The city of Warsaw is exploring the idea of replacing the Center Lake Pavilion with an ice rink and new park offices.
The Board of Public Works and Safety approved a $15,000 contract with MAI Architects Inc., which Assistant City Planner Justin Taylor said would allow for the firm to do the preliminary site design and investigation of potential costs and costs analysis of the project.
Parks & Recreation Department Superintendent Larry Plummer said there’s been talk about an ice skating rink in the Parks’ five-year master plan, and a Kosciusko Leadership Academy group did their white paper project on an ice skating rink in Warsaw.
No decision has been made, but the study will give the city good information.
Plummer said the money will come from the Park budget, and the study will give the Parks an opportunity to see what other programs could be done in the facility throughout the entire year and they wanted to do it right.
In other business, the board approved:
• Road closings in downtown Warsaw for the Spooktacular from 3 to 9 p.m. Oct. 28. The roads include Buffalo Street from Main Street to Rex’s Rendezvous; Center Street from Lake to Indiana streets; and Market Street from Lake to Indiana streets.
• A contract for the Parks & Recreation Department to have a Santa and Mrs. Claus at this year’s Light Up the Night, First Friday Twinkle Parade at 7 p.m. to Central Park, then the meet-and-greet until 8:30 p.m. Dec. 2. The contract is for $200.
• A contract between the parks department and Ice Creations for $400 for a pumpkin carving demonstration during Fall Family Fun Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lucerne Park.
Recreation Director Sheila Wieringa said the new things for the event this year are the pumpkin carving and a straw maze in one of the cabins. The staples of the event also are returning, including a story teller, FFA with animals, s’mores, a campfire, hay rides and a live bat display.
• A contract with A & Z Engineering for $3,400 for right of way staking for the Husky Trail project. In order to relocate the various utilities throughout the Husky Trail corridor, the new rights of way need to be staked out so utility companies can relocate their infrastructure.
• A supplemental agreement with A & Z Engineering for $13,144 for additional engineering services related to utility relocations and additional crosswalk design requirements for the Husky Trail project.
Federal ADA requirements for crosswalks and utility coordination have increased since the original contract with A & Z was signed four years ago, according to Taylor.
• A contract with NIPSCO to increase the gas line size running to the new wastewater treatment plant, 2056 N. CR 150W, from 1 inch to 2 inches. Waste Water Treatment Utility Manager Brian Davison said the increase was needed to get more gas to the plant to run everything during the winter. NIPSCO requires the city to pay 51 percent of the construction costs, which is $6,582.20.
Davison said 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches would have been sufficient, but it was increased to 2 inches for potential future growth.
• An annual maintenance agreement with American Elevator for the elevator at city hall. The agreement is for Nov. 1 to Oct. 31, 2017, and the city will be billed annually at $2,163, a 3 percent increase of $63.
