WARAW — Renovation plans by Warsaw Community Public Library were scuttled Monday night in a tight vote by the Warsaw City Council. 

Five hours of debate led to a vote minutes after midnight on Tuesday morning for a bond sought by the library to pay for $17 million in renovations.

The decision came down to the wire on a three-to-four vote that rejected the bond proposal. 

Councilwoman Diane Quance made the motion to approve the bond issue. Council President Jack Wilhite and Michael Klondaris voted in favor.

Those opposed were Cindy Dobbins, Juergen Voss, Jerry Frush and Josh Finch.

The defeat will prevent the library from trying again for two years and leaves officials in a difficult position as they now must prepare to cope with the Carnegie Library's aging infrastructure and very little money to pay for improvements.

While opponents complained about the $17 million price tag, supporters said waiting later to renovate the 100-year-old building and its mechanicals, roof, and lack of adequate handicap accessibility would become significantly more expensive as prices continue to rise.

Library officials said the annual tax impact of the bond issue for owners of a median-priced home in the district would cost about $50.

Opponents point out that the true cost, which calculates interest, would bring the total to upwards of $28 million.

Many of those who spoke at the meeting and opposed the plan said they loved the library and appreciated its importance, but many said the timing is bad because of significantly rising property taxes and uncertainty over property tax reform efforts. 

Voss said he appreciates the role of the library, but said constituents he talked with are upset about property taxes.

"People are definitely stressed," Voss said. "When I got my taxes this time around, they went up 20%. I know people whose taxes went up more than that. They went up that much last year. That means my taxes double every five years. It's out of control."

Wilhite expressed concerns about the future.

"Do we want our library to continue serving this community for generations to come or are we willing to risk losing it? I believe the library is currently in a vulnerable position. In my view, one or two major infrastructure failures could force it to close its doors. 

Klondaris echoed Wilhite's concerns.

"My fear is that if we say we can't do this, we're one catastrophe away from losing our library," Klondaris said. "I don't want to be responsible for that."

Library Director Heather Barron said the library had previously scaled back its original proposal of around $22 million to a minimum level that would suffice.

Some people question why the mechanics were not better maintained over the years. Barron said many of the mechanicals have already far exceeded their life expectancy.

She said the library has a small rainy day fund that struggles to generate enough money to cover repairs or save for major projects.

The library renovation plan was one of three big capital improvement projects that have been under consideration. The other are contruction of a new library in Syracuse and and c city-county parking garage in Warsaw — both of which will soon be decided by Kociusko County leaders.

Klondaris said he does not believe the parking garage will move forward.

The county commissioners are expected to take a stand soon on the parking garage, but the county council could also have a say on the issue.

A  decision on the Syracuse library is expected to happen June 11.

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By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW —  The Language Matters call center has been so successful in the city of Warsaw that it’s looking to expand out into the county and other towns.

At Friday’s Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety meeting, Mayor Jeff Grose requested permission to apply for a $42,000 grant from the Kosciusko County Community Foundation to expand the Call Center’s boundaries.

In the second paragraph of Grose’s letter to the Board of Works, which he read, he states, “The city of Warsaw’s call center has served many residents with not only translation and interpretation, but also navigation within the community. Through the growth of the Language Call Center, it has become clear that residents beyond the city of Warsaw have similar navigation needs or needs that cross multiple jurisdictional boundaries. This is one more way to further support my priorities of strengthening intergovernmental relations, earning citizen trust and engagement, and promoting good government communitywide.”

If the grant is awarded, Grose said the project would include introducing other Kosciusko County towns and government entities to the call center.

“Here is what Language Matters can do: It will train those entities to utilize the Call Center, if there’s interest, and educate non-English-speaking community members about the expanded availability of navigation services throughout our entire community, not just Warsaw, but those in Warsaw that leave our jurisdiction; those outside our jurisdiction who come in,” Grose said.

He said it is a grant request, and the grant application has to go through a public entity like the city. Grose said he encouraged Language Matters co-founder and CEO Lucas Fonseca to move forward and supports Fonseca’s efforts to get those grant dollars.

The Board approved the grant application 3-0.

Public Works Department Superintendent Dustin Dillon presented the board with a $121,635.63 pay application from Michiana Contracting for the ongoing traffic signal modernization work at the intersection of Lake and Main streets, completed thus far. The project was approved on Nov. 15 by the Board.

“The project seems to be on the time schedule allotted and moving along very quickly,” Dillon said.

