WINONA LAKE - Ronald Bonar and Wesley W. Downing from Bonar Group, Fort Wayne, want to completely reconstruct CR 250E.

The Winona Lake Town Council invited Bonar and Downing to discuss the possible upgrading and/or reconstruction of CR 250E Tuesday.

Warren Gruenewald, from Kosciusko County Highway Department, was also present to discuss the future of CR 250E.

In an earlier council meeting, Gruenewald and Robert D. Ladson, also from Kosciusko County Highway Department, said they were basically looking at a little bit of widening and repaving.

Gruenewald said Tuesday that the county wants to resurface CR 250E and widen it 2 feet on each side, as compared to the total reconstruction Bonar Group is proposing.

"Everything is tentative," Gruenewald said. "Nothing is planned at this time."

The council made no decision Tuesday for CR 250E.

In other business:

• Monica Williams, economic development coordinator for Kosciusko Development Inc., introduced herself to the council and passed out pamphlets and business cards to the members. Williams was visiting the council educating herself on current events in Warsaw and Winona Lake.

• Joshua Petrillo, director of Institutional Communication and Publication at Grace College and Seminary, was appointed to the publicity committee.

• The council accepted revisions to the town's personnel handbook and declared the handbook official.

• The council also discussed Rupe Drive, the street/alleyway extending west between the current Sofamor Danek building and the Winona Lake Fire Station. The town of Winona Lake owns the north half of the street, while Grace College owns the south half of the street. To make the street public, the council must get an easement for the south side from Grace College. No official request has yet been made to the college for this easement.

The street is currently a private street, which means anyone caught driving on this street is subject to ticketing.

It also is very narrow and used both by pedestrians and automobile traffic.

"It is a heavily used throughway," Winona Lake Fire Chief said.

The question before the council Tuesday was whether or not to request an easement from Grace College.

Council members said the street was used for industrial traffic in the past due to its narrow nature. The possibility of people colliding and getting hurt is too great, they said.

"Traffic will go down dramatically," councilman David Delp said, "once Sofamor Danek gets out of there."

The council tabled the issue.

• Homeowners on Widaman Street in South Town, north of CR 225, have been promised for the last year a resolution on a water problem. The street has a low spot in the pavement where water stands and floods the road.

"The project is turning into twice the project that it started out to be," street superintendent Bart Jones said. "We can do it. It'll probably take three days in decent weather (to get it finished)."

The council agreed that the water problem needs to be taken care of. A request for quotes from contractors will be complete by council's next month meeting. Homeowners can expect to see progress on this project soon.

• Gilbert requested additional funding for Mike Albert, assistant police chief, of $1,000 plus the take-home vehicle already appointed to Albert.

The original assistant chief received $1,500, Gilbert told the council.

"I want to bring him up to that original $1,500 that we had," Gilbert said.

The council verified that the money was in the budget. Gilbert's request was approved.

Members of the Winona Lake Town Council include: Jeff Carroll, David Delp, Jerry Clevenger, Craig Snow and Rolly Ortega. [[In-content Ad]]