Among the city of Warsaw personnel matters the Board of Public Works and Safety approved Friday were a new Parks Department recreation director, a probationary police officer and a Parks supervisor.
Human Resource Director Jennifer Whitaker presented the new hires/change in payroll report to the Board.
She introduced the new recreation director, Stephanie Schaefer, to the Board. Schaefer’s full-time hourly pay will be $24.86, with her start date being Sunday. Schaefer replaces Sheila Wieringa, who is moving on to another company in Warsaw.
Schaefer has been with the city as the “second-in-command” to Wieringa, Whitaker said.
Wieringa said she was “moving on to a new challenge. I’m excited about that. Stephanie will do an amazing job. She’s been my right hand for three years. She’s been with the city, as a whole, in seasonal capacity, for 11 years before that. She’s got the experience and she’s going to be amazing.”
Schaefer has received a lot of training and “thrown right in,” Wieringa said.
Also from the Parks Department, Adam Howard was promoted to supervisor beginning Sunday. His full-time pay will be $19.75 per hour.
The probationary patrol officer for the Warsaw Police Department is Alvaro Aguillon. Whitaker said he was part of the process several months ago but it takes a little bit of time to get through that with the pension, testing, psychological evaluation and the medical. He starts full-time Sunday with a biweekly pay of $2,200.64.
Brandon Newcomer is returning to the city as a maintenance technician full-time at the wastewater treatment utility. Whitaker said he’s already trained, ready to go and will be paid $18 per hour.
Four city employees were approved to receive a biweekly stipend of $454.55 for the remainder of the year, retroactive to July 25, for being on the IT Governance Committee, which the Warsaw Common Council approved by four votes at their meeting Monday. The employees include Staci Young, mayor’s assistant; Mary Haberman, GIS coordinator; Angela Howard, systems administrator; and Nick King, aviation manager.
Other personnel changes include: Branson Byrer, part-time firefighter, $15.15/hour; Matthew Trump, operator, street department, full-time, $17.30/hour; Clayton Wood, refuse driver, street department, full-time, $18/hour; Sgt. Lewis Fuller, Warsaw Police Department, returning to schools as a school resource officer, full-time, $2,664.81 biweekly; Cpl. Rogelio Navarro, WPD, returning to schools as a SRO, full-time, $2,494.74 biweekly.
In other business, the Board of Works approved:
• A pay application for $46,399.99 from Structurepoint for the Anchorage Road project. The first phase of the project – the preliminary engineering design – is underway. Eighty percent of the cost will be reimbursed as it is an 80/20 Indiana Department of Transportation-funded project. The money will come out of the city’s Economic Development Income Tax fund and be reimbursed back into the EDIT?fund.
An amendment to the recently approved right-of-way contract for the Anchorage Road project also was approved. The amendment requested by American Structurepoint Inc. is to add additional appraisal fees associated with a billboard located on one of the parcels to be acquired for the project. The cost for the amendment is $5,494. The city expects to acquire about 17 parcels for the project.
• A change order from Selge Construction Co. for the Buffalo Street plaza totaling $15,300. The change order is for the installation of a secondary filtration system to help prevent the accumulation of iron on the newly installed water feature.
A pay application from Selge totaling $117,425.57 also was approved. The payment includes the release of retainage for the project in the amount of $110,479.04.
• A contract for engineering design services with VS Engineering Inc. for reconstruction of Lincoln and Lindberg streets for $74,900, as requested by Street Superintendent Dustin Dillon.
• Extending for a year the price quotes from Pavement Solutions for micro surfacing and crack sealant, as requested by Dillon.
• The purchase of a rear-load garbage truck through Sourcewell for $172,700, as requested by Dillon.
• A $28,663 claim from Wessler Engineering for oversight on the construction work on the wastewater treatment plant expansion plant, as requested by Utility Superintendent Brian Davison.
A $197,840 claim from Kokosing Industrial Inc. for work on the plant expansion project was approved.
• The expenditure of $155,500 to Wessler Engineering for engineering and design work for the CR 200S area sewer expansion project.
• An agreement with the K21 Health Foundation for a $30,000 grant in conjunction with the fire departments in Kosciusko County as requested by the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory. The grant will cover the replacement costs for Autopulse units, batteries and charges for county fire departments instead of covering extended warranties for the devices.
• For the WPD to apply for the 2022 IPEP Safety grant for safety and/or training incentives, as requested by Police Chief Scott Whitaker. No amount was specified, but Whitaker said there was no maximum, but it could range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.
• The renewal lease for Kosciusko Ambulance Services (Lutheran EMS) for space at WWFT Station No. 3, including living quarters and ambulance parking inside the equipment bay. The living quarters also is available for their use. The monthly rate to be paid by Kosciusko Ambulance Service is $750 and the lease is for three years.
• The Boyce Keystone annual software license for $8,020, as requested by Clerk-Treasurer Lynne Christiansen.
• An agreement for $300 for a Santa Claus to appear at the 2021 Light Up the Night Dec. 3 event from 6 to 9 p.m., as requested by Wieringa.
Another agreement approved, with Mello Productions for $825, will provide three balloon artists for the Light Up the Night park event.
• The application for and acceptance of a $4,050 grant from the Indiana Arts Commission to support the Summer Concert Series, as requested by Wieringa.
• The application for and acceptance of a $1,000 Indiana Cancer Consortium Employer Gold Standard min-grant, as requested by Human Resource Director Jennifer Whitaker. She said the funds will be used for “education and purposes at the fire department for cancer education when they’re out working in their profession.”
• The release of a mortgage for Melody Lucht, 717 Cook St., for some repairs Housing Opportunities of Warsaw did in 2019 to her house through the Home of Your Own program. She satisfied her obligations.
• Two travel requests from the fire department and 11 from the wastewater treatment utility to attend the three-day IWEA annual conference in Fort Wayne Aug. 24-27. Some of the wastewater treatment utility employees will be staying overnight due to evening events.
• A special claim for 225 tickets for city employees and their family members to a Tin Caps baseball game out of the Human Resources Wellness Budget. Jennifer Whitaker said, “It’s by far the No. 1 program that you put on to date.” No dollar figure was provided on the claim.
