WINONA LAKE — Nothing like the word "industrial" to make neighbors a little nervous.

That's what happened on CR 225S near Packerton Road where residents recently noticed a sign along the road that read "Future Bio fuel industrial site."

That was enough to lead some residents to contact the Kosciusko County Area Plan Office to see what was happening.

"I'll admit ... I was caught off guard a little bit as well," said Plan director Matt Sandy, who was unaware of the issue and ended up fielding a few calls about the matter.

Sandy then did some research and learned the land is owned by Bob Ferguson, a well-known farmer.

As it turns out, Ferguson said he bought the tract (which was overgrown and included the remnants of a mobile home), with a plan to construct houses.

Unfortunately, Ferguson then learned that Winona Lake town officials have no interest in extending sewer to that area, which is just outside town limits.

"It's a kind of a play on words, you know, the uninformed and inept public gets all excited. They kept asking us what we were doing so I put up a sign to explain it to them," Ferguson said. "We stuck that up because people kept asking what's going on and it just kept getting better and better."

He's still expressing frustration with the town and said he thinks officials should put "their big boy pants on" and extend the utility.

"Here we have this whimsical, wonderful quaint little town and they don't even have the infrastructure," he said.

Alana Gochenour, who lives north of the site in South Town Estates had noticed the sign earlier and was told about the circumstances.

"That's a really funny joke, you know," Gochenour said in a classic deadpan tone.

She said the town's property tax rate has gone up in recent years and opposes the idea of expanding sewer because it would be another cost to her family.

On the bright side, Ferguson has been cleaning up the property and plans to put crops on it eventually.

The post Mischievous ‘Industrial’ sign irks some Winona Lake neighbors appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

LEESBURG — A packed room is expected for Wednesday's proposed rezoning hearing that would open the door for plans to construct a data center northwest of Leesburg.

[caption id="attachment_107503" align="alignright" width="440"] A sign opposing the data center is seen along East Van Buren Street Friday in Leesburg. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

An unnamed petitioner is seeking to rezone 550 acres of farm ground made available by three landowners in hopes of constructing a data center roughly between CR 300W and 400W.

The Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission will review the plan at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Kosciusko County Courthouse.

The proposal has upset farmers worried about the growing loss of farm ground and the amount of water and electricity that would be needed to support the venture.

[caption id="attachment_107507" align="alignright" width="400"] The above drawing, provided by the petitioner, shows how buildings that are part of the proposed data center would be aligned on the 550 acres of land northwest of Leesburg.[/caption]

Nearly 200 people attended a meeting earlier this month in Clunette seeking insights into the plan and voicing strong opposition to the concept.

Interest in the proposal has only grown since that meeting and Kosciusko County Area Plan Director Matt Sandy said he expects the old courtroom of the courthouse will be packed.

"Lots of remonstrances have come in," Sandy said, referring to calls, emails and letters to the office.

The old courtroom in the courthouse can hold a maximum of 120 people and there will be room for about 100 people for those seeking to support or oppose the plan.

Sandy said he talked with Area Plan Commission Chairman Lee Harman and that they will seek to limit comments to two minutes from each person and urge speakers not to be repetitive.

In many cases, speakers will be asked to identify themselves "and say ditto" if the previous person already summed up their thoughts.

Sandy said everyone will be given a chance to speak, but added that based on previous experience, many in the crowd will just want to learn more about the request and not address the commission.

The petitioner will be given up to about 15 minutes for a closing rebuttal, he said.

Opponents, coordinating efforts under the name, "Keep Leesburg Rural," have organized a petition, created a Facebook page and are urging people to speak up against the plan.

The plan commission will make a recommendation to the county commissioners who have the final say on the matter.

The plan office also made available on Friday a drawing provided by the petitioner and a map from the plan office.

The post Large crowd expected in Warsaw for data center rezoning on Wednesday appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

WARSAW — The Kosciusko County Commissioners on Tuesday approved a disaster declaration following Friday's storm that swept through areas north of Warsaw.

Kosciusko County Emergency Management Agency Director Kip Shuter estimated that 115 homes were damaged by the microburst that stretched from Whispering Pines mobile home park to Chapman Lake and north of Pierceton.

A county disaster declaration gives public officials the power to respond to a disaster and request assistance.

Residents are strongly encouraged to report damages to the state of Indiana online at in211.org to assist in tracking the extent of these damages. 

Area Plan Director Matt Sandy also points out that repairs and/or reconstruction involving damaged structures may require a local permit from the Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission.

For details on the permitting process, call the County Area Plan Commission at 574-372-2304.

Permits can be applied at the Area Plan Commission Office in Warsaw or online at Kosciusko.in.gov.

The post Disaster declaration appoved after 115 homes damaged by storm appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

WARSAW -- It didn’t take long for the first sign of new development to surface after construction of the new Tippecanoe-Chapman Regional Sewer District began two weeks ago.

On Tuesday, the Kosciusko County Commissioners approved a recommendation from the area plan commission to rezone about 20 acres along Stanton Lake Road, just south of Tippecanoe Lake.

Tuesday’s approval is the major step but how many homes could be constructed is still unclear, said Area Plan Commission Plan Director Matt Sandy.

The request by the Ransbottom family to rezone the land from agriculture to residential was unanimously approved by the commissioners and follows a unanimous recommendation from the area plan commission.

The only opposition came from one resident who express concern about whether Stanton Lake Road can handle the increased traffic.

The move comes two weeks after construction began on the new sewer district that will serve customers around ncd Chapman and Tippecane lakes.

The area represents one of the biggest residential lake areas in the state that still is without sewer service.

Sandy said he believes there is a connection between the two events.

“If I had to take a guess, almost totally, it's the sewer. Without sewer, lot density is a lot higher, soils become more of a factor -- so sewer really opens the door for this to happen,” Sandy said.

Construction of sewers will continue into 2024. Nearly all residents in the area have signed agreements to participate.

Officials have predicted the availability of sewers would open the door for more development.

"This is what we anticipated seeing and we're probably going to see more of it around Chapman and Tippy," he said.

The post New sewer distict opens door for housing project south of Tippecanoe Lake appeared first on News Now Warsaw.