The North Judson – San Pierre school board has postponed definite decisions about how to slash $1.2 million from the corporation’s budget.
They’re awaiting more information about retirements and transfers. Monday evening the board members did approve a budget calender. Treasurer Guy Richie will present information to the school board and superintendent on July 15.
The Starke County Council wants department heads to keep their budgets for the upcoming year in line with current spending levels. President Dave Pearman has told them to cut where they can.
“Definitely don’t bring us anything that’s an increase. It can’t be tolerated unless there’s a special circumstance. In that case we’ll meet with whomever wants to meet with us,” he says.
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 Council members want a breakdown of the pros and cons of establishing a county park board from a committee tasked with looking into the matter. The issue was raised last year due to problems between the county and the contracted manager of Bass Lake Beach and Campground. Councilman Tony Radkiewicz chairs the committee. He says most of his fellow commissioners are not in favor of setting up a board because they don’t have money available. County attorney Marty Lucas says the council has the final say as to whether such a board is established. Radkiewicz says his committee will meet again before the next council meeting and prepare a report for the council’s consideration.
The Starke County Plan Commission can now enforce demolition orders for dilapidated properties after the county council appropriated $20,000 for that purpose. Plan Commission President Dennis Estok told them the county already has a process in place.
“We have a public hearing with these people, and then we give an order whether to rehab that house or to demolish it. If it’s too far gone, we want it demolished. They have X amount of days to do it. Now I can tell you right now I’ve been sitting on planning for five years. I bet you we’ve had a handful out of probably 200 cases that have actually done something on their own. So basically if they don’t do it, by law we can go in there and take care of the problem,” Estok said. Until now, funds have not been available for the plan commission to carry out demolition orders, some of which date back to 2006. Continue reading
Houston-based SYSCO Corporation still plans to build a regional hub in Hamlet, according to Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Charlie Weaver. He told the county council he talks to SYSCO officials every two months.
“They say this is still part of their plan, as is the facility in Texas, but the people I talk to don’t have any idea when.”
Starke County Council members want more information about proposed wheel tax rates, types of vehicles that would be taxed and how any funds generated would be used for road improvements before making any decision about implementing such a tax. County Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler will chair a committee comprised of council members Marvin McLaughlin, Freddie Baker and Bob Sims and Commissioner Kathy Norem. After they discuss the details, a public input meeting will be scheduled to further explain the process. Ritzler has streamlined the highway department’s operations since taking over but says efficiency can only go so far. “Our limiting factor is the oil and stone that we use to improve roads. We have a certain amount of funding sources, we used them all. The only way of increasing is a user tax that is available to us, a user fee. 47 of the 92 counties in Indiana have it. Of the counties that don’t have it, many have an additional source of funding that’s not available to us, and that’s riverboat gambling money. We are in the bottom fifth of road conditions in the state,” Ritzler told the council. Continue reading
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.
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.
“I really felt like you guys all did a really great job in getting together and preparing a budget that I thought was very slim. We have a very slim levy in Starke County, and personally I was very disappointed in the state, but the state came back and said we have to shave $465,000 off our budget,” Pearman said.
The Starke County Council and Commissioners are looking for local residents who want to serve as appointees on various boards and commissions in 2014.
“The board of commissioners and the county council reorganize, and part of that reorganization includes appointments to various boards. We do try to advertise those. We do try to solicit extra folks out in the community to participate on these boards. We’re looking for good, qualified people,” Norem said.
Starke County EMS will soon have a new ambulance. The county commissioners last night approved the purchase of a 2013 G-4500 Diesel from Fire Services, Inc. for $113,250. That cost includes equipment and delivery. Money for the purchase is coming from the County Adjusted Gross Income Tax, or CAGIT, Fund. Decals for the rig are not included in the price, but the commissioners allocated an additional $2,000 for those. The ambulance was a demo model used at trade shows and other types of industry events to showcase available options. Fire Services, Inc. was one of two companies that submitted prices. The council and commissioners agreed that Fire Services, Inc. offered the county a better deal.
