The Beyer Farm Trail leg of the Lake City Greenway has been designated a national trail by Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton. The short walk by Pike Lake was one of just three trails acknowledged at the federal level this year, the Warsaw city council heard Monday.

The designation is an honor given to trails that have been nominated and meet the requirements for connecting people to local resources and improving their quality of life.

The short, less than one-mile long, greenway begins at the Kosciusko Community Hospital campus along a boardwalk through a 60-acre urban wetland.

While the national trails designation was good news, Todd Samuelson of Umbaugh and Associates spread a little bad news.

Samuelson presented council members with a 2003 financial report on the sewage works expenditures. He also anticipated revenues for the next five years and came up with a negative cash flow.

"The only way to impact revenues is to increase your customer base, which is unlikely," Samuelson said, "or to increase rates. The current rate schedule will be insufficient for capital improvements."

Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins said Samuelson will help put the sewage works budget together and suggested the increases come in small regular increments rather than wait three or four years and impose a large increase.

Councilman Jeff Grose asked if the increases would be in cents or dollars and Samuelson said he wouldn't want to guess about amounts at this time.

The board approved a traffic control ordinance (No.2004-05-01) introduced last month. A one-way stop will be installed at the northwest corner of Airport Road and CR 300N; and parking zones on the south side of Arthur Street between Park Avenue and Cook Street and on the west side of Washington Street between Porter and Pike streets.

The board also:

• Reviewed a Kosciusko Communications Center report showing 1,897 calls were answered in May, bringing this year's total to 8,215.

• Reviewed the state Department of Local Government Finance notice indicating a 0.0159-cent increase to general property taxes to replace $147,955 in tax increment funding lost when the state lowered payments to schools in tax increment financing districts.

• Reviewed Betty Hetler's petition for voluntary annexation of property on the west side of Ind. 15N and across from CR 350N. The territory will be zone C-3/arterial commercial upon annexation.

• Approved a temporary clerical position, pay not to exceed $8 per hour, for the human resources department.

• Approved a $4,000 transfer of funds as requested by public works superintendent Lacy Francis Jr. from professional services to communication and transportation. The funds will pay for control training and certification received by five employees.

• Approved a $1 sale of a 1997 Ford Crown Victoria from the police department to the Winona Lake Volunteer Fire Department.

• Transferred a 1995 Chevrolet Blazer from the warsaw Police Department to the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department.

Councilman Bob Morrison asked that mileage and repair history on vehicles be made available in the future.

City council members are: George Clemens, Jeff Grose, Bob Morrison, Jerry Patterson, Bill Rhoades, Charlie Smith and Joe Thallemer. Patterson was absent. [[In-content Ad]]