City Projects Continue Moving Forward
WARSAW — Projects by the city of Warsaw continue to move forward in various stages, following approval for pay applications this morning, March 4, by the Warsaw Board of Public Works. Due to one project, an agreement to relocate the Center Lake Boat Ramp was approved.
Projects discussed include: Buffalo Street Redevelopment, Market Street Phase 2, East Market Street and Husky Trail.
The Buffalo Street Redevelopment Project is in its design phase — street and roads, sanitary sewer and schematic drawings on a plaza — which is projected to be completed over the next few months with the bidding of the project to follow with completion in the fall. The design of a plaza at the end of Buffalo Street will result in the necessity of relocating the Center Lake Boat Ramp.
Jeremy Skinner, city planner, presented an agreement with the Department of Natural Resources to move the ramp to Bixler Park, off Detroit Street. The ramp is proposed to be installed north of the tennis courts in that park. Skinner stated the relocation is to accommodate the future public plaza. A lease agreement will then follow with the DNR. “Our intention is to have the ramp relocation occur sometime in 2017,” said Skinner. “We’re trying to make this as smooth a transition as possible, but there will be some disruption as the Buffalo Street corridor is reconstructed,” he added.
Mayor Joe Thallemer stated normally the DNR requests a longer time to have a ramp moved, but a request has been made to speed up the process. Skinner added one good thing is that the present ramp is not ADA compliant so state officials would need to upgrade the ramp. The new ramp will be ADA compliant.
The cost for the engineering services for the design phase of the Buffalo Street Project is $12,387.50. American Structurepoint, Inc., Indianapolis, is doing the work.
Approved Payments
The payment of $13,369.77 to VS Engineering, Inc., for the Market Street Phase 2 project was approved. This cost for the project is from Bronson to Hickory streets. Phase two of the Market Street project is an 80/20 project with the Indiana Department of Transportation. The city will be reimbursed $10,695.82 by the state. The cost is for engineering fees for the road reconstruction.
Approval was given to pay Niblock Excavating $343,759.17 for completion of its work on the East Market Street project, Argonne to Bronson. The city is retaining $18,092.59, per the agreement.
Additional payment vouchers for the Husky Trail project brought with it the announcement the project is moving forward. Another project in conjunction with INDOT the city will receive 20 percent of the funds spent refunded. The commission approved payment of $16,380 to A&Z Engineering, Fort Wayne for right of way acquisition services. The city will be reimbursed $13,104. It also approved a payment of $93,790 for right-of-way acquisition, with $75,032 being reimbursed.
Skinner noted there are roughly 11 parcels yet to acquire right of ways. This pay voucher includes the acquisition of right-of-ways from Warsaw Community School Corporation; Ramiro and Ofelia Rodriguez; Stephen and Karen Newhouse and Sharon Mitterling. It was noted WCSC donated the right of way to the city, in exchange for minor improvements to the school property due to the project. “They generously granted us a $27,000 land acquisition cost as a donation,” said Thallemer. It was noted there are others doing similar donations. Such entities as Cardinal Center and Canterbury Apartments are also expected to donate the land acquisition. Skinner noted there may be more.
Skinner noted the remaining acquisitions will close out the second phase of the project with movement to the third phase expected later this year. That phase is the bidding of the project. It was noted six months must pass after the last right-of-way is acquired before the project can begin.