The Kosciusko County Velo Cycling Club will be having a  criterium bike races on Aug. 3 and it will be held during the Warsaw First Friday event.

This morning, the Warsaw Board of Public Works & Safety approved an expanded area of the downtown roads that will be closed for the Aug. 3 event. The extended closures will accommodate all of the usual First Friday activities and allow for the KCV Cycling Club’s ride.

Also that day will be a Family Fun Bike Ride which will begin at the Village of Winona and end in downtown Warsaw.

Usually, Buffalo Street from Market to Main streets, and Center Street from Lake to Indiana streets are all that are closed during First Fridays. For the Aug. 3 celebration, the extended closings will be as follows:

Buffalo Street from Main to Jefferson; West Market Street from Lake to Indiana; Center Street from Lake to Indiana, Main Street from Lake to Indiana, Lake Street from Main to Center, and Indiana Street from Main to Center.

The B.O.W. approved the closures to occur from 3 p.m. to approximately 9 p.m. Because Main Street closure affects the Warsaw Fire Department, fire trucks will be staged along Main Street and east of Indiana Street in the event they are needed during the closure.

In other matters, B.O.W. members – Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer, Charlie Smith and Jeff Grose – also approved the following requests:

• The purchase of a new antenna tower for the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory at Station 2, 2204 E. Center St., Warsaw. The new tower will replace the current one that was erected in the 1905s and is now severely rusted. A top portion of the tower has already been removed as it was deemed a safety hazard. The new tower will be installed by J&K Communications Inc. of Columbia City for a total of $45,859.18.
• The purchase of a new Exmark X-Series 60-inch deck mower for Oakwood Cemetery. The mower will be purchased from Bobcat of Warsaw for $9,698 and will include the trade of a 2007 John Deere 757.
• The purchase of a 2010 Case loader to replace a 1997 Zettlemeyer loader for the Warsaw Department of Public Works. After the trade-in, the total price will be $55,271. The loader will be paid for from the street department’s machinery and equipment fund.
• The trade-in and purchase of vehicles for the Warsaw Parks & Recreation Department. A 1990 Chevy truck with topper will be traded for a 2013 Chevy Silverado with a topper. Total price will be $19,999.18.
• A music license agreement with Broadcast Music Inc. was signed for a one year contract. Total price is $320. Larry Plummer of the parks department said the agreement is necessary so that licensed and copy written music can be performed during musical events. The city already contract with ASCAP, another music licensing agency.

In a final matter, Alisha Clayson’s request to have the city lower the intolerant merchants permit fees was denied. Clayson came before the B.O.W. in June asking to have the fees lowered so that her family could operate a shaved ice business with their children. She said they live within one mile of the city limits.

In defending the board’s decision not to lower the fees, Thallemer asked Clayson to come before the Warsaw City Council at 7 p.m. Monday, July 16, to ask the city to redefine the terms of itinerant merchants.

The next B.O.W. meeting will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 20.