Councilwoman Diane Quance asked when the project will be completed.

Dillon said that according to the schedule Michiana Contracting gave, it’s on the path to be completed by July 10. The poles were delivered last week and they’re moving along, he said.

Quance said she’s received questions from people about when they can use that portion of the sidewalk again.

The pay application was approved 3-0.

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WARSAW — Warsaw City Council approved plans to temporarily acquire Warsaw Chemical property in a move aimed at establishing an orthopedic innovation center with Grace College.

City Council voted 5-2 with opposition from Cindy Dobbins and Juergen Voss as the city moved forward to acquire the land on Argonne Road for $6.5 million in an effort to bring together an engineering school at Grace College that would be the home to an innovation center intended to support the orthopedic industry.

Jeremy Skinner, director of Community & Economic Development, said the acquisition of the property by the city redevelopment commission would be short-term and that Grace College would eventually operate the property.

Several council members asked if the city's acquisition would rely on property tax dollars.

Skinner said they plan to use state income tax revenue made available from the state as a result of the city's tech park.

Council member Diane Quance said she felt better after hearing the response.

Voss said he finds the proposal to be a "great opportunity," but has heard concerns from some residents.

He said some people have reached out and "Can't understand why we're paying four times the appraised value for a building that is contaminated and is probably worth half that much if they were to sell it privately."

Voss said some wonder why the city is "enabling" a company to move.

Skinner said the company is willing to move to accommodate the city's redevelopment plans for Argonne Road.

He said some of the acquisition costs include money to help the company move to its future location at the corner of SR 15 and CR 350N.

Skinner added, "I can tell you this, Warsaw Chemical is not selling 140,000 square feet for $2 million. Not going to do it. Why would they?"

The city and Grace College officials have been looking at the site for years, Skinner said.

He said housing an innovation center with an engineering school could create some synergy between the entities.

"You could have a potential start-up company that comes in that needs some engineering work that could utilize Grace College's engineering students, and at the same time, they're trying to do a prototype. Maybe they're using high school students, training them on helping them make a prototype on those machines," Skinner said.

"That kind of collaboration is what we're looking for and I think there's a possibility that we can do that here," Skinner said.

The ultimate goal is to prepare students who want to work in the orthopedic industry, which would ultimately help companies in the local industry remain in the area.

The proposal to renovate the property could eventually cost around $25 million and is relying heavily on $7 million Grace lined up through a Lilly Endowment grant, a proposed $5 million from OrthoWorx money provided by the General Assembly and another $5 million generated from the city's tech park.

Skinner said they are seeking more financial support from local entities and through grant money.

Warsaw Chemical does not plan on moving for about 18 months.

Mayor Jeff Grose was enthused about the efforts by Skinner and the opportunities for economic development.

"Blurring the lines, working with other stakeholders — public and private — to get things done. This hits the mark. Just looking at it, right now, in the multi-million of dollars, it's very exciting," Grose said.

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WARSAW – Warsaw Plan Commission heard nearly two hours of concerns and discussion over plans for a residential subdivision with 169 lots southwest of CR 75N and CR 225E 

The current plan for the 62 acres includes both single-family homes and duplexes.

The proposal by Oakmont Development drew criticism over drainage, traffic and future property values.

The city plan office recommended support for the Asherwood planned unit development. City Planner Justin Taylor said it was important to keep in mind the needs of the community, especially the need for more housing.

The plan commission ultimately voted Monday night to recommend city council consider the proposal, which is still in the preliminary stages.

Plan commission members stressed that technical concerns can be addressed as the developer fine-tunes the plan ahead of city council's consideration.

Some of the lots are somewhat undersized, which requires the PUD process and approval by city council.

Specifically, all but 26 of 169 lots have sizes that conform with R1 residential requirements, but many of those who spoke against it Monday said they believe it would be an overly dense development, Taylor said.

The developer expressed confidence that concerns over access to the subdivision, drainage issues and drainage could be resolved.

Several speakers called for the plan to be withdrawn and said it was a bad fit.

"The amount of houses has me concerned. The volume of water has me concerned," said Brent Messmore who lives to the northeast.

John Thomas, representing the developer, sounded un-swayed.

"A lot of these concerns are ours as well. We're going to make our subdivision accommodate these things because we're looking to put a sizeable investment here. We want to make sure everybody in the subdivision is happy as well as the surrounding people," Thomas said.

He predicted the price point for lower costing homes would be around $275,000 with some upward of $400,000.

