compliments about the upgrades to the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center.
During his report, Houston also filled members in on the Starke County Economic Development Foundation Community Retreat that he attended with Mayor Dennis Estok and Councilman Jeff Berg. Continue reading
Knox Board of Works members approved a bid from the fire apparatus manufacturer Toyne, Inc when they met Wednesday morning.
Toyne was the only company to submit a bid on time and their proposal listed a cost of $579,334.71 for an available pumper truck. The bid came in about $20,665 less than the expected price of $600,000. Continue reading
Knox City Council moved one step closer to acquiring a new fire truck for the Knox-Center Township Fire Department when they met Tuesday evening.
Two ordinances related to the 2018 General Obligation Bonds that will be required for the fire truck purchase were passed on first reading.
The first ordinance authorizes the sale of the bonds while the second one permits the funds to be appropriated once the truck is ready to be purchased. Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston explained that the ordinances will need to be advertised before they can be passed on final reading. Continue reading
Knox Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston alerted city council members of a number of outstanding checks that had to be addressed prior to March 1st.
During Tuesday night’s Knox City Council meeting, Clerk-Treasurer Houston explained that state statute requires him to make a list of any checks written by the city that have not been cashed for over 2-years. Continue reading
Knox Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston told city council members of a potential impact Knox Community School’s bond pursuance may have on the city’s budget.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Houston told members he was under the impression the school’s bond may affect the city’s circuit breaker tax caps but he wasn’t sure about how much of an impact it would have.
He explained that the Knox School Corporation has recently been going through a process similar to what the city did when they took on community center renovations where a bond is set up through a separate building corporation that then leases the building back to the entity. Continue reading
Knox City Council members are scheduled to discuss an ordinance pertaining to an ADA coordinator and procedures when they meet tonight.
Reports will be delivered from Mayor Dennis Estok and Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston and council members can comment on any additional business they deem necessary. Continue reading
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
Knox Board of Works members approved a recommendation from Police Chief Harold Smith during a special meeting Monday morning.
Chief Smith’s recommendation pertained to hiring Seth Johnson as a patrolman for the police department. He explained that out the 30 applications that were issued, 9 were returned. Out of the 9 that came back, the list was narrowed down to 4 finalists. However, none of the final 4 passed background checks.
Since none of the applicants were suitable, Chief Smith suggested adding former Starke County Sheriff’s Department officer Seth Johnson to the force. Continue reading
Knox City Council members considered a grant administrator agreement with Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission on Tuesday night. KIRPC representative Shawn Cain told the council that the agreement would be to assist the city with the OCRA grant they recently received for the Knox Parks 5-Year Master Plan.
Cain said the agreement would allow KIRPC reps to assist the clerk-treasurer with reports and claims and they’d also be available to answer any questions that the council members may have in the future. Cain added that there is a $2,000 charge for their services. Continue reading
In order to discuss the employee handbook, Knox City Council members held a joint work session with a member of the Board of Public Works last night.
Steve Dodge served as the representative for the BOW. Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston explained that the firm HR Unlimited was hired to help revise the current employee handbook.
Houston said a new handbook was needed not only due to changes to state requirements but also because multiple versions of the handbook were floating around. He said over the years, people have amended it for various departmental needs but city officials felt it was time to have a standard for everyone to go by. Continue reading
The Knox City Council and the Board of Public Works will hold a joint work session to discuss the employee handbook tonight. It will be held at 6 p.m., prior to their regular session.
The regular session will commence at 7 p.m. where the approval of the new employee handbook will be up for consideration.
Additionally, members will consider a KIRPC Grant Administration Agreement and John Julien with Umbaugh will be discussing bonding for a fire truck. Continue reading
The Knox City Council members held the final reading over the amended ordinance to eliminate obstructions on sidewalks, city streets and railroad right-of-ways when they met Tuesday night.
The ordinance up for approval last night states that individuals can face fines for obstructing sidewalks, streets or railroad right-of-ways with any structures or vehicles. It also includes a section that requires unobstructed passage of vehicles and clear view of any stopped vehicles.
According to that section, a person who stops, parks or leaves a vehicle has to leave a sufficient unobstructed width of the roadway opposite the vehicle free for the passage of oncoming traffic and a clear view of the stopped vehicle from a distance of 200 feet in each direction upon the highway. Continue reading
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 City Council members held the first reading over the amended ordinance regulating obstruction of sidewalks, streets and railroad crossings for the City of Knox when they met Wednesday evening. Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston mentioned that the ordinance was created by taking their existing sidewalk obstruction ordinance and combining it with additional specifications that are addressed in state statute.
The majority of feed back from council members was specifically about the section regarding placement of vehicles. Certain members were seeking clarification about the section which indicates that vehicles cannot be within fifty feet of the nearest rail of a railroad crossing. Continue reading
Knox City Council members reviewed changes to the city’s sidewalk obstruction ordinance when they met Tuesday night.
Mayor Dennis Estok stated that no official action would be taken on the ordinance last night, but he wanted to submit it to council members prior to first reading incase they had any suggestions.
Issues with vehicles parking on sidewalks and large vehicles blocking the roadways have been brought up as council items during various meetings over the past few months. Councilman Jeff Berg recently showed fellow members that a sidewalk obstruction ordinance is on the books for the City of Knox.
However, the ordinance only covered structures and didn’t directly address vehicles. Council members agreed to amend the existing ordinance to cover the topics that have been discussed. Continue reading
The Knox City Council members are anticipated to act on the agreement between the Starke County Humane Society and the City of Knox when they meet in City Hall at 7 p.m. tonight.
The agreement states that the Starke County Humane Society is the official housing center for the city’s stray animals. Mayor Dennis Estok explained that there has been a verbal understanding between the city and the Humane Society for quite some time, but this agreement puts all expectations and responsibilities into writing.
Council members will also discuss amendments to the city’s existing sidewalk obstruction ordinance. The ordinance will be amended to address vehicles more specifically. Continue reading
