The Starke County Commissioners will revisit the proposed expansion of EMS services when they meet this morning. Director Paul Matthewson is seeking to add a paramedic to the North Judson and possibly the Grovertown base so the county can offer transfers from IU Health Starke Hospital to other facilities. Such transfers are covered by insurance or Medicaid and would generate money for the county. The commissioners want to make sure the expanded service will make money for the county before agreeing to proceed. Matthewson plans to hire part-time paramedics in order to keep costs down. Continue reading
Starke County Commissioners Revise Nepotism Policy
The Starke County Commissioners have revised their nepotism policy to mirror state law. The county has had an ordinance on the books since 2011 to address favoritism granted to relatives without regard to merit. The changes bring the county’s policy in line with a state law that’s since been passed. County attorney Marty Lucas says it defines a relative as a parent or stepparent, a child or stepchild, a brother, sister, stepbrother or stepsister, niece or nephew, daughter-in-law or son-in-law. For purposes of the ordinance, an adopted child is the same as a natural child. Brother and sister includes brother and sister by half-blood. It otherwise leaves the ordinance the same. Lucas says this change will make potential legal challenges to the law easier to defend. The policy only applies to county government employees who work in the same office or department.
Starke County Commissioners Table Ambulance Service Expansion
The Starke County Commissioners want a better cost-benefit analysis before they agree to expand the advanced life support service offered by EMS.
Director Paul Matthewson wants to add a paramedic at the North Judson base. Doing so would allow the service to generate more money by transporting patients from IU Health Starke Hospital to other facilities. Right now the Knox EMS base is the only one with ALS coverage. Having a paramedic on duty at another base insures adequate county coverage if an ambulance is out of town.
Starke County Commissioners Discuss Lake Access Issue
The Starke County Commissioners ask that any lakefront residents with questions about access rights put their concerns in writing so they can be researched and addressed. Specifically they want to know the problem and proposed resolution so the county attorney can advise whether the options they are considering are viable.
Bass Lake Beach and Campground Set to Open for Season
The manager of Bass Lake Beach and Campground assures the Starke County Commissioners the amenities will be ready for business over the Memorial Day weekend.
Richard Callahan and his attorney Dave Wallsmith provided the first of what will be monthly status reports for the properties during last night’s commissioners meeting. Wallsmith says a car hit the fence on the campground side, and the weight of snow tossed by plow trucks damaged the fence on the beach side. Both will need to be replaced with materials that meet current code standards.
Beach and Campground Report on Starke County Commissioners Agenda
The Starke County Commissioners will get their first status report of 2014 from the manager of Bass Lake Beach and Campground when they meet this evening. Richard Callahan has a contract with the county to manage the amenities. He and his attorney, Dave Wallsmith, are first on the agenda for the 7 p.m. meeting. Starke County EMS Director Paul Matthewson will also discuss his desire to add a paramedic at the North Judson base to provide better emergency medical response for the county. Other items on the agenda include approval of a uniform contract for the highway department and modification of the county’s nepotism policy to mirror recent changes in state law. County attorney Marty Lucas told the commissioners at their last meeting that the county’s policy is more strict than what the state has on the books. Continue reading
Starke County Commissioners to Discuss County Dog Ordinances
The Starke County Commissioners will discuss dog ordinances when they meet this morning. That’s one of several items on their agenda. Others include an update of the county’s nepotism ordinance to match the state’s policy and an update on the status of proposed revisions to the county employee handbook. Terry Stephenson from the plan commission is also scheduled to talk to the commissioners about a flood plain ordinance. The meeting starts at 9 a.m. at the county annex building.
Commissioners Proclaim Starke County Youth Club Day
Friday, May 2 is Starke County Youth Club Day, by proclamation of the county commissioners. That’s also the day of the club’s 7th Annual RadioThon on WKVI from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The club offers after-school programs at Knox, North Judson-San Pierre and Oregon-Davis Elementary Schools and Oregon-Davis Junior-Senior High School each weekday as well as summer programs for local youngsters. Staff and volunteers provide homework help, enrichment activities, recreational centers and community engagement through service projects. The proclamation notes the staff and volunteers at the Starke County Youth Club are committed to assisting children in acquiring the skills they need to learn and lead. They will be taking over our airwaves on Friday to share success stories and talk about the services they provide. The nonprofit organization has set a goal of raising $40,000 during that event. Find more information at www.thescyc.org.
Starke County Council, Commissioners to Meet Tonight
The Starke County Council and the Starke County Commissioners will meet tonight.
The Starke County Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. where they will hear from Dennis Estok from the planning commission with an appropriation request of the County Economic Development Income Tax (CEDIT) fund and Starke County Economic Development Foundation Director will have a CEDIT appropriation request. The council members will discuss the creation of a park board, a wheel tax overview, and an EMS update.
Starke County Highway Department Prepares for Bridge Replacement
The cost of plowing snow during the worst winter in nearly 40 years forced the Starke County Highway Department to dramatically scale back its road maintenance budget. However, Superintendent Rik Ritzler says they’re still moving forward with scheduled bridge replacements.
“The bridge replacement plan was not affected by winter operations,” Ritzler told the commissioners during their most recent meeting. “We have enough money in the CEDIT account both presently and budgeted if that’s not touched. If that’s touched, it will be jeopardized.”
IU Health Executive Outlines Physician Recruitment Plan
IU Health is aggressively recruiting primary care physicians in order to keep up with demand in Starke County. Vice President for Strategy Brian Donnelly says there are nine currently practicing here.