Plan commission members talked about the need for affordable housing and the fact many people commute into the community for work because of the lack of housing.

Some expressed concern with relying on four retention ponds in the design.

Plan commission member Diane Quance, who sits on city council, expressed concern over the lack of outdoor recreational space in the subdivision.

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WARSAW — Warsaw Plan Commission approved minor changes to Gateway Grove development near the future downtown YMCA Monday.

it does not change the number of lots in the development but does allow developer to alter floor plans that will enable the petitioner to adjust plans for stacked units on ten of the lots.

The change is an attempt to alter the price point for some of the properties, some of which had been upward of $300,000 per lot, according to a story by the Times-Union.

Plan Commission member Diane Quance, who is also a city council member, asked what they meant by “stacked units” and a spokesperson for the development said that it involves two separate units that are stacked.

From an exterior, view, he said, they will look like single-family homes.

The change was approved by the plan commission unanimously.

You can find the full story by the Times-Union by clicking here.

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WARSAW — Taking her ceremonial oath of office Friday, Danielle M. Kirkdorffer is the fourth woman to join the Warsaw Police Department.

She’s also the last officer to be given her oath from Mayor Joe Thallemer, whose term ends in 58 days as he did not seek re-election for a fourth four-year term.

“It’s always a privilege and an honor for me to do this, in having families here, knowing how important policing is in our community and this is just always a special moment,” Thallemer said before giving Kirkdorffer the oath during the Board of Public Works and Safety meeting.

After Kirkdorffer was sworn in and photos were taken, Thallemer gave a short speech to the WPD officers who were there to support Kirkdorffer.

“Chief (Scott Whitaker) reminded me of - before this morning - that this was going to be the last officer I will swear in. It’s true,” he said. “I hate for anything to be the last, but as I thought about it, it’s been a really great group of folks coming through the police department and I appreciated each and every one of you in coming in as a new officer.”

Thallemer said he always loves seeing the support behind the officer and their family, “knowing that it’s more than just a picture. It is the last, but I’ll keep it here (in the heart).”

Whitaker said Kirkdorffer is WPD’s fourth female officer, which drew applause from Warsaw Councilwoman and Board of Works member Diane Quance.

“Our department is officially 10% female,” Whitaker said.

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WARSAW — The city's board of works will have a new face beginning on Sept. 1.

Mayor Joe Thallemer announced Friday the appointment of City Council member Diane Quance to the board, replacing fellow council member Jeff Grose.

Grose is poised to step into the role of mayor in January after facing no opposition in the primary or general elections.

Grose said he informed Thallemer earlier about some conflicts that will arise in his final few months as a teacher at Warsaw Community High School this fall ahead of his change in jobs and said he needed to step down.

Thallemer, who did not attend Friday's board of works meeting, issued a statement announcing Quance's appointment late Friday morning.

Grose announced his decision to step down at Friday morning's board meeting.

Quance will fill out Grose's term on the board which runs through the end of the year.

Grose will then appoint somebody to begin a new four-year term on the board starting in January.

Thallemer issued the following statement:

“Diane has been a well-respected leader in the city, and her 13 years of experience on the Common Council has prepared her well for her role on the Board of Works.”

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WARSAW -- Kosciusko County’s multi-million dollar upgrade to its emergency radio system is coming on line.

Kosciusko County Commissioner Cary Groninger said Monday night that police began using the system a few days ago and that fire departments will make the change in another few few days.

Groninger appeared before Warsaw City Council Monday night and provided the update. The city also formally signed off on an agreement with the county to provide $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act money for the project.

The price tag for entire project, including radios, is more than $6 million.

The new system was originally expected to be ready shortly after the start of the year. Groninger admitted they had had some "bumps" along the way, but was effusive about the end results.

The project spanned nearly four years and is highlighted by a vast upgrade in technology, three new towers, new dispatching equipment and some 800 emergency radios. 

All together, it “represents a complete reconstruction of the public safety communication system in Kosciusko County,” Groninger told council.

The change eliminates several communication dead zones in the county and provides "interoperability" between first responders inside and outside of Kosciusko County.

The project, he said, touches every township in the county.

He called it a “wonderful example” of multiple units of government coming together, identifying a problem, finding a solution and solving the problem.

City Councilwoman Diane Quance, who a sits on the city ARPA committee, said she viewed the radio project as one of the "highest and best uses" for the ARPA money.

Groninger agreed.

The improvements, he said, are "something we’ve never had in this community."

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