Shannon McLeod, with Baker Tilly, updates the Kosciusko County Commissioners on Tuesday, Dec. 16, on the Turkey Creek Regional Sewer District grant application. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.

By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW – Back in September, the Kosciusko County Commissioners endorsed Turkey Creek Regional Sewer District’s water utility project so the district could obtain a grant from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA).

On Tuesday, Dec. 16, Shannon McLeod, with Baker Tilly, was back before the commissioners to update the commissioners and get their approval on a resolution for the grant application.

“We, in turn, since September, have gone through all the miscellaneous steps: We had submitted a proposal, we’ve completed the engineering, we got the environmental complete, we obtained our local financing. And, so, we’re pretty much good to go,” she said.

The grant application is due this Friday, Dec. 19.

The TCHAD will be requesting $560,000, with a required local match of $140,000. Turkey Creek is going to supply the local match.

“The only thing that we are lacking is a formal resolution that needs passed by the commissioners, accepting moving forward with the authorization of the application and the local match,” McLeod explained. “So that’s why I’m here this morning, is to answer any questions you may have and hopefully be able to get that resolution adopted so we can move forward.”

Commissioner Cary Groninger reminded everyone “this is having to do with pretty much Enchanted Hills and Fascination Place and trying to find a way that we can get them quality drinking water. Turkey Creek Regional Sewer District kind of inherited a water facility up there that was less than desirable, and they’ve tried to find every way possible to try to get the dollars they need to make the improvements to where those people can have quality drinking water without costing the residents an arm and a leg.”

Commissioner Sue Ann Mitchell said it sounded like a logical solution, which is a “great thing.” She said she realizes it is taking on debt for the district.

“It is, but they were fortunate in the fact that they had almost $11 million in recommended needs, of which $6 million was just affiliated with their replacement of their water distribution,” McLeod stated. “They were fortunate to receive a $4.5 million grant through SRI (State Revolving Fund) to completely replace the distribution system in Fascination Place. Although we would have loved to be able to have the funds to do Enchanted Hills, they weren’t experiencing as many problems as Fascination.”

In total, TCHAD will be incurring $440,000 as debt, but SRI is providing that at zero percent interest. The county is not liable and does not have to put any money in. The county is just serving as the grant subrecipient, or pass-through. The commissioners approved the resolution as requested.

Since 1971, the Kosciusko County Highway Department (KCHD) has owned a PUG mill to make its PUG mix for county roads. Tuesday, KCHD Superintendent Steve Moriarty requested permission to purchase a new PUG mill. The Olympus 300 Series from Pavement Technology Inc., out of Albany, N.Y., is for $381,618. In 2024, the KCHD made 14.5 miles of PUG that it laid down, and around 17 miles of PUG this year. A PUG mill makes cold asphalt, which is normally laid about 2-1/2 inches deep.

The cost to pave a mile of road with PUG mix is about $65,000, Moriarty said, compared to $150,000 with asphalt. PUG mix is more pliable and forgiving, he stated. The commissioners approved the purchase.

Kara Shively, Kosciusko County juvenile probation officer, requested permission to apply for a fiscal year 2027 Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI) advance grant for $65,000. The county council approved the grant application at their meeting Dec. 11 when Superior Court I Judge Karin McGrath made the request. Shively said this was year nine for the request. Mitchell asked how many kids JDAI was serving.

“It fluctuates between all the programming that we have, but in each of our programs over 100 every year,” Shively said.

Since the baseline year of 2017 when JDAI was first started, she said they saved over $450,000 in detention costs that come out of the county general budget.

“This year, we only spent $1,200 on secure detention for our Kosciusko County youth. And even more importantly than the money is the fact that we’ve only had one Kosciusko County youth in secure detention, which we know can be very harmful,” Shively said.

“Great improvement over those years, which is a point of the program. It’s definitely working,” Mitchell said, who then made the motion to approve the grant application. The motion passed.

In other business, the commissioners approved:

• A resolution approving the 2026 sheriff’s salary contract, as presented by County Attorney Ed Ormsby. The county council approved it at their meeting Dec. 11. The 2026 contract is substantially the same as the 2025 contract, except for Sheriff Jim Smith’s salary was raised from $124,131 in 2025 to $126,614 in 2026.

• An agreement for services between the county and Bowen Health, as presented by Ormsby. The amount of the agreement for 2026 is $820,000.

• A request from Dawn Wilkinson, director of projects and operations at Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation, to encumber $75,000 in special project dollars. Those dollars are already in the 2025 budget. Of the funds, $25,000 will be for the 2026 investment commitment for Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, and the $50,000 will assist KEDCO with a housing initiative in the county’s smaller communities.

• Technology Director Eric Sorensen’s request to purchase 50 replacement computers, including licensing, for $54,431. He said the money was in his budget.

• A quote from J & K Communications for $17,784 for required work at all four of the county’s tower sites, as presented by County Administrator Marsha McSherry.

• The contract and construction inspection for bridge 123, which is the LPA consulting contract between USI and the county, as requested by Moriarty. The bridge is on Packerton Road over Cherry Creek, south of Pierceton Road.

• A contract for professional engineering services for bridge 287, between the LPA consultant, United, and the KCHD, as requested by Moriarty. Bridge 287 is on CR 450N, just north of US 30, over Deeds Creek.

• The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) final inspection document, which will be turned over back to INDOT, and is for the acceptance of the completion of bridge 161, per Moriarty’s request. Bridge 161 is over Walnut Creek at SR15 and CR 200S.

• INDOT final inspection recommendation for acceptance for completion of bridge 30, which is on Beer Road in Milford, as requested by Moriarty.

• Accepting the vacation of an easement for Janet Callaghan, who resides in Pipers Melody Acres in Warsaw, as recommended by the Area Plan Commission. The easement is south of Cardinal Drive and north of Bluebird Drive.

• Accepting the Area Plan Commission’s recommendation to approve a petition from Robinson Construction to rezone ground from an Agricultural district to an Industrial-2 district. The property is on the south side of CR 250N, west of CR 100E, near the Warsaw Municipal Airport.

• Accepting the Area Plan Commission’s recommendation to approve a petition from Mariela Vazquez to rezone eight acres from an Agricultural to an Agricultural-2 district. The property is on the east side of CR 400W, east of CR 400N, Warsaw.

• A two-page list of their 2026 board, department heads and miscellaneous appointments.

The next commissioners meeting is at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23, in the old courtroom of the county courthouse.