By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW — One bid was received and opened Friday, Nov. 17, for Warsaw’s recycling services at the Board of Public Works and Safety meeting.

The proposal from Borden, the city’s current recycling provider, was a five-year contract with an increase in the price each year. Mayor Joe Thallemer read the prices, which are $3.93 per household per month for year one (2024); $4.06, year two; $4.21, year three; $4.35, year four; and $4.50, year five.

This year’s rate is $3.85 per household per month, according to Public Works Superintendent Dustin Dillon.

Borden offered an alternate bid for a seven-year contract but Thallemer didn’t go through those numbers.

After Dillon and city engineer Aaron Ott reviewed the bid during the meeting, Dillon made a recommendation to go ahead and award the recycling five-year contract to Borden. Ott concurred.

While the board approved awarding the contract to Borden, the actual contract will be approved at a future board meeting.

A change order from R. Yoder Construction Inc. on the Center Lake Recreational Trail construction will reduce the overall cost of the total contract by $103,417 to $876,835. The board unanimously approved the change order on recommendation by Ott.

He explained, “These are some items that had come up over the course of the project that we collectively let them gather to bring them up together in one change order rather than several change orders.”

The majority of the money being credited to the city is for the Crosswise benches that were in the bid. “Those were an excessive item, we felt, and we were able to get benches for a much better price than the $113,610 bid for 14 benches,” Ott said.

Board member George Clemens asked what kind of benches were those.

“They were special. They were made overseas. We wanted to match the Buffalo Plaza project, and so there must have been a change in the bench manufacturer or something from when that project was done to this one, so we were unaware and when we specified the specific item, it had a little price shock on it,” Ott said.

The change order also includes two additions. One is a custom bench to be used as a pump enclosure at an increase of $3,810 and the other is for additional concrete removal and replacement of a pavilion patio for an increase of $6,789.

Ott said all the changes were negotiated with the contractor.

The Sasso family donated $1 million toward the Center Lake Recreational Trail project.

In other business, the board approved:

• A $174,003 pay application from HRP Construction for work on the lift station that will provide sanitary sewer to the Warsaw Municipal Airport.

Community Economic and Development Director Jeremy Skinner said the pay application was being paid for out of State Revolving Fund dollars that were granted as part of the refinancing of the wastewater treatment plan loan.

Quance asked if the work was completed now. Skinner replied it’s all done “except for I think there’s still some things on the lift station. We still don’t have power to the lift station, so we’re still waiting on NIPSCO to do the railroad crossing. I don’t think there’s any more pipe work left.”

Ott said there’s no more underground work. It’s just restoration and final electrical work once it has power.

Another pay application from HRP Construction for work on the lift station also was approved. Skinner said for this pay application, $127,214 will be paid out by SRF dollars with the remaining $37,687.76 paid from the Northern TIF (tax increment finance) district. The Warsaw Redevelopment Commission will have to approve the $37,687.76.

“I know this money was used through restructuring the SRF loan. Is there a portion that that did not fund? Is that why you’re withdrawing from the TIF funds?” Thallemer asked.

Skinner said the original contract was for “X,” which was what was covered under the SRF fund, but there were a lot of soil issues that they had to deal with, along with a landfill that was found.

“So there were some change orders in the amount of $437,982.44. That money will be paid for out of TIF,” Skinner said.

Thallemer said it was a $2.1 million project. Skinner said the SRF loan will cover $1.869 million of that. “So, a little bit more because we had some additional charges that we knew about, so when we did that loan we covered as much as we knew about at that time, which is about $1.869 million. The remaining portion will be paid for out of Northern TIF,” Skinner explained.

• The new hire and change in payroll report as presented by Human Resource Director Denny Harlan. He pointed out that three firefighters were getting promoted, with Brandon Allen and Max Kinsey moving from firefighter to lieutenant and Drew Shilling moving from lieutenant to captain.

Five wastewater treatment utility employees also received merit increases — lab analysts Jessica Bainer and Sarah Eberle and construction techs Justin Creamer, Robert Marshall and Nicholas Rausch.

• The 2024 John Kimpel & Associates rates for city projects as needed, as presented by Assistant City Planner Jackson Longenbaugh. He said most of the rates have increased by about $20 per hour, with one rate increasing by $40 per hour and another by $50 per hour. “But fairly similar to the change we saw last year,” he said.

The rates range from a low of $120 per hour for general office – technician to a high of $300 per hour for GPS/robot field work – three-man crew.

• The contract between the city and Lassus Brothers Oil Inc. for the city to purchase 80,000 gallons of 87 Octane gasoline at a fixed price of $2.970 per gallon, as presented by Warsaw Police Department Chief Scott Whitaker. The Board of Works previously approved the 2024 fuel purchase.

• The 2024 agreement between the WPD and ordained minister Layne Sumner for Sumner to provide WPD and Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory employees with spiritual guidance and counseling for $12,000, with payments to be made quarterly.

• The interlocal agreement between Kosciusko County and the city for $33,075 for Central Square. Whitaker said it’s a slight increase from last year, but it is the countywide data records management system. The $33,075 is the city’s portion of the costs for the system, and the costs are shared by all law enforcement agencies throughout the county.

• The Pro Air Midwest LLC contract for the police and fire air tanks equipment service. The police pay $1,380 and the fire pays $2,888. Whitaker said they’ve been doing the joint contract “for a long time.”

• Change order no. 1 from Phend & Brown for various street mill and resurfacing in conjunction with the Public Works Department’s 2023 Community Crossing Matching Grant paving project. Dillon said it was for a decrease of $35,450.85, bringing the total contract price to $789,278.88.

Pay application no. 1, and also the final pay application because all the work has been completed, from Phend & Brown for the $789,278.88 also was approved 3-0.

Thallemer thanked Dillon for all the hard work he and his department did this summer on all the asphalt projects.

“None of them go perfect, and we had a lot of work done this year. The downtown looks great. A lot of work south of town. Your crew did a lot of smaller jobs that really made a difference, and I just want you to know I really appreciate it,” Thallemer stated.

Dillon said it was a good year and quite a bit was accomplished.