Starke County is on the hunt for a new highway superintendent, after the commissioners this week decided it was “time to make a change,” according to Starke County Commissioner Kathy Norem. Steve Siddall had held the position of highway superintendent for the last four years, but the commissioners decided it was time to switch it up in the best interest for the county.
This year has been proclaimed a “Year of Health” for Starke County, after former State Representative Nancy Dembowski approached the Starke County Commissioners with the proclamation – the first of many efforts of the newly-formed organization, “Moving Starke County Forward,” to increase awareness of health issues in the county.
Dembowski explained that because the county had come in second-to-last place for health rankings in the state, she said it’s time to see what can be done to improve health in the county. She said that a proclamation from all county governments would help spread the word, and she said the organization is also planning a number of county-wide health contests. On top of that, Dembowski said the group is hoping to hold a drug symposium in the spring to raise awareness of the harmful effects of drugs.
On Monday, the Starke County Commissioners will discuss board appointments for 2013, but they’ve run into a bit of a snag. Commissioner Kathy Norem said that it appears they are short a few applicants on several boards, including the Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission Board.
After tabling a bid for bridge repairs at their meeting on Dec. 3, the Starke County Commissioners last week hired engineering firm Jones Petrie Rafinksi to replace Bridge 43 in Oregon Township. Bridge 43 is the next bridge to be replaced in the county.
In addition, the commissioners addressed the Marshall-Starke County Cooperative Agreement, which Commissioner Kathy Norem said is an agreement between the two counties’ highway departments regarding equipment and man-hours shared in 2012. She said that has been taken care of as well.
It may be a hand-me-down, but the Starke County Health Department doesn’t care; they’ll soon be putting to use an old Jeep from Community Corrections to allow the sanitarian to use it for business travels.
Starke County Commissioner Kathy Norem explained the Health Department has been looking around for a vehicle to be used by the sanitarian, but they haven’t had much luck; that is, until now, when Community Corrections acquired some new vehicles with their own funds and offered to give their old Jeep to the Health Department.
Starke County is well on its way to becoming compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as ADA Coordinator Ted Bombagetti told the commissioners yesterday morning that the county will meet the Dec. 31 deadline for developing a plan for compliance.
The commissioners passed a resolution to adopt the ADA procedures and self-evaluation, and Commissioner Kathy Norem said the county’s website will soon offer links to view the ADA procedures along with the grievance procedure, which she said would be used in the event someone feels the county has not adequately addressed ADA needs.
After failing to reach a quorum at their last meeting on Dec. 17, the Starke County Commissioners and the County Council will meet once again tonight to wrap up end-of-year business.
Items that had been on the council agenda for the last meeting included a request for funding from Community Services Director Joan Haugh, a third-quarter commissary fund report from Sheriff Oscar Cowen, and a report from the county auditor on anti-nepotism certifications of department heads.
Yesterday was a boring day for the Starke County commissioners and the council, as neither body was able to form a quorum. For a variety of reasons including sickness and prior engagements, four members of the county council and two commissioners were absent from last night’s meeting.
A quorum is the minimum number of members of an assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group; in this case, the council requires at least four members while only three were present, and the commissioners require at least two. Only one commissioner, Jennifer Davis, made it to the meeting.
The Starke County Commissioners are currently seeking interested, qualified, and community-minded individuals to fill several vacancies on a number of boards.
Commissioner Kathy Norem said they are currently seeking an individual to appoint to the Starke Regular Drain Board for a three-year term. Two appointments are needed for the Kankakee-Iruquois Regional Plan Commission for one-year terms, and one appointment is necessary for the Planning Commission as a four-year term.
Starke County IT Director Joe Short told the commissioners this week that time is running out to switch county radio equipment to narrowband systems. The switchover, which was ordered by the FCC in December 2004, has an end-of-the-year deadline for Indiana counties.
Short told the commissioners that the current communication towers in San Pierre and North Judson are a bit “spotty,” which may be worsened with the switch to narrowband systems which have a shorter range. Several towers were damaged during this year’s June and July storms, and Short recommended waiting to reprogram the radio equipment until the towers have been fully repaired and the Sheriff’s Department’s radio tower relocated.
