Mat Swanson and Jack Lynch, two long time members of the Board of Directors of the Starke County Economic Development Foundation, will be honored next Thursday night by the Foundation at its “Prospectus and Achievements Night.”
Approximately three dozen people attended the first meeting called last night to gain ideas for improving downtown Knox.
The meeting was chaired by Mayor Rick Chambers and Gene Blastic from the Starke County Economic Development Foundation.
Many of the comments had to do with buildings that have fallen into disrepair. Knox City Councilman, Greg Matt, said it’s obvious the City Council is going to have to create ordinances with more stringent codes to force the building owners into action.
The Starke County Economic Development Foundation will be holding it’s “Prospectus and Achievements Night” next Thursday evening, November 10th.
Several awards will be given out that night. For the very first time, the Foundation is recognizing those industries which have been actively involved in business within the county for 50 years or more.
Executive Director, Charles Weaver, says the first to be recognized is almost 100 years old.
A public hearing will be held tonight from 5:00-6:30 p.m. CT at the Knox Community Center to discuss the condition of downtown Knox.
The hearing was called by Mayor Rick Chambers in response to an appearance by Gene Blastic before the City Council who represented the Starke County Economic Development Foundation. Blastic detailed options for the 114-year-old building that houses the offices of the Development Foundation. It was built in 1897 to house a drug store. More recently, there was an attempt to open a movie theater in the corner building that is located at the intersection Lake and Main Streets.
Blastic said the building might be rehabilitated or it might be demolished.
In the course of Blastic’s presentation, he suggested the City and the Development Foundation form a partnership to consider a Master Plan for downtown Knox.
The initial meeting will include the Downtown Redevelopment Committee, city officials, and others in the community who might be interested in helping to craft that plan.
The Starke County Economic Development Foundation will play host to its “Prospectus and Achievements Night” on Thursday, November 10th at 5:30 p.m. CT at the Knox Community Center.
Several awards will be given that night, and over the next few days, Charles Weaver, the Executive Director of the Development Foundation, will announce the recipients.
Four industries will be getting expansion awards.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers and the Knox Redevelopment Committee will be holding a public hearing on Wednesday, November 2nd, to discuss the future of the the building at the corner of Lake and Main Streets which was home to Everett’s Drug Store and the downtown theatre.
One of the questions that Starke County Economic Development Director, Charles Weaver gets is, “What’s the latest on Sysco or other industries here that want to expand?” Weaver then asks himself, “When new industries come or expand, do we have the workforce to fill the skilled positions?”
Weaver recently attended a presentation that was organized by the Northwest Indiana Forum, of which Starke County belongs, where the attendees discussed workforce readiness, and development. Starke County’s unemployment figures, although still in the double digits, have moved out of the “top 10” worst in the state, but will new industry help reduce that figure? Weaver says not if the workforce doesn’t have the skills needed by the employers.
Gene Blastic, a Board member on the Starke County Economic Development Foundation, came before the Knox City Council this week to discuss options concerning the old Everett’s Drug Store. The building, at the corner of Lake and Main Street, was for a short time a movie theater, and is owned by the Economic Development Foundation.
Charlie Vorm, President and CEO of American Oak Preserving Co, Inc., with International Headquarters in North Judson, Indiana and the Starke County Economic Development Foundation (SCEDF) announced today the beginning of construction on a new 6,000 square foot structure by American Oak. The new building will be a refrigerated structure that will be used for the short-term storage and sale of Christmas trees and wreaths coming from a supplier in North Carolina from approximately November 15 through December 15. The products will be available online from such retailers as Sam’s Club, 1-800-Flowers and Home Depot, with orders transmitted to American Oak for shipment directly to customers. The building will have three loading docks. It is expected that during this 30-day period, several shipments per day will be both received and sent. While no new production employees are expected to be hired, the current production employees will work an additional month to 45 days. During any period the building is not in use for this purpose, it will serve as a warehouse for other American Oak products.
Labor Day is coming this year on the heels of some promising news from the Starke County Economic Development Foundation Office. Executive Director Charles Weaver has had exciting announcements about Sabre and J.W. Hicks, Inc. in the past few weeks. Both announcements included promises of more jobs down the road.
Of course, the community is most anxious to hear about the Sysco project. That project has been hold for several years due to the economy. This summer has brought much speculation that something might be coming to the site near Hamlet.
Weaver, though, has not issued any information on the project except to say that he’s still very hopeful that it will become a reality. If the Sysco Distribution Plant would end up being built here in the not to distant future, it would be a real shot in the arm to a county that has been hovering around 10% unemployment for many months.
