Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer at the City of Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety meeting Friday, May 21. InkFreeNews photos by Lasca Randels

By Lasca Randels
InkFreeNews

WARSAW —  Warsaw Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer was given the go-ahead to move forward with two grants that could result in kayak kiosks and additional pickleball courts for the city.

Plummer presented the grant information at the City of Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety meeting Friday, May 21, 

Warsaw Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer was given the go-ahead to move forward with two grants. InkFreeNews photo by Lasca Randels

The parks department has been awarded a reimbursable grant from the Kosciusko County Convention, Recreation and Visitor Commission (KCCRVC) in the amount of $29,660 for the kayak kiosks, which will be placed at Center and Pike lakes. 

Plummer announced at the Warsaw Parks Board meeting May 19 that the Warsaw Parks Department will be the first ones to have this type of kayak kiosk in Indiana.

The kiosks will be placed in well-lit locations and will be monitored by cameras.

Plummer will also be applying for a grant through the K21 Health Foundation to be used for widening the current Bixler Park tennis courts and adding four pickleball courts. 

The existing courts would be widened and repaved with a grid mesh, new post and nets installed, color sealed and striped, fencing placed between the pickleball courts and the current east fence would be replaced to include a new 5’ gate. 

The finished project would have two tennis courts and four pickleball courts. 

“This is something they did last year at Kelly Park. We put four pickleball courts out there and it’s been used…I mean, the use has just been incredible,” Plummer said. “This is a growing trend and we’d like to incorporate pickleball courts at these courts as well.”

Total project cost is $82,540. The grant amount would be for $53,000 and the rest of the project cost would come from budgeted funds. 

The Board also approved participation by the Warsaw Police Department in the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance Bulletproof Vest Partnership. 

The BVP is a reimbursement grant that reimburses half the cost of bulletproof vests purchased by law enforcement agencies. The police budget will pay for the initial cost of the vests. 

The deadline to apply for the 2021 BVP grant is June 14.

WPD Chief Scott Whitaker said the Warsaw Police Department plans to use the funds to purchase new vests and to replace outdated vests in 2021 and 2022. The replacement cycle for a bulletproof vest is five years, and the police department has developed a replacement rotation to accommodate this cycle. 

The 2021 BVP will support the purchase of 11 vests at an approximate cost of $12,800. 

In other news:

• The Board of Works will return to a 10:30 a.m. starting time at the June 4 meeting.
• A certificate of substantial completion between the City of Warsaw and Kokosin Industrial regarding the Warsaw Wastewater Treatment Expansion was accepted. A punch list of items to be completed or corrected was attached to the certificate.
• A road closure request submitted by Zimmer Biomet Veterans Resource Group was approved. The request is for Main Street to be closed between 11:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Thursday, May 27, for a 2021 Memorial Day Wreath Laying Ceremony. 
• The next regular meeting will be 10:30 a.m. June 4.