The Knox Board of Public Works is attempting to reduce the number of required drug tests that need to be conducted on city employees.
Mayor Rick Chambers asked the department heads to provide job descriptions for their employees to determine those who are required to be drug tested. The only employees that need to be tested are CDL license holders and there are only handful that work for the city.
The Knox Board of Public Works held discussion with a resident concerning her water and sewer bill.
Janet Black explained to the board members that there was a water leak detected underneath her house and she didn’t know about it. Her son had fixed the leak but she was shocked when she got her water bill and it was $410.47 – a far cry from her regular bill of $61.00.
The Knox Board of Public Works approved a pay application for Chester Construction at their meeting this week in the amount of $49,563.74. The board members also approved a claim for Mark Milo Enterprises for $29,307.50.
Van Janovic from Territorial Engineering explained to the board that these claims are for the Phoenix House construction project. He said Chester’s work is about 91 percent complete and the parking lot work being done by Mark Milo is about 63 percent complete. He said he walked through the project area and was impressed with the work that has been done and it’s been on schedule.
A sobriety checkpoint held at Talmer and Schricker avenues in North Judson Friday night didn’t lead to any arrests, but it did end badly for one Knox police officer when he struck a deer and totaled his squad car. Knox Mayor Rick Chambers told the city council at their meeting this week that the accident totaled the 1997 Crown Victoria squad car, which he said had around 100,000 miles on it at the time of the accident.
Anyone who wishes to dispose of their natural Christmas tree may do so by placing the tree near the curb where they would normally put any brush during the summer months. Officials emphasized that all ornaments and tinsel must be removed before the tree will be taken for disposal.
In addition, residents can also dispose of their tree in the city’s compost drop-off pile located behind City Hall. The garbage contractors will not pick up disposed natural Christmas trees – these must be picked up by the brush pickup crews or dropped off at the compost drop-off pile.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers explained a number of points to the city council this week, including an update from Park Superintendent George Byer on the status of winterization and fence repairs in Wythogan Park.
Byer explained that the winterization process will soon begin for the park, in which the park equipment will be prepared for the upcoming winter season to prevent any damage caused by the weather. Byer said they’ll also begin working on the repairs for the fence this weekend if weather permits, but if not, the repairs will have to wait until Monday morning. Byer said both fences will soon be repaired.
A no-burn ordinance remains in effect in the city of Knox.
Mayor Rick Chambers is urging residents to follow this ordinance and not burn leaves or other brush and debris within the city limits.
If you need to be rid of leaves in your yard, the street department will be picking up leaves each day beginning tomorrow. You can rake the leaves to the street along the side for pick up. Do not pile the leaves in the alley. Do not bag the leaves, and remove all trash and other debris from the pile.
You are also welcome to take grass clippings or leaves to the compost drop-off behind City Hall.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers told the city council this week that he has heard of a number of problems that have developed with the brush drop-off service available at the compost pile behind city hall. He said the pile has received an unexpectedly large amount of brush, requiring the city to take nearly one truck load per day from the site. More than 100 loads of brush have been removed from the compost pile so far this year.
Chambers said this might be due to a large number of people from out of town using the compost pile to drop off their brush, despite the fact that the service is only provided to residents of Knox. He said he has seen a number of out-of-town dump trucks deliver loads of brush to the site, and he is not sure what to do about the situation.
He said that the city does not want to fence in the area and it would be too costly to dedicate a patrolman to monitor the pile. The council decided to monitor the site’s activity for another year before deciding what action to take to cut down on out-of-town drop-offs.
The Knox City Council this week approved a resolution to establish a Special Event Fund for the city. Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston told the council that he had spoken with the auditor for the State Board of Accounts who will be conducting the audit for Knox, and Houston had asked what to do with donations received for specific events, such as the Fourth of July fireworks.
According to Houston, the State Board of Accounts recommended creating a Special Event Fund to hold donations earmarked for a specific purpose. This fund will be separate from the city’s Donation Fund, which Houston says is used for donations to organizations or departments, such as police.
This new fund will be used to keep track of donations received for special events, but Houston emphasized that all donations going into this fund must be labeled for a specific purpose.
The council approved the resolution creating the Special Event Fund.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers would like to remind all residents that Wythogan Park is still closed while cleanup crews continue efforts to remove branches, limbs, debris, and other items strewn about and destroyed from the July storms.
