By David Slone
Times-Union
WARSAW — The Language Matters call center has been so successful in the city of Warsaw that it’s looking to expand out into the county and other towns.
At Friday’s Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety meeting, Mayor Jeff Grose requested permission to apply for a $42,000 grant from the Kosciusko County Community Foundation to expand the Call Center’s boundaries.
In the second paragraph of Grose’s letter to the Board of Works, which he read, he states, “The city of Warsaw’s call center has served many residents with not only translation and interpretation, but also navigation within the community. Through the growth of the Language Call Center, it has become clear that residents beyond the city of Warsaw have similar navigation needs or needs that cross multiple jurisdictional boundaries. This is one more way to further support my priorities of strengthening intergovernmental relations, earning citizen trust and engagement, and promoting good government communitywide.”
If the grant is awarded, Grose said the project would include introducing other Kosciusko County towns and government entities to the call center.
“Here is what Language Matters can do: It will train those entities to utilize the Call Center, if there’s interest, and educate non-English-speaking community members about the expanded availability of navigation services throughout our entire community, not just Warsaw, but those in Warsaw that leave our jurisdiction; those outside our jurisdiction who come in,” Grose said.
He said it is a grant request, and the grant application has to go through a public entity like the city. Grose said he encouraged Language Matters co-founder and CEO Lucas Fonseca to move forward and supports Fonseca’s efforts to get those grant dollars.
The Board approved the grant application 3-0.
Public Works Department Superintendent Dustin Dillon presented the board with a $121,635.63 pay application from Michiana Contracting for the ongoing traffic signal modernization work at the intersection of Lake and Main streets, completed thus far. The project was approved on Nov. 15 by the Board.
“The project seems to be on the time schedule allotted and moving along very quickly,” Dillon said.
Councilwoman Diane Quance asked when the project will be completed.
Dillon said that according to the schedule Michiana Contracting gave, it’s on the path to be completed by July 10. The poles were delivered last week and they’re moving along, he said.
Quance said she’s received questions from people about when they can use that portion of the sidewalk again.
The pay application was approved 3-0.
