Knox Mayor Rick Chambers opened seven bids for the proposed Starke County Jail water project. The members of the the Board of Public Works heard all of the bids as they were presented Wednesday morning.
Several representatives from a number of the bidding companies were present when the bids were presented as well as Starke County Auditor Kay Chaffins and Starke County Commission President Kathy Norem.
The Knox Board of Public Works members discussed a water bill issue concerning Hoosier Custom Plastics during their meeting Wednesday morning.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers and Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston explained that business owner Gordon Schenk reported an unusually high bill for July and was hoping the City of Knox would reduce the bill.
It’s street sweeping time again for the city of Knox, and Mayor Rick Chambers wants to remind city residents of the sweeping routes and their hours and regulations. It is unlawful for the owner, driver or operator of any vehicle to park or stop a vehicle during the street sweeping hours and there are penalties in place for any violating this ordinance.
“Nothing from that project went to the landfill; he salvaged everything, so he’s taking the insulation, the two-by-fours, the metal. He has taken everything out of there and salvaged everything, and he’s now to the point where he was ready to demo the building,” Chambers explained.
A new salary ordinance is in the books for the city of Knox. The city council last night passed the 2014 salary ordinance on its third reading, adopting the ordinance that includes raises for all elected officials and salaried employees. After the first reading of the ordinance, Mayor Rick Chambers explained that a few corrections needed to be reflected in the ordinance before it was passed on its second reading, and those changes were also reflected in the third reading passed unanimously by the council last night.
Bad news for festival-goers: there will be no Harvest Festival in Knox due to the lack of a coordinator. Mayor Rick Chambers explained that they still hope to have a parade and car show as well as a number of other events that weekend, but no formal festival will take place because no one stepped up to take the reins.
In October, Chambers announced that he was looking for a coordinator for the event after he learned the previous coordinator, Michelle Bachtel, would not be able to handle it this year. The event’s coordinator is responsible for putting together events, contacting vendors, lining up entertainment like live bands, getting dumpsters in town, and gathering volunteers to pick up trash, set up and tear down booths, manage the parade, and a variety of other tasks.
Knox officials may soon receive a three percent raise, as the city council this week approved a salary ordinance on its first reading that included the raise for all elected officials and salaried employees. Mayor Rick Chambers explained that a few corrections do need to be reflected in the ordinance before it is passed on its second reading, however.
Drivers on Washington and East streets in Knox will soon notice a bit of a change as the city council this week approved a resolution to install a four-way stop at the intersection of the two streets. Mayor Rick Chambers read the resolution aloud at their meeting Tuesday night and explained that due to the proximity of the streets to a nearby school, it creates a hazardous condition to the pedestrians and vehicle traffic in the area.
Consequently, the council unanimously approved a resolution to install a four-way stop, a change to the current two-way stop at the intersection. Signs will soon be installed.
Two city officials from Knox have applied for the 50/50 sidewalk reimbursement program, and now the pair must file conflict of interest statements as recommended by the city attorney. Attorney David Matsey told the council that Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston and Councilman Jeff Berg have applied for the program and the council must now approve the statements before filing them with the State Board of Accounts, circuit court clerk, and the Indiana State Ethics Commission.
The Knox Board of Works met in special session Friday in order to open and award a bid for the 50/50 sidewalk program.
Five businesses provided bids: Custom Concrete, Pete Kuchel Concrete, Do All Concrete, EAM Enterprise, and Covenant Concrete.
Mayor Rick Chambers read aloud the bids for the nine addresses of homeowners who submitted applications for the project. In the end, the Board of Works approved the bid of Covenant Concrete with a total bid of $13,940 as the lowest conforming bid pending a review of the bid packet by Street Superintendent Jeff Borg and City Attorney David Matsey.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers this week gave the city council updates on several projects currently in the works for the city, including the lift station and Phoenix House projects.
Chambers said the sewer project is moving along after the council at their previous meeting approved an additional appropriation of $140,000 for the project. Now, he said six bid packets have been picked up from the city and they’re waiting to hear back from bidders for the project, which entails installing a new lift station near the South Side Fire Station. Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston said the lift station is a necessity for the city to allow for present and future growth in the area as the current system is antiquated and no longer suit’s the city’s needs.
He asked Street Superintendent Jeff Borg and Wastewater Superintendent Kelly Clemons to give him job descriptions and a list of all the employees who need a CDL license for drug testing purposes. Mayor Chambers explained that he wants to cut down the number of random drug tests given to the employees. About 50 percent of the employees are being drug tested and the mayor wants to revise the employee handbook to reflect which employees need to be drug tested. If a supervisor believes a drug test is warranted on a certain employee, a drug test will be performed.
All potential employees will be screened for drugs upon pre-employment and that requirement will not change.
The Knox Board of Public Works approved three change orders to the Phoenix House construction project Wednesday morning.
The construction project began in mid-January with site preparations beginning in December. The Phoenix House suffered flooding and grant money was sought by K-IRPC to aid in the construction project. The garage is being expanded to include a storage area, a group meeting room, a library and computer area.
This is a chance for residents to repair sidewalks at half the cost. If you have a troublesome area that would benefit from this program, Mayor Rick Chambers is accepting requests now from homeowners and business owners. The application deadline is Monday, April 15.
After more than a month without a planning commissioner, the City of Knox Planning Commission last night made their appointment for the position. Greg Matt was not re-appointed to the position on Jan. 1, and a debate has been ongoing between Mayor Rick Chambers and the Planning Commission over who has the authority to appoint the planning commissioner.
The city of Knox has been getting by without a planning commissioner, after Greg Matt was not re-appointed to the position in January. Since then, a debate has been ongoing between Mayor Rick Chambers and the Planning Commission between who has the authority to appoint a planning commissioner, and still no one has been appointed.