Chambers says the park is closed until further notice, but he’s hopeful that it will open toward the end of September. He says the council is hoping to let a contract this week for the cleanup work, but the contractors have indicated that it would take roughly four to six weeks after the bid is awarded before the cleanup can be completed.
The City of Knox continues to clean up from the ferocious storm on July 24.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers says the city is trying to keep up with brush pick-up, but with the street department’s regular duties and the brush overload, an outside contractor has been hired to aid the street department in brush pick-up.
Brush in the alleys will be picked up last as the street department sifts through the debris. Mayor Chambers says the brush in the alleys may be left until next month. He asks that residents be patient while clean-up continues in the city.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers is asking residents to take measures to conserve water in light of worsening drought conditions that have placed the entire state under a water shortage warning.
Chambers said the average daily water use for the city is about 350,000 gallons, but for the past several weeks, over 550,000 gallons of water per day have been used. The aquifer from which three deep pumps draw water is about two feet lower than average. Chambers urges citizens to do what they can to conserve water. Residents are encouraged to restrain from watering lawns or flowers as often, and to change shower or bath habits to reduce water usage.
If adequate rainfall does not occur within the next couple of weeks, the mayor may need to restrict water usage.
Several communities in the state have ordered water restrictions due to severe drought conditions.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers said that the water superintendent has not ordered any restrictions for Knox, and said the water supply and level look good. Officials will be monitoring conditions.
North Judson Town Superintendent Marshall Horstmann is asking residents to monitor water use and supply. Check for leaky faucets and any other unnecessary leaks to help conserve water just in case a restriction is ordered.
The Starke County Fireworks event was a success last week.
According to Knox Mayor Rick Chambers, a profit was made in this year’s event. The fireworks show, hosted by Mad Bomber, was conducted at $7,800 and with other expenses, the total cost came to $8,559. Over $4,000 was donated toward the event, and gate fees totaled $2,437. Two fundraisers brought in a little over $2,500. In all, $9,461 was collected which provided a $902.46 profit for the city.
Mayor Chambers and the Fireworks Committee thanks everyone who was a part of this year’s success and the Mayor said the show will go on in 2013.
Fundraising efforts for the Starke County fireworks celebration have paid off, as a total of $6499.20 has been raised thus far for the event. Knox Mayor Rick Chambers says the cost of fireworks came out to roughly $7800, and the remaining $1300 is expected to be made up by gate fees.
Donations provided $3696 toward the celebration, and two fundraisers nearly doubled that amount. The port-a-pit chicken fundraiser raised $1533, and the fish fry raised another $1044.50. The remaining $225 came from vendor fees at the airport.
It’s the big cleanup weekend in the City of Knox.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers announced this week that two dumpsters will be in the parking lot at Knox City Hall and you may dispose of large, bulky items in these dumpsters and Waste Management will have a truck to collect electronics at no charge. Shred documents for free tomorrow from 9:00 a.m. To Noon.
Two yard sale events are scheduled for this weekend in the Starke County area. The Hamlet town-wide yard sale is today and tomorrow. Sales begin at 8:00 a.m. both days.
Good news for Fourth of July fans: there will be fireworks this year at the Starke County Airport. Fireworks Committee Chairperson Linda Berndt said yesterday that the fireworks are still on. To date, almost $5000 has been collected of the nearly $10,000 cost for the display and other expenses. The fireworks display will take place July 4.
Starke County may be luckier than other locations around the nation, as many cities and towns have cut fireworks for a variety of reasons. The celebrations have been primarily snuffed out due to budget cuts for towns and corporate sponsors.
It will be a busy week in the City of Knox this week. It’s Spring Clean-up week! Knox Mayor Rick Chambers suggests utilizing two big dumpsters to throw out large, bulky items. The dumpsters will be located behind City Hall.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers reminded the city council members that the lift station at Clabaugh Drive and U.S. 35 is going to have to be replaced in the near future. That information came out of a report by Wastewater Superintendent Kelly Clemons.
“I had her get some figures. We need to know how much growth is expected south of that point. A new lift station would cost $188,000,” Chambers said.
With Memorial Day a little more than three weeks away, Mayor Rick Chambers is trying to get flags up on U.S. 35 to show the city’s patriotism. Chambers says a large number of items are required to mount the flags.
“We need brackets, poles, flags, stainless steel bands– everything to get flags up on 35. There are 35 light poles on the highway with lights on them in the city limits,” said Chambers.
