City Planner Jeremy Skinner

WARSAW — The Warsaw Board of Works and Safety saw a number of requests at the Aug. 18 meeting, all of which were approved.

City Planner Jeremy Skinner brought forward three pay applications for current projects: Buffalo Street redevelopment for $4,367.45, CR 300N for $152,987.91 which was approved at Redevelopment Commission last week and Husky Trail for $33,366.90 which is an INDOT 80/20 match.

Skinner announced they are ahead of schedule for the Husky Trail project after getting ahead in phase I. Even after a few setbacks, he is hopeful the project will be completed ahead of schedule.

Assistant city planner Justin Taylor brought forward the request to reduce or waive a merchant fee for a traveling petting zoo that is planning on coming to the area.

Both Skinner and Taylor wanted to make it clear that neither they nor the city are approving the show itself. The board was merely responsible for making a decision on whether or not they would waive the itinerant merchant fee.

The Florida-based business, Engesser’s Exotics LLC, would set up an exhibit for five days at the the Lake Village Shopping Center and have six employees, totaling a fee of $3,000. City prices, comparably, are $100 and the county’s are $300.

The fee was established to help protect local businesses from traveling merchants. There are no local petting zoos within Kosciusko that Engesser’s would be in competition with.

The petition, produced by Taylor, states, “They typically place their exhibit near malls and shopping centers, offering visitors a chance to see rare and majestic animals like lions, tigers and monkeys. Offering several free lectures throughout the day to educate visitors about their animals, they are able to create a draw of approximately 4,000 to 6,000. They do not charge an entrance fee but do charge for pictures and animal feed.”

The board discussed the benefits of the traveling group, including the traffic it could bring to the Lake Village plaza, and approved the motion to reduce the merchant’s fees to the county fee of $300 for the five-day event.

Mayor Joe Thallemer made the sad announcement that Cpt. Kip Shuter is retiring from the Warsaw Police Department. “It’s somewhat difficult to make that announcement, but here we are, it needs to be done.”

Shuter stated, “It’s been a great honor serving for the city and a tremendous opportunity.”

At the end of the meeting Skinner brought forward two change orders for the Husky Trail Project. One of those orders is in the addition of $8,295. The extra cost is from an abandoned storm sewer that needed filled, as well as some other adjustments in the roundabout. The second order made no cost change and was procedural.

In other business:

• Bids were supposed to open today, Aug. 18, for the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Station 3. The city has been in contact with contractors and felt it best to reschedule the bids. No bids were received; Thallemer clarified that if bids had been received they would have been returned sealed. The bids will open Sept. 8 at 10:30 a.m. No documents will be changed.
• The board approved road closure requests for Family Safety Day, Sept. 9; Patriot Day, Sept. 11; Park Ridge Association, Sept. 16 and Cubmobile, Sept. 23.
• The board approved a slight change in plans for the annual Twinkle Parade with Santa Claus. The Park Department also asked for approval to apply for a Kosciusko County Community Foundation Grant and KREMC Operation Round Up grant. These were both approved.
• The board approved the city stormwater’s agreement with R.A. Smith National and Foundation Business Systems for PermiTrack Software.
• The board approved an annual software agreement for the wastewater department and the city clerk.