For the reassessments, four companies submitted timely bids and all were compliant with the county’s requirements. The county received bids from Tyler Technologies of Ohio, Accurate Assessments of Fort Wayne, Nexus Group of Zionsville, and the Appraisal Research Corporation of Ohio. The commissioners approved a motion taking the bids under advisement, and will discuss the matter further at a meeting in April.
The contract calls for a cost of $140,000 to redesign all four bridges. Wilson did a similar job for the county last year; the project came in under budget and two weeks ahead of schedule. Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler said they are still on track to replace bad bridges over the next four years, and recommended that the commissioners accept the contract.
The Starke County Commissioners on Monday morning were forced to table a discussion item until the next meeting because Commissioner Kent Danford was absent, and Commissioner Jennifer Davis could not act on the item due to a possible conflict of interest.
Charles Weaver, executive director of the Starke County Economic Development Foundation, approached the commissioners requesting they authorize the annual CEDIT appropriations to be submitted to the county council. Weaver said half of the CEDIT funds will go toward bridges, one-eighth will go to the commissioners and three-eighths will go to the Economic Development Fund.
The Starke County Highway Department continues to stay busy with plowing efforts, as Superintendent Rik Ritzler yesterday morning told the commissioners that his department spent most of the month of February plowing, with 17 days of the month spent clearing roads. He said five of the days were spent hauling material, with the other days used for general maintenance.
Over the past two months, Ritzler said, the county has plowed nearly 100,000 miles, building a total cost of $561,000. Fortunately, he said they did spend less in February – but that may just have been because the month was shorter, Ritzler explained. Continue reading
The weather on Monday caused the postponement of several government and school board meetings. Many of those have been rescheduled.
The Starke County Board of Commissioners will meet Thursday morning at 9 a.m. in the Starke County annex building. EMA Director Ted Bombagetti will have an update for the commissioners, updates will be given on the proposed sale of property in Parkview Heights to the city of Knox, plus a report on landfill monitoring results. Commissioner Kent Danford will provide a report on the meeting of the Knox planning commission and permit fees. The automatic renewal of Kone Elevator’s service contract and a proposed amended agreement from Lawson-Fisher regarding the County Road 300 East and State Road 8 project are also on the agenda for this meeting.
Bob Hinojosa, director of Starke County Community Corrections, approached the commissioners and introduced case manager Jordan MacKentire, who has been spearheading the effort. The proclamation came about as a result of the high level of drug abuse and addiction that is devastating the well-being of the Starke County community. Continue reading
