Pam Kennedy, Warsaw building inspector, requested approval from the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety on a VRP contract Friday.

The Voluntary Remediation Program is for the former Endicott property at 765 W. Market St.

"A few weeks ago, we sent in for a grant for approximately $30,000 for an environmental firm to go up and do blinds of soil and water on the Endicott property," Kennedy said.

Kennedy also said they wrote something that nobody had ever done before.

"We wrote that the city would finance the VRP program to show that we were going to try and put some work into this project and that we would spend up to $5,000 out of the unsafe building fund," Kennedy said.

"We're hoping we can do this for $5,000," she said, "but if we don't, then it just stops midpoint and just stays signed up in the program but not finished."

At that point, Kennedy said, maybe they could get the owner of the property or someone else to "fork out a little bit more to finish it up."

"We'll just see," Kennedy said. "But we have begged to keep it at $5,000 or under."

Board member Paul Siebenmorgen voiced concern for the city.

Siebenmorgen asked if there was any chance the city would get caught in an expensive cleanup by signing the contract. Kennedy assured Siebenmorgen and the board that this would not happen.

"I think it sounds good," board member Jerry Patterson said of the contract.

"Hopefully, with the city's participation, we can get this piece of property back to some productive economic use that generates the property taxes," Mayor Ernie Wiggins said.

The board approved the VRP contract.

In other business:

• The board tabled a request from North Center Development Inc. to dedicate their streets to the city of Warsaw. North Center is the developer of Lakewood Hills Condos. The streets they are requesting to dedicate include: Baythorne Drive, Channelview Drive and Lakewood Hills Drive up to and including the intersection of Lakewood Hills and Channelview drives.

• The Warsaw Police Department requested approval to proceed with a bulletproof vest grant application. The grant would fund up to 50 percent of the cost of bulletproof vests for those police officers interested. The remainder of the cost would be up to the officer to pay out of his or her clothing allowance. The board approved WPD's request to proceed with the grant.

• Andy McCleary from the Warsaw Parks Department gave the board an update on entertainment planned for the Downtown Days festivities in the park. The band he had previously planned to perform broke up. The contract was canceled since the group no longer exists.

The new group planned to entertain is The Wilkinsons.

"They're a real young group," McCleary said. "She's a young girl that sings with her dad and her brother. They're really coming up on the charts big-time."

McCleary said they already have a couple of videos on Country Music Television.

"It'll be good," McCleary said of the planned performance.

Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety include: Mayor Ernie Wiggins, Jerry Patterson and Paul Siebenmorgen. [[In-content Ad]]