Members of the Starke County Board Commissioners and County Council met Tuesday evening in a special session with representatives of IU Health Starke Hospital to discuss options available for operation of the healthcare facility. The County leases the aging building at the corner of U.S. 35 and Culver Road to IU Health, which operates the hospital.
While there is talk, pro and con, about expanding the existing Starke County Jail at the current site or constructing a new jail at a remote site, action to repair of the current facility continues.
The Starke County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a special meeting today at 1:00 p.m. to open bids for repair of the roof on the jail on North Pearl Street in Knox.
Work continues on the elevator in the Starke County Courthouse. Carl Goodrich told WKVI that they’re waiting for the elevator and parts to arrive so the elevator can be constructed.
The old elevator in the Courthouse needed to be modernized and brought up to code. It had not been updated since it was first installed in the Courthouse. A quote from Oracle Elevator in the amount of $62,971 was approved by the Starke County Commissioners for the purchase of a new elevator.
Representatives of Indiana University Health Starke Hospital will meet next week with members of the Starke County Board of Commissioners and the County Council to discuss the future and continued use of the facilities leased from the County. The current lease expires in 2016.
“We are committed to be here, we want to stay here, but we also know that improvements are going to have to be made along the way, particularly in relationship to the building” stated hospital CEO Linda Satkoski. Continue reading
It seems the Treasurer’s office will not be getting the full-time help they’ve been requesting, after all. At the Starke County Council Meeting on April 18, the council noted that after looking at newest budget figures, they noticed that they would be short of the amount needed to transfer in order to support another full-time employee in the Treasurer’s office because some of those funds do not exist in the Treasurer’s budget.
The Commissioners agreed with the council, withdrawing their support as well because of budgetary concerns. They did not anticipate the coming year, and the Commissioners do not believe they will have the $5600 necessary to contribute that they previously believed they had. Treasurer Linda Belork was not present and could not help the Council and the Commissioners determine if the funds were available in the budget or not.
Here is the Capital Assets Study as presented to the Commissioners and Council by RQAW Consulting Engineers and Architects of Indianapolis:
The jail is in need of immediate renovation to upgrade and update systems. Currently the roof requires replacement and there are problems with one of the roof top air handling units. The lighting has been upgraded since our inspections took place.
The jail is overcrowded and in need of expanded capacity.
“Starke County has to have a road map, we can’t pay everything out of the Cummulative Cap fund,” said Starke County Commission President Dan Bridegroom to open this week’s Capital Asset Management work session.
He and Council President, Mark Smith, assembled members of both bodies to consider the preliminary report from the consulting firm hired to identify Starke County’s short and long term needs.
Is Starke County going to get out of the ambulance business? That was one of the questions several County Councilmen and one Commissioner attempted to answer this week.
Getting out of the ambulance business was only one of the proposals made in a session on upgrading the county’s ambulance capabilities to Advance Life Service (ALS) status.
Starke County officials closed three bridges last week and determined that at least half of the bridges in the county need to be replaced or repaired.
The following bridges were closed:
Bridge #9 over the Jane Ditch (700 N and 500 E) in Oregon Township;
Bridge #62 over the Smith Ditch (Range Rd. and 500 S) in California Township;
Bridge #156 over the Robbins Ditch (Range Rd. between 400 and 500 N) in Davis Township.
Starke County finally has a drug policy for certain County workers. The Drug Test Policy was voted into the Employee Handbook yesterday on a 3-0 vote of the Commissioners.
All new employees will have to take a pre-employment drug test. Those involved in accidents with County vehicles will have to take a post-accident test.
The Starke County Commissioners finally recommended a full-time deputy for the Starke County Treasurer’s office. Finding over $6,400 from the Treasurer’s line item accounts and the Commissioners pitching in $5,600, the Board and Treasurer, Linda Belork, found that they were still almost $3,600 short of what was needed.
After much discussion and looking over the line item accounts in the Treasurer’s budget, the money was found that allowed her to fund the person for the rest of the year at just over $18,571.00.
After being understaffed for years, the Starke County Treasurer’s office may finally get a full-time clerk. Two treasurers have pleaded for help, but the request was never granted.
Treasurer Linda Belork came before the Starke County Council this week asking for the full-time help. Again, she was denied on a 4-2 vote. Council President, Mark Smith, explains that part of the action.
