Warsaw Council Approves Resolution Expanding Riverfront District
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Only three items were officially on the Warsaw Common Council’s agenda Tuesday evening, with two of those requiring a vote.
The first vote required was for a resolution to expand the downtown riverfront district.
Warsaw Community Development Coordinator Jeremy Skinner reminded the Council they’ve been talking about it for a few months, but the economic development area had to be expanded first to include the riverfront district expansion area. The Redevelopment Commission, Plan Commission and Common Council approved resolutions over the past two months to expand the economic development area.
By approving the expansion of the riverfront district, he said that will allow HopLore Brewery to apply for a liquor license for its planned new location on East Market Street.
Councilwoman Cindy Dobbins asked if HopLore was the only business interested in a liquor license at this time and if the riverfront expansion would allow for similar opportunities for other businesses. Skinner said that was correct, but it would be up to the businesses within the riverfront district to apply for licenses from the state.
The Common Council unanimously approved the resolution to expand the riverfront district.
Another resolution approved by the Council transferred money from the Economic Development Income Tax fund professional services into salaries, wages, taxes and PERF. Mayor Joe Thallemer said it was a transfer to support Skinner’s position as the community development director.
The position was in the salary ordinance for 2021 but was not allocated in the budgets.
Thallemer listed the transfer amounts as $27,700 into salaries and wages; $2,200 into FICA and Medicare; $3,100 into PERF; and $10,000 into insurance.
The resolution was unanimously approved.
The third item on the Council’s agenda was a short presentation on the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory’s Insurance Services Office (ISO) Classification. ISO creates ratings for fire departments and their surrounding communities. In the ISO rating scale, a lower number is better, with 1 being the best and 10 meaning the fire department didn’t meet minimum requirements. ISO is an independent, for-profit organization. Insurance premiums can go up or down depending on the ISO ratings.
Thallemer drew the Council’s attention to a letter explaining how the ISO classification is figured. There are 105.5 points available: 10 for the communications system, 50 for fire department operations, 40 for the availability of a community’s water supply and 5.5 from a review of the community’s risk reduction efforts.
Fire Chief Mike Wilson noted that Assistant Chief Aaron Bolinger presented the ISO Classification improvement at the Fire Territory’s board meeting Jan. 5, which was highlighted Jan. 6 in the Times-Union. The Territory’s ISO Classification has improved from a 4 to a 2.
The Territory’s next goal is to work to become a Class 1 city, “which is big,” Wilson said. He said he was very comfortable that they would eventually get to that.
The classification is refigured every seven years, but a fire territory can call for a reclassification sooner.
In announcements, Thallemer said his the State of the City will be March 1 at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers. The assumption is that it will be a virtual meeting, he said.
He also talked about COVID-19 vaccinations. He said he’s been in discussions with the Kosciusko County Health Department and Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer about using Center Lake Pavilion as a location for vaccinations once they become widely available.
He said the city is educating its employees on the vaccination and how it works and trying to dispel any false information about it.
He said the city and county are working diligently to procure more sites to allow more people to get the vaccinations in a more timely manner.
