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WINONA LAKE – Winona Lake Town Council heard about designs for a roundabout at Pierceton and Packerton roads on Tuesday.
Landon Grogg, EI vice president with A&Z Engineering, presented the plans.
An original plan discussed at a work session in October was similar to the roundabout at Pierceton Road and CR 250, Grogg said. The inscribed circle diameter of the roundabout - the distance between the edges of the circular travel way - was about 145 feet. He said there was some concerns about potential right-of-way land to be taken and the impact on residents and some of the other properties out there.
A&Z looked at ways to possibly shrink the roundabout’s footprint. He said looking at Indiana Department of Transportation and federal highways design standards, “this is a rural roundabout” and the inner circle can be reduced to a diameter of 115 feet. Grogg said A&Z wasn’t able to make the 115 feet work due to truck traffic in the area. The trucks would not be able to go through the roundabout without issue.
Grogg said they were able to make up plans for a roundabout that was 125 feet with the inner circle diameter. He said even the larger trucks should be able to make it through.
He suggested having Michiana Area Council of Governments give the town updated traffic counts for that area.
“That would help with the design as well,” he said.
The smaller design of the roundabout changed the amount of the possible price of the project. With the 145-foot roundabout, the cost was estimated at $1.9 million. The cost of the updated project is about $1.65 million.
Grogg said there were a couple different funding sources the town could look at for the project. The first one he brought up was the Community Crossings Matching Grant, where the town could ask for up to $1 million. Another grant he brought up is through the Federal-Aid Highway Program. Grogg said if the town went through the Federal-Aid Highway Program, it would be more of a five-year process for the project, while if they went through CCMG, it would be more of a one-year process “if you want to pursue this project.”
Grogg said the design for the roundabout may change, but once a full topographic survey is completed, a more in-depth preliminary design can be done at that time.
Council President Ashley McGinnis said one worry about the project is that area really slopes down. She didn’t know if that would affect how the roundabout would be designed. Grogg said it could potentially, but until they see the topographical survey, it’s hard to say one way or another.
“But there’s ways to work around that,” Grogg said.
Councilman Barry Andrew asked for someone to remind him about the purpose behind the project.
Town Manager Pam Howard said former Town Manager Craig Allebach started the conversation. McGinnis said if they go back far enough, the roundabout at Pierceton and Packerton was in the town’s comprehensive plan and it was an intersection that was planned to have a roundabout at for some time. Grogg said he could dig up previous conversations for the justification for the project for Andrew. Howard said the development that is being entertained in that area is a factor. Grogg said with the intersection being a T-section, it was possible a roundabout was thought to be a better solution than putting up traffic lights.
McGinnis thanked Grogg for presenting the new plan to the council and said the council has to think about planning and money at this point.
Later in the meeting, the council approved having Language Matters bring their services into Winona Lake.
Language Matters CEO Lucas Fonseca said Language Matters was started at Grace College. They have been working with the city of Warsaw for several years and have been able to help a lot of citizens.
Over time, Fonseca said they realized Language Matters was a program they wanted to expand. Warsaw applied for a grant through the Kosciusko County Community Foundation for the program and they decided Winona Lake should be one of the towns included in the expansion of the program.
“In conversations with (Warsaw) Mayor (Jeff) Grose, we decided that we would put together a package for the town of Winona Lake to provide free services after expanding initiatives that we’ve been doing with Warsaw,” he said.
He presented some services Language Matters would like to provide for Winona Lake and the cost would be covered for 2026. Services include an English course for Winona Lake Spanish-speaking residents, distribution of navigation cards in the community and multilingual navigation center services.
He said the point of Language Matters is to make sure residents are able to get services they need.
He said he hopes Language Matters can expand to other towns and cities.
In other business, the council:
• Approved a quote from Integrity Roofing for $50,177.50 for a new roof and gutters at the community center.
• Heard there will be a senior open house/lunch at the community center from 10 a.m. to noon March 19.
Park Director Holly Hummitch said the open house/lunch is to bring awareness to the senior center and to let seniors know the center exists and isn’t just for those living in Winona Lake.
• Heard Feb. 28 is the last day to ice skate at the Miller Sunset Pavilion.
