Three more down, one to go.
Friday morning, the City of Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety approved three pay applications for right-of-way acquisitions for the Husky Trail Project. With those purchases, City Planner Jeremy Skinner said there’s only one more parcel to acquire, from Menard’s, and then the stage 3 design plans will be submitted, with bid letting for the project potentially beginning in December or January. He hoped all the parcels would be acquired by the end of the month.
All three of the parcels approved by the Board of Works Friday will go to the Redevelopment Commission at its meeting Tuesday.
The three parcels are being purchased from First Church of Christ, Scientist, 1011 Mariners Drive, for $11,890; Mallers Joyner Cinemas LLC, 1550 Country Club Drive East, for $7,400; and Mark Allen Snyder & Select Portfolio Servicing Inc., 2502 Glad St., for $27,610. The total for all three parcels is $46,810.
Mayor Joe Thallemer told the other two Board of Works members that, “We have to create a six-month delay with the project from when we acquire the last property, so the longer this takes, the further the project gets pushed back.”
He said Skinner has been working hard to get all 24 parcels acquired by working individually with the property owners. It’s been a “monumental” task, Thallemer said, but he appreciated the work Skinner has done.
The board then approved another Husky Trail project pay application for $5,999 for engineering services by A&Z Engineering LLC, Fort Wayne. Skinner said they’re about done with the engineering services, but the bulk of this payment was for the roundabout, which will be paid out of the Eastern TIF District funds.
In another matter, the board waived late fees and a lien fee against Megan and Luis Vega, 2578 Nature View Drive, Warsaw.
Warsaw Wastewater Payment Office Manager Mary Lou Plummer said the Vegas bought their home from Stonehill Homes in January, coming from out of town. They were not made aware of the wastewater account, and the city had been sending all the bills to the builder. No one called and told the city the house had been sold, she said.
When the bills became 90 days behind, she said a lien was recorded on the property. That’s when the builder informed the city the house had been sold. Plummer then sent a letter to the Vegas informing them of the lien and past due wastewater account.
Megan Vega told the Board of Works that they received the letter two Saturdays ago and they were surprised because they didn’t know of the wastewater account. She contacted Plummer the following Monday morning, and told Plummer they didn’t have a problem with paying for their wastewater usage since they closed on the house at the end of January, but since they didn’t get a bill since then, they hoped the penalty fees could be waive.
The board approved to forgive the late fees of $17.80 and the lien fee of $23, for a total of $40.80.
Also Friday, the Board approved:
• Closing Pine Street between West Market and West Center streets from 1 to 3 p.m. July 17 as requested by Bethany Fellowship Church for a picnic and activities.
• Warsaw Police Department’s acceptance of $5,000 from a 2016 Summer Impaired Driving Enforcement grant.
The Town of Winona Lake applied for and was awarded funding for an extra traffic enforcement grant for 2016 for $15,000 for the 2016 Summer Impaired Driving Enforcement Project. The grant pays officers overtime to enforce Indiana impaired driving laws in specific areas where a majority of alcohol-impaired collisions occur. Warsaw Police Department’s portion is approximately $5,000 and there is no local match. The grant runs May 27 to Sept. 30.
• Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department Superintendent Larry Plummer’s request to trade in a 2001 GMC half ton pickup, to be applied to the purchase price of a new half ton pickup truck from Lakeside Chevrolet. The funds were appropriated for in the 2016 budget, he said.
• Parks Recreation Director Sheila Wieringa’s request to approve five contracts for the Family Carnival, which is from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 5. The contracts are with Jim Barron, to provide a magic comedy show, $375; Mary Dickison, to provide face painting, $400; Kenneth Ersberger, to provide balloon art, $200; Randal Martin, to provide caricature artwork, $240, an increase of $40 over 2015; and with Darlene McCartney, to provide caricature artwork, for $180.
• A Market Street Phase 2 pay application for $10,415.33 for VS Engineering Inc., Indianapolis. Indiana Department of Transportation will reimburse 80 percent of the cost, leaving the local portion of the invoice of $2,083.07.
• Department of Public Works Superintendent Jeff Beeler’s request to purchase a used 2006 International 4300 bucket truck from Altec Nueco for $38,000. This purchase price includes the trade-in of the department’s current bucket truck, a 1994 Ford. He said purchasing a new one would cost around $160,000.
• Beeler’s request to purchase a Spaulding Hot Patcher with a 4-ton capacity from Brown Equipment Co. for $31,860. This purchase replaces the department’s 2005 Hot Box, which is no longer safe to operate as the liquid propane eats through metal. The Spaulding Hot Patcher uses diesel, not propane. Delivery is within 90 days, and payment is due within 30 days of delivery.
• Rejecting the only bid it received at its previous meeting for the 2016 Main Street project. The bid was for $323,915 from Phend & Brown, but Beeler and City Engineer James Emans said the bid was $60,000 more than their estimate.
• The new hire/change in payroll report as presented by Jennifer Whitaker, human resource director.
Included in the report, Whitaker said Christopher Brown has reached the end of his one-year probationary status with the Warsaw Police Department. He will be sworn in at the next Board of Works meeting. His bi-weekly salary is $1,828.05.