“By 2017, four of those nine physicians will have reached age 72. I personally am not aware of any retirements pending. I don’t know that we’ve gotten a firm date from any of these folks. That’s not up to me to decide how long doctors practice, but at least in terms of looking at reality four of the nine physicians will be late in their careers when we get to 2017. This to us looks like a shortage,” Donnelly told the Starke County Commissioners.
Starke County Commissioners Bless Wheel Tax Exploration
Starke County Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler has the blessing of the county commissioners to look into other sources of funds for road improvements.
He told them last week the county does not presently qualify for a lot of money available from the state because there’s no roadway user tax in place and said he would like to talk to the council about the costs and benefits of a wheel tax at various levels. Ritzler says counties that collect a wheel tax have some of the best roads in the state because all of the money that is collected is used to maintain and improve them.
Marshall County Commissioners Approve Contract with Cedarbridge Treatment Centers
The Marshall County Commissioners were informed by James Pheibush from the probation department that the Muncie juvenile detention center is closing and a new detention center is opening in Montgomery County.
Pheibush said Cedarbridge Treatment Centers offers more space and a segregation of younger juveniles from the older juveniles, plus there’s a gender separation. The travel time will be two-and-a-half hours from Marshall County.
Starke County Commissioners Award Cyclical Assessment Contract
Owners of property in Starke County will now have the value reassessed every four years.
Assessor Rhonda Milner told the county commissioners the state has ordered a new timeline for the process in order to more accurately track market trends. She says 25 percent of parcels in the county will be assessed each year rather than trying to squeeze everything into two years. That will put the county on a more normal schedule.
Starke County EMA Director Coordinating Emergency Response Plan
Starke County Emergency Management Agency Director Ted Bombagetti is working on an emergency preparedness plan for all of the county’s buildings.
He’s told the commissioners community corrections and the jail have turned in their plans, and he’s got one for the annex and courthouse. However, Bombagetti says he’d like to add more detail and make sure the wording is consistent throughout.
Starke County Commissioners Approve Precinct Changes
Voters who cast ballots in one Starke County precinct will do so in a new location, starting with the May 6 primary. Clerk Evelyn Skronski told the commissioners Wayne Township 4 was previously located at the North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation Administration Building. School officials said it’s becoming too crowded and offered an alternative.
“They told us that we could use the atrium area at the high school,” Skronski said. “The east side has the handicapped parking and a lot of space. It’s got what we need. The only thing is we have these big, open windows that let in lots of light. That’s fine. They’re going to cover them so that candidates cannot stand out there and do whatever they do.” Continue reading
Starke County Commissioners Approve Seed Demolition Money
The Starke County Plan Commission is cracking down on enforcement of unsafe and blighted buildings. President Dennis Estok told the county commissioners they’ve restructured their enforcement letters and means of taking owners to court but still have a backlog of structures that need to be torn down.
“You’ve got to have some seed money, because if they don’t do it you can go in there and take care of these unsafe structures,” Estok said. “Then basically what you do is you fine them, and you bill them. If they don’t pay the bill, then you put a special assessment on their taxes. You wind up getting the property, and then you re-sell the property to try to recoup some of your cost.” Continue reading
Winter Expenses Force County to Slash Road Repair Budget
The harshest winter in nearly four decades is putting a squeeze on the Starke County Highway Department’s road repair budget. Superintendent Rik Ritzler told the county commissioners his drivers spent 94 days plowing more than 150,000 miles. They also logged 35,000 more miles in support roles. “We used over 44,500 gallons of diesel and a lot of gasoline,” Ritzler said. “We did not run out of salt or sand, as many local agencies did. As a result, we did not have to pay the premium prices for added material. Our salt cost was $48 per ton throughout the winter. The counties that had to get extra had to get it for over $200 a ton, so we were lucky there.”
Ritzler says the Starke County Highway Department will be able to absorb the overtime and fuel costs in the existing budget. “We did have a cushion built in. Unfortunately the pillow is now gone. We have no extra money. We were hoping to use that extra money to add to the road improvement program and to make that where we could improve the roads. We’re not going to be able to do that now without added funds. That’s the greatest effect. It’s going to affect our road program a little bit. We’ll still be able to stay at a maintaining level that we did last year, but we won’t be able to get to an improvement level,” Ritzler said.
The initial 2014 road improvement recommendation list contained 191 miles of improvements at a cost of nearly $1.4 million. A combination of state-mandated budget cuts and winter snow removal costs slashed that to 138 miles of improvements at a cost of $750,000. Ritzler says some of the major improvements were also downgraded due to a lack of money.
Starke County Building Corporation, Commissioners Meeting This Morning
The Starke County Building Corporation plans to appoint a committee to discuss future uses for the current jail. They are meeting this morning at 8:30 at the county annex building, prior to the commissioners meeting at 9. Skillman Corporation will also provide an update on how construction of the new jail east of Knox on State Road 8 is going. It’s scheduled for completion in the spring of 2015. The commissioners agenda includes consideration of a proposal from Starke County Clerk Evelyn Skronski to relocate some precincts. Officials from IU Health Starke Hospital will also discuss the physicians recruitment program. EMA Director Ted Bombagetti and James Coad are on the agenda regarding the county’s emergency preparedness plan. Wendy Elam from CADA has a proclamation for the county to declare April Child Abuse Prevention Month. CADA, CASA and the Indiana Department of Child Services are kicking off the awareness campaign tomorrow evening at 7:30 p.m. at the Nancy J. Dembowski Convention Center in downtown Knox with a Pinwheels for Prevention candle lighting ceremony. Members of the public are invited to come show their support for children in the community. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will take place inside.
Starke County Commissioners Discuss Manufactured Homes Ordinance
