An ongoing saga at the Starke County Forest was recently brought to the attention of Park Board President Richard Ballard. “The beavers are back,” Ballard told the rest of the Starke County Park Board Tuesday. “I don’t know exactly what that means for us, but he said the beavers are back.”
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The Starke County Park Board welcomed two new members Tuesday. Attorney Richard Ballard was appointed to the board by Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall, following the resignation of Roger Chaffins. Starke County Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler had been appointed by the county council back in January, replacing Debbie Mix. Ballard and Ritzler both took their seats on the park board for the first time Tuesday, during the board’s first official meeting since last September.
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Starke County officials hope that recent upgrades to the County Forest will help attract new visitors. County Park Board members and Community Foundation representatives joined Forester Bruce Wakeland, Commissioner Kathy Norem, and several others Wednesday afternoon, to cut the ribbon on the forest’s upgraded access road.
The Starke County Commissioners this week confirmed the date and time for the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Starke County Forest.
The Starke County Council members will hold several public hearings on budgets tonight. Those public hearings will include the budgets for Starke County, North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation, Starke County Airport, Solid Waste Department, and the Koontz Lake Conservancy District. A public hearing is also set for the Cumulative Capital Development Fund Additional Appropriation.
Starke County officials will soon have a chance to show off the recent improvements to the County Forest. The County Highway Department recently upgraded the old access trail into a gravel road with a 10-to-12-car parking lot.
The conditions of the Bass Lake Beach and Campground will continue to be discussed during tonight’s Starke County Park Board meeting. Concerns that the facility’s operator, Callahan Development, LLC, reportedly hasn’t addressed safety issues at the facility have led county officials to look at the possibility of making the repairs themselves. Specifically, the beach house patio was the topic of a heated discussion during last month’s meeting.
The Starke County Commissioners passed along their support of having a celebration event for the newly finished upgrades at the Starke County Forest.
The Starke County Forest could soon host high school cross country meets. Starke County Park Board President Roger Chaffins brought up the idea during last week’s meeting, on behalf of board member Chris Lawrence, who was not in attendance. “He mentioned that we’d see if we’d be open to that,” Chaffins explained, “and if it would work, I don’t see why the schools couldn’t do something like that.”
The Starke County Council and Starke County Commissioners will meet in a joint session tonight to look over the budget submitted by Sheriff Bill Dulin, required EMS reporting software, and Riverboat money.
The Starke County Forest will soon get a native plant garden. The recently-upgraded access road now ends at a circular parking loop, with an open space in the middle.
The Starke County Forest’s new access road is now complete. The County Highway Department recently upgraded the old access trail into a gravel road with a 10-to-12-car parking lot. The work was funded by a $15,000 grant from the Hardesty Memorial Endowment Fund.
The conditions of the Bass Lake Beach and Campground will be discussed by the Starke County Park Board tonight. During last month’s meeting, it was reported that glacial stone had been installed around the beach, and Assistant Manager Larry Clarich was getting ready to replenish the beach with new sand. He was also working on repairs to the beach house patio.
Work has begun on the Starke County Forest’s new access road. Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler told the Starke County Park Board Tuesday that his crews began the process earlier that day, working on clearing the site.
The Bass Lake Beach and Campground and the Starke County Forest will be discussed during tonight’s Starke County Park Board meeting. The county has been working to install glacial stone around the Bass Lake Beach, to protect it from incoming waves. But concerns were raised last month that the facility’s operator, Callahan Development, LLC, still hasn’t repaired the beach house patio.
Plans for the Starke County Forest’s new access road still have another hurdle to clear before construction may begin. The Starke County Park Board recently got $15,000 from the Hardesty Memorial Endowment Fund to turn the forest’s existing access trail into a gravel road and add a parking lot.
The Starke County Park Board has been coordinating with the Starke County Highway Department about some upcoming projects, but Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler said he needed the commissioners’ permission to move forward in doing the projects.
The Starke County Forest appears to have been absolved from blame for flooding concerns in the local area. A letter from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources was presented to the Starke County Park Board last week. In it, an engineer in the department’s compliance and enforcement section addressed concerns apparently raised by a neighboring property owner.
The Starke County Forest’s access trail will soon be upgraded to a gravel road, but what it should be called is up for debate. Continue reading
Work is expected to start soon on a new road and parking lot at the Starke County Forest. County Attorney Marty Lucas says an update on the project was given to the Starke County Park Board this week. “The project was delayed a little bit due to the flooding has kept Highway Superintendent [Rik] Ritzler very busy,” Lucas says, “and we hope to get that moving in the next few days.”
