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As construction work continues on the new Warsaw Street Department facility, the payment applications continue coming in, too.
At the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety meeting Thursday, Community Economic and Development Director Jeremy Skinner presented, on behalf of the Warsaw Redevelopment Authority, payment application #9 for $342,063. He said the payment was for steel and underground plumbing that’s been completed. There also were some additional invoices for some material storage and fire suppression design work. He recommended the board approve the payment.
“As you remember, the Board of Works is serving as the Redevelopment Authority’s review arm of this bond issue, so you’re acting on their behalf,” Skinner said.
Robinson Construction is building the facility.
Mayor Jeff Grose said the building, located on West Center Street next to the current Warsaw Public Works building, is going up.
“You can easily see it now and if you haven’t been out there, I recommend you go out there and take a look at it,” Grose said, adding that it’ll be about this time in 2027 before the new facility will be completed. “A reminder of just how massive this is. It reminds me, every time I’m out there, the needs for the street department.”
He said it’ll be a “very good thing” for the community for decades.
The Board of Works unanimously approved the payment.
Another pay application presented by Skinner to the board was pay application #1 from American Structurepoint for $18,700 for the ongoing Winona Avenue preliminary engineering.
“We did have a meeting with the Winona Avenue Business Association this week, so we keep plugging away at that project,” he said.
The board approved the pay application.
Paving Projects
Public Works Director Dustin Dillon said back in October, the Public Works Department applied for a Community Crossings Matching Grant for pavement projects involving portions of Husky Trail, North Parker Street, Patterson Road and CR 75N.
Initially, they weren’t awarded the 50/50 grant, but due to some “legislative changes and funding becoming available,” Dillon said they were notified to put their project out for bid. The bids were opened at the last Board of Works meeting.
On March 24, the city was awarded a $431,852.37 Community Crossings Matching Grant from the Indiana Department of Transportation, which will pay for half of the cost of the paving projects. Dillon asked the Board of Works to accept the grant.
Grose said the grant will give the city the ability to address an area of Warsaw.
Dillon said Husky Trail was originally put in back in 2005. “That’s an area that sees over 14,000 vehicles per day, so extremely highly traveled area. It serves a ton of community, a ton of industry with Menards, the grocery stores out in the area, as well as residential segue to our community, so a lot going on in the area, but exciting project. Something that we’re extremely thankful for the Community Crossings Grant for,” he said.
After the Board of Works accepted the grant, they then approved a contract with Pulver Asphalt Paving Inc. for the work for $863,704.75, per Dillon’s recommendation. They were the lowest of the three bidders at the March 20 Board of Works meeting.
Finally, for the final step, the Board approved an owner-contract with Pulver Asphalt Paving Inc. for the paving of portions of Husky Trail, North Parker Street, Patterson Road and East CR 75N.
While nothing is set in stone regarding the anticipated start date on the paving, Dillon said Pulver is thinking it could be in the fall, around September.
Sealed Bids
Three sealed bids were opened for a 2026 Ford Transit 350 cargo van for the Warsaw Police Department Emergency Response Team to replace the old SWAT bus. Model 1 Ford, Warsaw, offered a total price of $60,141; Tom Kelley Ford, Fort Wayne, $61,626; and Kerlin Ford, Silver Lake, $60,669.88.
After reviewing all the bids during the meeting and finding them all responsive, WPD Chief of Police Scott Whitaker recommended the board approve the Model 1 Ford bid, which they did.
Miscellaneous
In other business, the board approved:
• For Dillon to pursue some sealed quotes for contracted concrete improvement projects at various locations throughout the city. Project examples include removal and replacement of curbs, as well as sidewalk upgrades.
• A road closure request by Bussard Automotive for East Smith Street, between Bronson and Maple streets, from 3 p.m. July 3 to midnight for an open house and classic vehicle cruise-in. The event starts at 4 p.m.
Kim Bussard, petitioner, said this was their third year for the request and it’s always gone “really well.”
Band Boosters will do food as a fundraiser, a taco truck will be there and the classic cars will be along the street. Overflow parking will be available at the fairgrounds, and the fireworks will be over Winona Lake at dusk.
• The new hire and change in payroll report, as presented by Human Resource Director Denny Harlan.
Included in the report is the promotion of Tyler Colt to lieutenant for the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory, with a biweekly pay of $2,950; Cohen Heady from part-time to full-time probationary firefighter, $2,500 biweekly; and Kameron Rinker as a new probationary firefighter, $2,500 biweekly. The rest of the report was mostly seasonal rehires.
When Board member George Clemens asked if the seasonal hires has been going pretty good, Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department Superintendent Larry Plummer said it was except for lifeguards.
“We’re struggling on lifeguards again. We’ve got two applicants and that’s it,” Plummer stated.
Harlan said everyone in the county is struggling to find lifeguards right now.
• The three outdoor seating permit applications, as presented by City Planner Justin Taylor. The requests were from The Cove, 110 E. Center St., Unit A; Generous Coffee Co., 121 W. Center St.; The Gathering Place, 123 S. Buffalo St.; and Maggie’s Coffee, 124 S. Buffalo St.
• The termination of A&M Fast Cabs’ two taxicab permits due to the closure of the business, as presented by WPD Deputy Chief Bryan Sherwin.
• Two taxicab permits for a new company called Fast Cab 2.0 LLC, owned by Ashley Hughes, as presented by Sherwin.
• For the Warsaw Police Department to apply for the 2026-27 Comprehensive Highway Injury Reduction Program (CHIRP) grant through the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, as requested by Capt. Paul Heaton. The grant pays for officers’ overtime to enforce Indiana law regarding safety belts, impaired driving and speeding.
For 2025-26, the city was awarded $73,000 after initially being awarded $88,000. Heaton said he plans to apply for $100,000 for 2026-27.
