Could the sale of the SYSCO property in Hamlet happen in 2018? Starke County Economic Development Foundation Director Charlie Weaver told the county council members this week that he’s working with two prospects to purchase land at the site.
Starke County Council, Commissioners to Meet Tonight
The Starke County Council will be reviewing several transfers and budgets during their monthly meeting tonight.
Starke County EMS, IT Director Mark Gourley and Surveyor Bill Crase will discuss transfer requests, and Sheriff Bill Dulin will discuss his budget status and present transfer requests. Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Charlie Weaver will have his monthly report and initiate discussion on the appropriation of Fund 112.
Starke County Election Board to Pursue Voting Machine Upgrades
The Starke County Election Board has decided to proceed with upgrades to the county’s 46 voting machines. Steve Shamo with vendor MicroVote said the goal is to bring the machines up to the latest federal standards, in time for the 2020 presidential election. Continue reading
SYSCO Property Still on Market, Stelrema Building Sold
The SYSCO property in Hamlet is still up for sale.
Starke County Economic Development Foundation Director Charlie Weaver told the Starke County Council members last week there are some issues with the broker and he’s written a letter to the business to address needs on the property that should be done. Weaver told the county council last week that he’s shown the property a few times and he’s willing to show it in order to bring tax dollars into the county and put people to work. The broker has not shown the property to Weaver’s knowledge, but he calls on progress every week. Continue reading
Information Tidbits from the Starke County Commissioners and Starke County Council
The Starke County Commissions and Starke County Council members discussed a few items during their meeting this week.
Starke County Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler asked for fund transfers with extra money in the gas, oil and lube fund in order to update and maintain gravel roads, buy more road equipment and cover a shortfall in the liability insurance. He said this action is usually done every year. About $57,500 was transferred toward road equipment and other line items to support liability insurance and other maintenance.
Starke County Sheriff Asks for Fund Transfers
The Starke County Council heard a request from Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin Monday night to transfer money within his budgets to fund various needs.
He requested $23,665.56 to fund the retirement shortfall. The county has been in arrears with retirement for the past two years and in order to keep the police retirement fund with Morgan Stanley active, the shortage needs to be brought up to date by the end of the year. If the county is short three years in a row, it ceases.
Starke County Council, Commissioners to Meet Tonight
The Starke County Council members will consider several fund requests this evening.
They will have a presentation of a refund from NIPSCO and consider transfer requests from the auditor’s office and the clerk’s office. Starke County Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler will present transfer and additional appropriation requests and the sheriff’s budget will be discussed along with Sheriff Bill Dulin’s requests for fund transfers. The council members will also consider the 2018 salary ordinance and receive information from Starke County Economic Development Foundation Director Charlie Weaver. Continue reading
Starke County Election Board Plans More Research, Before Agreeing to Voting Machine Upgrades
Starke County Council Approves 2018 Budgets
The Starke County Council held the county’s 2018 budget and the 2018 Starke County Solid Waste budget adoptions in a special meeting Thursday night.
The Starke County Solid Waste budget totals $205,244 while the county’s 2018 budget totals $11,647,011 with a General Fund just over $7 million. The highway’s budget is just over $3.4 million. The Cumulative Bridge Fund was approved at just over $260,000.
Starke County Council’s Concerns with Coroner Brought to County Commissioners
Salary increases for the Starke County Coroner’s Office were again discussed during Monday’s county commissioners meeting. Coroner Dannie Hoffer has been looking for a raise for himself and possibly his deputies in next year’s budget. While the final decision would be up to the county council, council members weren’t ready to approve the raise until Hoffer worked out a few concerns with the commissioners.
Starke County Council to Adopt Budgets
The Starke County Council is slated to approve budgets when they meet in special session this evening.
The council will adopt the 2018 county budgets and the Starke County Solid Waste 2018 budget.
The council will meet at 5:30 p.m. CT to take action on those budgets in the meeting room in the Starke County Annex Building No. 1 in Knox.
Starke County U.S. 30 Planning Committee to Hold First Meeting Tonight
Potential upgrades to U.S. 30 will be discussed this evening by a group of local stakeholders. The Indiana Department of Transportation may consider upgrading the highway to freeway standards in the coming decade. Starke County has assembled a group of people who’d be impacted by the change, to come up with some recommendations for INDOT to consider.
Starke County Council Discusses Additional Appropriation for SCILL Center
The Starke County Council members discussed an additional appropriation request made Monday night by Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Charlie Weaver.
Starke County Council Addresses Loss in Ambulance Transfers
Starke County EMS is losing ambulance transfers to another ambulance service which has caused a reduction in revenue for the county.
EMS Director Travis Clary mentioned the issue to the commissioners earlier this month in his report to the board and the Starke County Council discussed it this week.
Starke County Job Fair a Success
Last week’s Starke County Job Fair was deemed a success. Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Charlie Weaver gave the county council a full report Monday night. He said several companies attended the event.
“We had about 88 people there,” said Weaver. “I’ve got to tell you that both the quantity and the quality of the persons who walked in looking for jobs this year compared to last year was just phenomenally different. Most of them had attended sales training bootcamp, and were highly qualified.” Continue reading
Starke County Council Holds Budget Hearings
The Starke County Council members opened public hearings for the 2018 county budgets 7and the Solid Waste District with no public comment Monday night. The budget presented by the council totals $11,647,011. The General Fund is listed on Indiana Gateway as $7,022,851.
Starke County Council to Meet Tonight
The Starke County Council will meet tonight where public hearings are scheduled for the 2018 county budget as well as the 2018 budget for the Starke County Solid Waste District. The council is also expected to adopt the 2018 budget for the Starke County Airport.
The council held public hearings on these items in a prior meeting, but the hearings could not be counted as legal as a proper quorum was not in place. Three council members were physically in attendance while another was present via teleconference which didn’t count as a legal meeting.
Hamlet Interchange Recommended, As U.S. 30 Improvement Discussions Begin
As Starke County prepares to put together its wish list for the proposed upgrade of U.S. 30, one of the things it’ll be pushing for is an interchange at Hamlet. That’s what Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Charlie Weaver told the Hamlet Town Council Wednesday.
Starke County Council to Hold Second Public Hearing on Budget
The Starke County Council members did hold a public hearing Monday evening to gather public comment on the 2018 budget, but the lack of a quorum has forced a second public hearing.
The council needs to have at least four members present to recognize a quorum. Members Brad Hazelton, Nancy Dembowski and Bryan Cavendar were physically present Monday night for the public hearing. It was thought that if a fourth member could be part of the meeting via teleconference, it could be a legally called meeting. It was found that the meeting cannot be counted as legal so a second public hearing is scheduled.