Starke County Emergency Management Agency Director Ted Bombagetti will soon be taking on several new responsibilities for the county, as the Starke County Commissioners this week passed a motion appointing Bombagetti as the county’s ADA coordinator.
Commissioner Jennifer Davis told WKVI that the highway garage had received a letter from the Indiana Department of Transportation detailing several deadlines for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Highway Superintendent Steve Siddall forwarded the letter to the commissioners by email in October.
Another step has been completed in the process of building a new Starke County jail as the commissioners yesterday morning decided to proceed with the site across from Sabre Manufacturing on Highway 8 near 550 East.
The commissioners had been looking at four to five sites as possibilities before ultimately deciding on this location. Commissioner Dan Bridegroom voted against the motion and said that the building that his fellow commissioners were in favor of is larger than necessary. He said the extra square footage will result in higher heating and cooling bills, which could add up to an expense of millions of dollars over the years.
A final decision as to the location of the new Starke County jail facility is expected today, as the Starke County Commissioners have planned a special session to discuss that topic and several others.
An overwhelming number of Starke County residents turned out for last week’s public hearing to voice their concern and opposition to the proposed location. While it was said that no matter where the jail is located somebody is going to be upset about it, several attendees had specific concerns including property values near the jail, traffic issues due to the proximity of Sabre Manufacturing, and public safety for residents who live near the proposed location.
The Starke County Commissioners will meet tomorrow at 9 a.m. for a special session to discuss the location of the new county jail facility and other topics.
A public meeting held last week revealed a number of community concerns regarding the proposed location of the jail facility on Highway 8 near the intersection of 550 East. The opposition centered around three main concerns, including public safety, property values, and traffic on Highway 8 and 550 East.
Starke County Highway Superintendent Steve Siddall approached the commissioners at their meeting last week to request a transfer into their truck repair fund to cover some repairs on equipment. The commissioners approved his request unanimously.
“We’re just doing general maintenance on the trucks and trying to update them and some of the trucks are getting some pretty heavy rust damage inside and out and the mechanics brought it to my attention, and I brought it to the council tonight to get a little more transferred money into truck repair to fix the damage in the cabs, on the beds, fenders, stuff like that,” said Siddall.
Starke County Prosecutor Nick Bourff approached the Starke County Commissioners at their meeting this week to request reimbursement for his deputy who has been undertaking an extra workload.
Bourff explained that his office has had since 2009 a part-time deputy, funded by grant money, to handle domestic abuse work. Unfortunately, that part-time deputy has since decided to leave the department, and though Bourff has been advertising the position, he needs someone to handle the work in the meantime.
The public meeting held Monday night regarding the proposed site for the new Starke County Jail facility brought to light a number of community concerns.
Specifically, members of the audience pointed out three main concerns: public safety, property value, and increased traffic. To alleviate these concerns, Commissioner Kathy Norem brought attention to a study performed by the U.S. Department of Justice concerning issues with siting correctional facilities.
The Starke County Commissioners this week met with the county council for a discussion regarding the proposed site for the new county jail facility. A huge public turnout filled the meeting room with concerned residents who were uneasy about the idea of having a jail for their neighbor.
Commissioner Kathy Norem explained that they’ve looked at a number of properties over the last several months as prospective jail sites, but the top contender at the moment is a piece of property located at the intersection of State Road 8 and 550 East.
Starke County Courthouse custodian James Coad presented the county commissioners with some good news at their meeting this week: all lighting equipment passed the annual inspection by Simplex, a company specializing in active fire protection systems, communication systems and testing, inspection and maintenance services for the courthouse.
Coad explained that all the strobes and other lighting equipment passed their annual inspection, but did have some bad news: the backflow and release valve inspection failed, and those items need replaced. He estimated the cost of replacement to come out to about $1304.33. Fortunately, however, Coad said that money is available in his budget and he can cover the cost.
For the first time in several decades, the majority of both the Starke County Commissioners and the Starke County Council are republican, but how much does that really matter? Republican Kent Danford beat out Democrat Dan Bridegroom for a seat on the Board of County Commissioners, and the lone democrat commissioner, Jennifer Davis, said it’s going to be a bit different but they’ll work together to improve the county as best they can.
