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St. Joseph County economic development executive director Bill Schalliol says he'll ask Amazon to contribute more money for traffic patrols as part of a local road funding agreement.

After receiving the St. Joseph County Area Plan Commission's unfavorable recommendation Tuesday, the rezoning request needed for a data center near New Carlisle goes to the county council for a final vote Sept. 23.

The St. Joseph County Area Plan staff has given no recommendation, meaning neither favorable nor unfavorable, to a request to rezone over 1,000 acres along scenic Chicago Trail from agricultural to industrial.

Amazon on Wednesday announced the opening of its Elkhart Delivery Station off John Weaver Parkway. Its 250 employees, earning an average $19 an hour, sort and pick the packages before loading them into delivery vehicles.

The Indiana Department of Transportation says it understands that people are frustrated with waiting longer at U.S. 20 and Quince Road but has told them congestion will ease once work on the parallel State Road 2 finishes.

The new Amazon facility plans to hire for 1,000 full-time positions with benefits averaging $19 an hour. The jobs will mix physical labor with technical skills developed to operate robotics.

The developer wants to rezone 1,057 acres along scenic Chicago Trail, designated as green space or agriculture in county and town plans, to build a data center. New Carlisle town officials say they'll already have their hands full with the massive data center that Amazon is building nearby.

Suburban and rural fire territories say it's increasingly difficult on their own to provide fire and ambulance services that people have come to expect.

Amazon has awarded $250,000 in grants to 31 local organizations in northern Indiana.

The Indiana Department of Transportation is fast-tracking an interchange at State Road 2 and Larrison Road but it's still a couple years off.