A contingent from Indiana University Health Starke Hospital attended the Starke County Council meeting Monday night. Among those in attendance were CEO Linda Satkoski, Vice President of Operations, Dave Hyatt, and the hospital’s attorney, Jim Kaminski, plus several Community Board members.
The purpose of the appearance was to solicit comment to a document sent to the Council concerning the lease of the hospital by IU Health LaPorte Hospital. Five years into a lease that is set to expire in 2016, the hospital hierarchy is interested in forming a government committee to monitor short and long term plans for the health facility.
The Starke County Commissioners addressed the concern of safety in the Courthouse at this week’s meeting. Commissioner Kathy Norem, who is a member of the Courthouse Security Committee, recommended that signs be posted at each entrance of the courthouse advertising that no weapons, unless authorized, will be allowed in the building. It was also advised that the same signage be posted on all County buildings.
The Commissioners have talked about installing a metal detector at certain entrances and closing off the rest for safety.
Commissioners Dan Bridegroom and Jennifer Davis agreed to the recommendation and the signs will be placed on all County buildings once the signs are produced.
Thomas Morin recently appeared before the Knox City Council and the Starke County Commissioners with a detailed 22 page document that lays out a handicapped parking plan for city and residential parking.
In his presentation, Morin explained to the Knox City Council what he wanted for the downtown Knox business district.
The Starke County Commissioners accepted trusteeship of a piece of property offered by professional Forester Bruce Wakeland this week. The County will be the trustee of the property that the Commissioners hope will be come a real asset to all who live here.
“129 acres is available to create a Starke County forest and I hope the public can enjoy it,” said Bruce Wakeland. “The public can learn about the marvelous wildlife area we have here in the County and how you can have good, healthy forest management and still have a beautiful place to see and enjoy. I think it’s going to be a really good asset for the County and I’m going to enjoy working with the property over the next however many years I have left.”
The Starke County Commissioners contracted with a Kalamazoo, Michigan firm to provide drug testing of County employees. Forensic Fluids Laboratories will test all new employees and 10% of randomly selected current employees. The testing will be done with a swab of oral fluids instead of urine specimens.
Deidre Cunningham, a representative of the company, said the testing is 100% accurate.
“An oral sample equates to a blood sample and a lot of people are surprised to hear that,” said Cunningham. “Your mouth resalivates all day long through the oral glands in your oral cavity and they way it resalivates is by the blood stream mixing with the oral fluids; saliva and other fluids. By testing either blood or oral fluid, you’re getting the same information. Isn’t it wonderful to think that you can get the same information from a blood test without the needle poke or the higher price point?”
There are more problems at the Starke County Jail. Sheriff Oscar Cowen told the Starke County Commissioners yesterday that he has been advised that the furnace and air conditioning unit could go out at any time. If that would happen, all prisoners would have to be moved to another facility.
On top of that, the roof needs a new rubber roof to protect the building from leaks. A water pipe leak was reported last week that did damage on the lower floor of the Jail where the Prosecutor’s Office is located.
Property owned by S.C.P. Building Products, LLC in Knox will go on the auction block today. The property will go on a tax sale, because over $93,000 in back taxes is owed.
S.C.P. Building Products, LLC has been doing business as The Federal Group. At one time, Rockwell Windows was doing business on the property, and was employing around 180 people, according to Starke County Development Foundation Director, Charles Weaver. Currently, there are approximately 25 people working at the Knox facility.
The Starke County Commissioners passed a resolution this week that would be used as a guideline for all office holders and staff to follow when traveling. The subject came up when several claims from December came in over what is recommended by the State.
In question were lodging and food claims turned in by some officials and staff members who attended the Newly Elected Prosecutor’s Conference and Attorney General’s Winter Meeting.
Attempting to answer questions on the claims were current Prosecutor, Nicholas Bourff, and his Chief Deputy, Mary Ryan. Discussed were claims turned in by then-Prosecutor Julieanne Havens, Mary Ryan, Jeff Williams, and Ryan Bratcher.
It was noted that all claims did not surpass the limit, but the Commissioners reminded Bourff and Ryan of the limits. The County will pay $6.50 for breakfasts and lunches, and $13.00 for dinner. The difference between what is allowed and the receipts for meals and lodging will be paid for by the attendee. The Commissioners also instructed those traveling to attempt to car pool when possible.
