By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — There’s a renewed sense of urgency to remove the old Center Lake pier in Warsaw.
The city has held off on removing the pier because past bids came in close to half a million dollars while at the same time, the city was searching for for sources of grant money to cover the cost.
The pier has been closed for two years over safety and health concerns but parks superintendent Larry Plummer they are hoping a new set of bids will come in lower than before.
Plummer said the city has moved money over from the street department.
“Mayor (Jeff) Grose and (street superintendent Dustin Dillon) have worked to find some funds to get that eyesore out of there for us,” Plummer said.
He said further investigation into the pier’s foundation related to the amount of rust is not what they expected and that that should help reduce the cost of removal.
In the meantime, he said it’s been difficult to keep kids off the pier.
“We try to keep people off there all year long (and) during the swimming season. We had to do that every day, it seemed like. People just kept going around the fence.,” Plummer said.
“We’re concerned about the people’s safety. The pier is deteriorating and it’s just not safe anymore,” he said.
Officials have sought to remove the pier because nearby stagnating water encourages the growth of e.coli bacteria.
The pier was closed for a day on the Fourth of July weekend because of health reasons.
