The Knox City Council will take some preliminary steps tonight to spend the latest round of federal COVID-19 relief. Council members will discuss measures to create a separate fund for the $740,000 the city expects to get from the American Rescue Plan Act and proceed with working on a plan for how to spend it.
Continue readingA joint workshop between the Knox City Council and Planning Commission was held recently to clear up some confusion about the City’s authority in the two mile jurisdiction.
Continue readingThe Knox City Council will review their meeting schedule for 2020 when members meet tonight at 7 p.m.
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Knox City Council members will discuss funding for a school resource officer when they meet tonight.
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Knox Planning Commission members voted to hold a public hearing over a requested zoning change when they met Tuesday night.
When discussing potential zoning changes, Tim Miller, the owner of Royal Star Builders, addressed the board members. He said he’s interested in having a property that he purchased at 409 Pacific Avenue rezoned from residential to commercial. Continue reading
The Knox City Council will meet tonight where the election of the 2018 Council President Pro Temp will be addressed.
Council members will consider appointments for the BZA, the Starke County Solid Waste Board, the Starke County Economic Development Foundation as well as the Plan Commission and Redevelopment Commission. Mayor Dennis Estok will also present his mayoral appointments.
An amendment to the Salary Ordinance will be considered on first reading and the second reading over the Ordinance to Eliminate Obstructions will be held. Continue reading
The Knox Plan Commission met last night to hold a public hearing and discussion over a subdivision of property for the purpose of developing a Dollar General Store in the area at the request of Mark Matthew.
The commissioners ultimately approved the subdivision but prior to and following the decision, the meeting continuously erupted into conversations over site planning and safety concerns, resulting in one commissioner submitting verbal resignation and leaving the meeting prior to adjournment.
Commission president Jeff Berg began by running over the purpose and protocol of the meeting and hearing, saying that Mr. Matthew was seeking permission to divide a lot at the corner of U.S 35 and County Road 200 S. Planning Administrator Kenny Pfost added that a notification of the hearing was publicized and all neighbors within a 500 foot radius of the project were sent letters about the plans. Continue reading
The Knox Plan Commission has an opening for a ninth member.
The Knox Plan Commission wants to make sure sheds and garages are being permitted properly.
A longtime law enforcement officer will soon be in charge of code enforcement for the City of Knox. Kenny Pfost has been appointed as the city’s director of building and code compliance by Mayor Dennis Estok. Pfost will also serve as planning administrator, following action by the Knox Plan Commission Tuesday.
The Knox Plan Commission will consider the replacement of the city’s planning administrator during tonight’s meeting.
The Knox City Council last week adopted revised construction specifications for city streets. Superintendent Jeff Borg says the 8 inches of compacted aggregate will stay the same. The 2 inches of asphalt binder with three inches and to replace the 1 inch Number 11 surface with an inch and a half. Continue reading
The City of Knox ordinance with regard to downtown tattoo parlors will not be amended at this time. Instead the city council, at the recommendation of Mayor Dennis Estok, has opted to refer the matter to the plan commission. He says they can develop a special use permit to allow tattoo parlors, which are essentially prohibited by the restrictive ordinance language currently on the books. Continue reading
The City of Knox will soon have a new planning administrator, building inspector and code enforcement officer. The Plan Commission voted Tuesday night to terminate Bruce Williams, at the recommendation of Mayor Dennis Estok. He’s expressed frustrations on several occasions with the slow progress of code enforcement efforts and says he decided to go in another direction. Continue reading
Knox City Attorney David Matsey will narrow the focus of the proposed dumpster ordinance before the city council approves the second reading.
The city council members last night reviewed the plan commission’s recommendations for the proposed ordinance. The commission members had issues with the definition of a dumpster and how the document would apply to the business sector of the city. They also felt that the time limits in the ordinance conflict with one another.
The Knox City Council will tackle the dumpster ordinance when they meet to work toward the second reading of the document tonight.
The council members wanted the opinion of the members of the plan commission before they approved the second reading of the ordinance. When the plan commission members met last week, they came up with several issues. Among the comments included the definition of dumpsters which they felt is too broad. They also thought the original purpose of the ordinance may have been for roll-off containers on public property and not all dumpsters. Location restrictions and time limits were additional concerns. The council will go through the plan commission’s comments when that agenda item comes up for discussion.
The Knox City Council had final action on the outdoor storage ordinance last night.
The Knox plan commission members met on June 3 and discussed the city council’s recommendation on adding wording to allow a business to go before the board of zoning appeals and request a special use variance for outdoor displays. The council members felt that the ordinance was a blanket ordinance and businesses are different in how they operate so that could be an option for those businesses.
The Knox City Council members will again be discussing the outdoor storage ordinance during their meeting tonight.
The ordinance was sent back to the Knox Plan Commission after the council’s last meeting. The council members thought that the ordinance was like a blanket ordinance and didn’t fit each business as they are different in the way they operate. The council wanted wording to allow for a business owner to go before the Knox Board of Zoning Appeals to request a special use for outdoor storage at their business as each case is different.
