Brian Roberts was sworn in as a new police officer during Friday's Warsaw Board of Works meeting. Roberts, originally from Shelbyville, is a former DePuy employee.

Board members also heard the police department has been approved to receive an $8,000 grant for Operation Pull Over.

This grant period is from Oct. 1, 2003 to Sept. 30, 2004. The funds come from the Department of Transportation, national Highway Traffic Safety Administration and will go toward the Open Alcohol Beverage Container Transfer Program.

Wastewater treatment plant operator Dave Henderson approached the board with a contract for mercury testing at the new plant from Heritage Environmental Services. The testing is a requirement of Plant #2's NPDES Permit.

Henderson said the new Warsaw facility is the only treatment plant in the state required to do the testing, at a cost of $2,750 per month. Incoming sewage will be tested for mercury twice a month, and the treated water tested four times per month.

Heritage is the only lab in the state able to do the testing, which Henderson described as very sensitive. People with mercury fillings in their teeth, cannot collect samples because they may contaminate samples just by breathing. Cigarette smokers cannot handle the samples either.

He said the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's mercury levels are to be about 1000 times lower than ever before required.

The contract was approved with grumbling from Mayor Ernie Wiggins about the fairness of the requirement.

Also approved for the wastewater treatment plant was a five-year contract with McAllister Machinery Co. to regularly service three emergency generators at a cost of $4,016 per year.

In other business the board:

• Tabled a request from Tye Lisenbee to operate ASAP Taxi from his home at 222 West Prairie St. Lisenbee's request for a second taxi requires a variance.

• Approved street superintendent Lacy Francis' request to submit bids for limestone, ready mix concrete, flowable backfill material, bituminous material, concrete curbing and concrete flatwork.

• Released liens of $375 for mowing at 302 Herscher Drive owned by John and Susan Bellamy and at 122 and 124 S. Buffalo St. and 106 W. Market St. owned by John and Patricia Garber in the amount of $2,000.

• Approved new employees for the cemetery department: Mitchell Gilbert and Jerome Grant; for the street department, part time: Nathan Olinger, Edgard Postigo, Thomas Summy; Linda Beall as the Aviation board's recording secretary; and transfer to the parks department for John Oliver and to the cemetery department for Jeremy Bartrom.

• Approved a new cellular phone contract for the Building and Planning Department, pending review of the final contract.

Board member Charlie Smith asked why all the departments couldn't be with one company, on one account and heard all the departments have staggered contracts.

He asked that Verizon Wireless be contacted negotiating one contract for all the departments.

• Approved a $1 contract with the county for lease of the parking lot at the corner of Lake and Fort Wayne streets and the county's parking lot south of the Old Jail Museum on Indiana Street.

• Approved an encroachment agreement with Eugenia N. Fulkerson regarding her plans to build a second story balcony on the south side of the Champs building. The balcony will extend 4 feet into the city's right of way.

• Approved a payment of $172,597.48 to Woodruff & Sons for the northeast interceptor sewer project.

• Reviewed monthly COBRA rates.

Board of works members are Ernie Wiggins, Jerry Patterson and Charlie Smith. [[In-content Ad]]