By Liz Berger
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Two requests for road closures for events in downtown Warsaw were approved at a meeting of the Public Works and Safety Board on Friday, March 4.

One Ten Craft Meatery owner Jason Brown has submitted a request to close Buffalo Street, between Center and Main streets, for the annual St. Patrick’s Day street party.

The road will be closed from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Thursday, March 17, with the party being from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. During the meeting, Brown said several vendors and companies were involved in this year’s event. Three live bands will also perform.

Greg Demopoulos and Nick Hauck of the Kosciusko County Velo Cycling Club were also on hand to call for road closures for the Fat and Skinny Tire Festival in May.

The event was suspended for two years due to COVID-19.

“We always start with a community bike ride from Lake Winona to Warsaw,” Demopoulos said. “And then we’ll have a BMX stunt show, kids activities, beer tent and live music.”

The KCV Cycling Club has requested that the following roads be closed from 2 p.m. to midnight on May 20: Center Street from Lake Street to Indiana Street; Buffalo Street from Main Street to Market Street; and Indiana Street from Main Street to Market Street.

In other business, the council opened two sealed bids for a shoreline restoration project in Center Lake.

G&G Hauling & Excavating, Warsaw, submitted a base bid of $118,916.50; Stanger Group Inc., Goshen, submitted a bid for $133,421.25.

The board voted to defer the project award until their March 18 meeting.

Also during the meeting, the board approved an on-call engineering services contract between the City of Warsaw and Emans Engineering. According to a memo from city planner Justin Taylor, James Emans, who is retiring from his job as city engineer, offered the service as a way to create a smooth transition period while Aaron Ott takes over. The contract will help Ott keep abreast of the projects Emans is currently engaged in.

The contract provides for 129 hours of consulting services from Emans for the remainder of the year.

Staci Young, assistant to Mayor Joe Thallemer, presented three agreements with MetroNet for council approval.

Two of the agreements relate to the third floor of Warsaw City Hall. Telephone service will be added to the third floor, which includes six personal telephones and two conference telephones. Fiber service will also be built on the third floor, and all MetroNet fiber equipment will be moved to the city’s secure server room. Young said this would provide better environmental protection and better physical security for the equipment.

MetroNet will also replace all telephones in the city with newer models. Young said the city had experienced supply issues and delays due to MetroNet no longer using the city’s existing phone model. MetroNet has agreed to replace all phones at no additional cost to the city to resolve this issue.

The board also:

• Authorization granted to Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory to renew a maintenance contract with Cummins Sales and Service for scheduled maintenance of generator equipment. The agreement includes the three WWFT stations, as well as the Warsaw Police Department.
• Gave WPD leader Scott Whitaker permission to request sealed quotes for the purchase of three Dodge Durango Pursuit vehicles. These offers will be opened during the meeting of the Board of Directors on March 18.

The next board meeting will take place on Friday, March 18 at 10:30 a.m. at Warsaw City Hall.