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The Warsaw Street Department will be financing the purchase of six trucks with salt spreaders and plows totaling over $1.6 million plus interest.
On behalf of the Street Department, Public Works Director Dustin Dillon on Friday requested permission from the Board of Public Works and Safety to purchase six 2026-27 Freightliner M2 snowplow hook lift trucks with salt spreaders, underbody plows and front plows from Truck Centers Inc. The purchase is through Sourcewell contractual pricing, and the price per vehicle is $270,807.
“Also, additionally, I’m requesting permission to finance this purchase through The People’s State Bank, which was the lowest bidder through Indiana Bond Bank’s Hoosier Equipment Lease Purchase Program,” Dillon said. “The amount we’re requesting to finance here is the total purchase price of $1,624,842 with an interest of 4.15% over five years, with payments beginning next year. The annual payment will be $372,792.46.”
According to provided paperwork, the total interest amount would be $239,120.31, making the grand total for the trucks $1,863,962.31.
He said the lease trucks will be going into the fleet.
“Currently, we are running the Sterlings that were on a similar municipal lease purchase back in 2005 and 2006, so we’re replacing trucks that are over 20 years old” that are used in the emergency fleet for storm cleanup and snow removal, Dillon said.
Sterling is currently out of business, so getting parts for the old trucks is getting harder, he stated. He said it’s just time to replace the old trucks.
According to a letter from city attorney Scott Reust, “It appears that the vendor, Truck Centers Inc. through Sourcewell’s cooperative purchasing services, has offered substantial savings of 31.16% off the MSRP as a municipal discount, resulting in savings of over $700,000.”
The Board of Works approved the purchase, as well as for Clerk-Treasurer Lynne Christiansen or Mayor Jeff Grose to sign the paperwork.
Dillon did clarify even with the approximate $239,000 in interest versus the $700,000 in savings, “we’re still coming out about a half million dollars ahead of the game.”
Dillon also presented an extension of the road closure of a portion of South Indiana Street on behalf of Lake City Bank by their contractor Weigand Construction.
“This is a request for permission to close the southbound lane of South Indiana between East Center and Market Street from July 8, when the project will be finished, through July 31. This request is to accommodate the moving of office supplies, furniture and stuff into the building. Remember, it’s a four-story renovation there. A huge $12.5 million investment downtown,” he said.
There will be a lot of semi-truck deliveries and such bringing in office supplies and furniture for Lake City Bank, Dillon said, so they wanted permission to extend the road closure for that.
Grose said it’s a massive project “and it’s exciting and in July they’re moving in.”
The Board of Works approved the extension of the road closure.
Lake City Bank is investing over $12 million into the former CenturyLink building for its Innovation & Technology Center. The closure of South Indiana Street began in September 2025, and included the sidewalk and sometimes the northbound lane of Indiana Street as well.
Street Superintendent Joe Vetor presented the Board of Works with an amended agreement between the city of Warsaw and the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) for the street sweeping of INDOT-curbed highways through the city.
“INDOT has actually authorized a 25% increase in payment, for a total not to exceed $6,840, or $450 per curb mile. This agreement will go through the 2029 year,” Vetor said. “This is something that we’ve done with the state for numerous years now.”
Previously, INDOT paid $360 per curb mile. The Board of Works approved the agreement.
Vetor then requested permission to seek sealed quotes for two Ford F550 cab and chassis only.
One will replace a 2003 Ford boom truck the mechanics use “pretty much daily” for service calls. He said they will utilize the bed off the old one to put on the new one.
“And then the other one will be a dump truck that’s also going to be built in-house, and that’s going to go into the fleet for the guys to use on maintenance,” Vetor said.
The request to seek quotes was approved.
Brandon Cordell, Warsaw Stormwater Utility MS4 coordinator, requested to obligate $6,200 from the Stormwater Utility budget to assist the Center Lake Conservation Association with a dredging project near the intersection of Gilliam Drive and Crestlane Drive.
“We feel that this funding request is in the best interest of the city because the dredging project is one of several improvement initiatives currently being pursued by the association that will benefit the overall health of the lake, and preserve its recreational value,” he said.
Additional projects include evasive species eradication efforts and ongoing management of excessive aquatic vegetation. Debris and nutrient accumulation from stormwater runoff discharged into the channel through city-owned stormwater outfalls have contributed to sediment buildup over the years, Cordell explained.
“The utility also has received inquiries from homeowners adjacent to lake channels regarding dredging, requesting us to fund those projects,” he said. “We feel this project provides an opportunity to establish a cooperative framework for how the city may participate in similar projects initiated by a lakes association.”
At the end of this channel is “a culvert that is critical for our street infrastructure as it allows water to pass through underneath a bridge that is the only inlet and outlet from that neighborhood,” he continued.
The total cost of the project is mostly being funded by a Lake And River Enhancement (LARE) grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
“Through the efforts of the association, they obtained that grant, which was for $60,500, which left an amount of $12,400 remaining to fund the project, he said.
The association was able to cover $6,200 of that from their budget, and the utility wants to cover the other $6,200.
Board member George Clemens said it made sense and he made the motion to approve the allocation, which passed.
In other business, the board approved:
• Payment application #11 for $222,964.79 from Robinson Construction for work on the new public works/street department facility on West Center Street, as presented by Administrative Assistant Whitney Shilling on behalf of Community and Economic Development Director Jeremy Skinner.
• Payment application #7 from Core Mechanical Services for $134,522.95 for HVAC improvements and VRF replacement at City Hall, as requested by Dillon.
