If Warsaw wants to avail itself of federal transportation grants, it will have to develop a transportation plan.

The plan commission took the next step in that process Monday, endorsing a plan completed by the Fort Wayne engineering firm Bonar & Associates.

According to Ron Bonar, president, the executive summary of their study identifies six projects the city could pursue that would qualify for federal funding. The top priority project involves renovating a 10-square-block area surrounding the courthouse square.

"The top priority, through discussions with the traffic commission, involves the downtown streetscape area," he said.

The project has an estimated cost of approximately $3 million and would require $800,000 in local matching funds, Bonar said.

The other projects proposed by the Bonar study include:

• Aligning the intersection of Argonne Road/Parker Street and Center Street. Bonar said that would require the acquisition of the property on the southwest corner of the intersection.

• The intersection of Husky Trail/Patterson Road and U.S. 30.

"We think the city should work with a developer of the commercial site located there," Bonar said.

• Winona Avenue, between Detroit Street and Argonne Road.

• The construction of a east-west collector street between Rozella and Country Club roads.

• Improving a north-south thoroughfare between Fox Farm Road and Lake Street.

The commission unanimously endorsed the plan, which will now be presented to the city council.

In other business, the commission tabled a fee revision request for the various services offered by the planning and building department.

"The basic concept is, instead of having the taxpayers support these activities, having the petitioners," said Jeff Noffsinger, city planner. "It's not an issue of making money, it's an issue of offsetting costs."

The plan calls for increasing fees paid from building permits and associated inspections to zoning variances and special exception petitions, Noffsinger said. He cited the fact that Warsaw has the lowest fees in the state for such permits and filings. He also said planning fees paid by residents of Charlotte, N.C., totally fund their planning and building department.

"The seminar I attended in Charlotte was an eye-opening experience," Noffsinger said. "Even though they are a much larger city than us, their planning department, with a budget of $14 million, is solely funded through user fees," he said.

Charlotte's experience notwithstanding, the commission was not convinced the fees in Warsaw needed to be increased.

"I don't think we're attacking anyone by bringing the fees up to standard," said commission chairman Joe Thallemer. "But I don't think individuals should bear the weight of the increases."

The rest of the board concurred, and the issue was tabled for further study. [[In-content Ad]]