The Knox City Council heard an update on the potential for an upper, mid-scale hotel during their meeting last month.
Continue readingKnox City Council Updated on Hotel Project
MOA Between City of Knox and the SCEDF Modified Following Negotiations
A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the City of Knox and the Starke County Economic Development Foundation was up for approval during Wednesday night’s city council meeting.
Continue readingOfficials in Starke County Take Some More Stellar Steps with Asset Mapping Workshop
The Starke County Economic Development Foundation hosted an asset mapping workshop in conjunction with representatives from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs Tuesday night.
Stellar Community Project Manager Michael Sinnet facilitated the exercise which was held at the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center. Over the last few months, SCEDF officials have been working with town, city and county representatives about a local Stellar initiative. Continue reading
Calling Job Seekers of All Ages: SCEDF to Host Career Fair Today & Manufacturers Day Tomorrow
The Starke County Economic Development Foundation wants to help community members of all ages find a job that’s right for them. That’s why they’re hosting a few different events this week that will highlight a variety of local career options.
Today, WorkOne is teaming up with the SCEDF to host a career fair from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. in the Knox Middle School auxiliary gym. Job seekers are invited to attend this event to find out more about the kind of opportunities that are out there. Attendees are asked to enter through door number five. Continue reading
SCEDF Checks in With Knox Officials about Interest in Local Stellar Effort
Knox Mayor Dennis Estok said city officials are going to wait to come on board with a local Stellar effort until a bit more research has been done. Continue reading
North Judson Town Council Officially Joins Local Stellar Efforts
North Judson officials confirmed that they will be joining the Regional Stellar Communities effort during Monday night’s town council meeting. Continue reading
Starke County Wants to be Designated a Regional Stellar Community and Officials Are Taking Steps to Get There
What will it take for Starke County to be designated a Regional Stellar Community?
That is the question that was answered Thursday night when various county, city and town officials met at the Starke County Economic Development Foundation Office to find out what steps they can start taking in order to submit a competitive application in the future. Continue reading
J.W. Hicks Property Annexed into the City of Knox, Resolutions over Economic Revitalization Area and Tax Abatement Considered
A few different documents pertaining to the J.W. Hicks property were considered by Knox City Council members Thursday night.
In the city council’s first meeting in May, a public hearing was held over the company’s request to annex a portion of property into the city of Knox. Continue reading
Knox City Council Holds Public Hearing Over J.W. Hicks Annexation Petition
A public hearing over a petition for annexation was held when Knox City Council members met on Thursday. Starke County Economic Development Foundation Special Projects Coordinator Ron Gifford spoke on the behalf of the petitioner, J.W. Hicks Holding LLC.
Gifford explained that the Hicks organization previously purchased some property on the corner of Pacific Avenue. He said that when the company started looking into potential expansion, some records were reviewed and they discovered the property to the south, formerly the Hewlett property, was never annexed into the city. Continue reading
Busy Agenda Provided for Tonight’s Knox City Council Meeting
Knox City Council members will meet a little bit earlier than usual in order to cover the multiple items listed on tonight’s agenda.
Prior to the start of the meeting, a public hearing over the 5-Year Park Master Plan will be held at 6:45 p.m. Members will also consider a resolution to approve the Master Plan later in the evening.
The meeting will officially commence at 7 p.m. and another public hearing will be held over the petition submitted by J.W. Hicks for annexation into the City of Knox. Continue reading
North Judson Town Council Meets Tonight
The North Judson Town Council members will be considering reimbursement resolutions for water and sewer bonds when they meet at 6:30 p.m. tonight.
Members are also expected to go over service contracts with CommonWealth Engineers, the firm working with the town on the water and wastewater projects. Continue reading
Knox Clerk-Treasurer Discusses Event Success and Important Takeaway from the SCEDF Retreat
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
Several Local Officials Attend Starke County Economic Development Foundation’s Community Retreat
A variety of local representatives gathered Tuesday morning to learn more about development opportunities during the Starke County Economic Development Foundation’s Community Retreat.
Those in attendance included members of the Starke County Chamber of Commerce as well as local officials from the communities of Bass Lake, Hamlet, Knox and North Judson. Continue reading
Knox City Council to Meet Tonight
Amendments to the existing curfew ordinance for the City of Knox will be considered during tonight’s city council meeting at 7 p.m.
According to the council packet provided by administrative assistant Peggy Travis, the curfew ordinance currently in place was originally adopted in October of 1989.
City council members are also anticipated to receive a presentation from Starke County Economic Development Foundation Special Projects Coordinator Ron Gifford. As usual, a monthly progress report will be provided. Continue reading
Starke County Economic Development Foundation to Hold Community Retreat
The Starke County Economic Development Foundation will be holding a community retreat at their office in Knox on Tuesday, March 20th from 7:30 a.m. until noon CT.
Interim Executive Director Larry Wickert spoke to the North Judson Town Council members about the session during their meeting Monday night. He cleared up some confusion about the focus, stating that the event will be open to all municipalities in the area and will not solely be about development in North Judson. Continue reading
North Judson Town Council Decides on Potential Dates for SCEDF Workday
North Judson Town Council members decided on a few potential dates to recommend for a SCEDF workday when they met Monday night.
Starke County Economic Development Foundation liaison James Young reminded council members that Executive Director Larry Wickert is attempting to set up a session of some kind so members can brainstorm some ideas for potential development. Continue reading
NJ Town Council Receives Report from Starke County Economic Development Foundation
North Judson Town Council members received a brief monthly report from Starke County Economic Development Foundation Interim Director Larry Wickert when they met last week.
Wickert handed out a report which described different highlights from January. Continue reading
SCEDF Helps Knox Officials Get to the Bottom of a CEDIT Account Deficit
Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Charlie Weaver spoke with Knox City Council members about an estimated deficit in the city’s CEDIT account at their meeting last Tuesday.
Back in October, Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston mentioned that he received a notification from the Department of Local Government Finance indicating that there would be a projected loss of revenue of $34,908 for next year. He told members that sometimes those figures can be off but also assured them that the SCEDF was working with representatives from Umbaugh to get to the bottom of it.
At the most recent council meeting, Weaver informed members that after speaking with the city’s financial advisor Todd Samuelson of Umbaugh and Associates, he had a better understanding of why next year’s numbers are lower than the figures from 2017. Continue reading
Particular Purchase Order Raises Questions at North Judson Town Council Meeting
When it came time to approve purchase orders at the North Judson Town Council meeting on Monday, members chose to refrain from paying the second installment charge for consulting services from the Starke County Economic Development Foundation until more details can be gathered.
Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe alerted the council that bill was for $8,273.60. Before the purchase orders could be approved, Council Member Josh Brown asked what the SCEDF is doing specifically to warrant a total of $16,000 owed with the two installments.
Council Member Jane Ellen Felchuck explained that Executive Director Charlie Weaver does send reports and John Rowe said that representatives have attended recent meetings in order present new information. Council President Wendy Hoppe also mentioned that they brought in OTES and that they’re hopefully working to bring in more industry. Continue reading
West Side of North Judson Proposed as Ideal Spot for Future Industrial Development
Starke County Economic Development Foundation Board President Larry Wickert provided the North Judson Town Council with a report when they met earlier this week.
Wickert’s report began with an update about the SCEDF Ag-Initiative. He said as a part of the initiative to advance agriculture industry in the area, foundation representatives have been researching alternative crop options that would be more profitable for local producers. Continue reading