Sabre Manufacturing LLC, the Starke County Economic Development Foundation and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation announced plans for the expansion of operations at Sabre in Knox. Development Foundation Director, Charlie Weaver, says that Sabre manufactures temporary environmental equipment known as FRAC and WEIR tanks.
The new Consul General of Mexico visited Starke County this week. Eduardo Arnal, visited with Starke County Development Director Charles Weaver in his Knox office. The northern part of Indiana is under Arnal’s jurisdiction, and he was visiting several counties to offer the services of his office with any questions officials might need answered.
Arnal said sooner or later the United States needs to have immigration reform. He said, “It’s simple. The U.S. needs our workers, and right now the laws make it almost impossible to enter legally.”
Weaver said the Mexican population in Starke County is small, but thought the residents here would be surprised at how many are working in our factories.
“Starke County has an Hispanic population of about 3.3 percent,” explained Weaver. “80 percent of that population are of Mexican ancestry. There are a number of Mexican population working within some of the businesses in Starke County. The majority of those workers are working here from other counties and then they return home. So, what we’re going to see as far as a population shift, I have no idea.”
Reagent Chemical and Research Inc. announced a $1,000,000 expansion this week. The announcement was made through the Starke County Economic Development Foundation office.
A 10,600 sq. foot facility will be constructed which will house a general over-the-road truck maintenance operation, and will also repair, line, outfit, and maintain rubber lined tanker trailers belonging to the Reagent fleet. Reagent already installs rubber lining in new and used rail tank cars for its use and maintains and repairs its existing fleet of rail cars at the site.
Rumors have floated around Starke County for the past few weeks that construction of the Sysco plant near Hamlet is about to become a reality. Starke County Economic Development Director, Charles Weaver, cautions that he has not received any information that supports those rumors.
One of the most important pieces of legislation passed in the most current session of the legislature had to do with mint farming. Republican Representative Tom Dermody was the sponsor of the legislation and he talks about that bill today.
“When we saw what happened last summer, especially with what I consider is the overreaching of government into business, when mint farming and agricultural is so important to LaPorte and Counties, I put legislation together that will protect the mint farmers,” said Dermody. “It was protect them, especially during this season, against the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and allow them to plant while testing goes on to check for VOCs in the mint farming industry which we already know the mint farmers will pass. This does not allow them to regulate any new permitting on them and will protect them through the season. What the State has to realize is how important mint farmers are to our revenue source, jobs and to agriculture in general. This is something that was supported by many and it protects the overreaching arm of government.”
There are two other candidates running for a seat on the Knox City Council and they are unopposed in the Knox Primary Election.
Greg Matt has served for eight-and-a-half years on the Council and he says that his focus is the economy and jobs.
“In the next four years, I hope we can continue our partnership with the Starke County Economic Development Foundation and bring in more industry and more jobs,” said Matt. “Charlie’s been a great asset to us and we’ve been quite successful. A lot of that is because he had a great opportunity to bring in the rail into our Industrial Park. I’m very pro industry because that gives us a lot of employment and that’s what we would all like to see.”
James Hicks, accompanied by his son Brian, Josh Deal and Starke County Economic Development Foundation Director, Charles Weaver, attended the Knox City Council meeting Tuesday night. Hicks, the owner of JW Hicks, Inc., which includes a plant in Knox, came before the Council to announce plans for a 110,000 square foot addition to the Knox facility. Continue reading
Mayor Rick Chambers updated the Knox City Council members on the possible resumption of water discharge from the Indiana Fine Blanking (MPI) Plant in Knox into the City Wastewater Treatment Plant.
MPI has to treat the metals it produces so no rust will appear on the finished product. A soap is used in the water treatment to clean the metal. When it was discharged into the Knox Wastewater Treatment Plant, it was interfering with the plant’s equipment. According to Wastewater Superintendent, Kelly Clemons, the size of the plant and its equipment made it impossible to handle the discharge.
A driving force behind the creation of the Starke County Economic Development Foundation has died at his retirement home in Colorado. Bob Hamilton came to Knox as the President of the Farmer’s Bank and Trust Company which is now Key Bank.
Upon his arrival in the early 1980’s, Hamilton realized Starke County needed a way to attract industry. He once said, “How can the bank make loans if people don’t have jobs to pay the loan off?”
The S.C.P. property sold Tuesday in the tax sale conducted at the Starke County Annex. S.C.P., doing business as the Federal Group on Culver Road in Knox, had been placed on the sale for back taxes of $93,000. The company’s four parcels of land and buildings were put on the auction, with opening bids of $300.00.
Purchasing all four of the parcels was the Starke County Economic Development Foundation, with with Ben Osinski of the Foundation’s Board placing the bids. The 40 acre parcel of land went for $500 and the other three parcels went for $300 a piece.
