City Looks To Expand Central Economic Development Area
May 2, 2017 at 5:35 p.m.
By David [email protected]
The expansion plan must also have a public hearing and approval from the Warsaw Plan Commission and City Council before coming back to the Redevelopment Commission for a final public hearing and approval.
City Planner Jeremy Skinner said the resolution approved by the Redevelopment Commission Monday just designates and declares an interest in moving forward with the expansion. The final hearing will be on the declaratory resolution, which will create the expansion.
During the March 7 Redevelopment Commission meeting, the board heard a request from Jose Espinoza, who operates the Redwood Firewood Bar & Grill, 937 N. Detroit St., to expand the Central EDA to include his business.
The purpose of Espinoza’s request was so that he could apply for a new liquor license from the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission. To qualify for a new license, the Espinoza property must be located in an economic development area and in a designated riverfront district. Upon final approval of the expansion, Espinoza intends to request an expansion of the existing Warsaw Riverfront Development District.
City Planner Jeremy Skinner said Monday, “As we looked at it, there was a couple of things that we looked at. One, this was kind of a target area of the Imagine Warsaw when we did that back in 2010. And it’s also one of the target areas that we’re considering for a potential project downtown, so we want it to be kind of all-inclusive when we made this expansion, not only representing what Steve Snyder was looking to have added, but also what the city project-wise has looked at over the last five or six years, where we’re going and what we’d like to accomplish within this area.”
The expansion will take in Ind. 15 north and south from Fort Wayne Street to Gilliam Drive, east to the railroad tracks and west to include Center Lake and much of the central business distreict.
“We’re going to focus on projects that have merit for us, that are in our best interest as a community,” he later said. Skinner said no revenue for the city will be generated from the expansion, unless a project comes into the area.
In other business, the commission approved:
• A cash rental agreement with John G. Powell for 53 acres on property also known as the Kern Farm Property of the City of Warsaw. Powell will pay rent in the amount of $190 per acre, with $5,035 due May 1 and $5,035 due Nov. 1 of this year.
Skinner said it was the same contract that was entered into with Powell for the last four or five years. Powell farms the adjacent land.
This may be the last year for the agreement, he said, as Phase II of the Tech Park will begin either late this year or next year.
• Funds from the Redevelopment General Fund for a streetscape project along Indiana Street next to the Lake City Bank building. The cost of the project is $72,476, including an alternate bid, with the bank paying 50 percent.
• A client file transfer letter and engagement letter for legal services with Randy Rompola at Barnes & Thornburg LLP.
Rompola was with Faegre Baker Daniels LLP in South Bend, but when Faegre Baker Daniels closed its South Bend office, Rompola chose not to relocate to another one of its offices in Fort Wayne or Indianapolis. Instead, Rompola moved to Barnes & Thornburg and the City of Warsaw wants Rompola to continue to represent it.
• April claims, including $2,352 to HWC Engineering for a payment on the consulting contract in regards to the Gatke property and downtown projects; $2,209.52 to Troyer Group for professional services for the CR 300N project; and $1,054 to Faegre Baker Daniels for legal services toward the expansion of the Central Tax Increment Finance District.
Skinner said the CR 300N project will kick off “pretty soon, probably in the next couple of weeks.” Utilities are being relocated. The bulk of the road work will happen once school is out.
“When they come back, there will be new road, lights, sidewalk, sidepath, all pretty. Street lights,” he said.
There will be minor road closures when the cross storm pipes are laid, but it will only be a day or two here or there, he said. He estimated there will be three or four cross storm pipes.
“The biggest thing I don’t want to disrupt is the school, so we won’t be doing anything to the road that will prohibit them from driving on it,” he said.
Once the county officially gets it permit to do the bridge work, “all bets are off,” he said. “It’ll all work out in the end. Maybe a little frustrating, but when it’s all said and done, there will be a side path that will run all the way from Sheldon Street all the way to the Tech Park.”
The expansion plan must also have a public hearing and approval from the Warsaw Plan Commission and City Council before coming back to the Redevelopment Commission for a final public hearing and approval.
City Planner Jeremy Skinner said the resolution approved by the Redevelopment Commission Monday just designates and declares an interest in moving forward with the expansion. The final hearing will be on the declaratory resolution, which will create the expansion.
During the March 7 Redevelopment Commission meeting, the board heard a request from Jose Espinoza, who operates the Redwood Firewood Bar & Grill, 937 N. Detroit St., to expand the Central EDA to include his business.
The purpose of Espinoza’s request was so that he could apply for a new liquor license from the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission. To qualify for a new license, the Espinoza property must be located in an economic development area and in a designated riverfront district. Upon final approval of the expansion, Espinoza intends to request an expansion of the existing Warsaw Riverfront Development District.
City Planner Jeremy Skinner said Monday, “As we looked at it, there was a couple of things that we looked at. One, this was kind of a target area of the Imagine Warsaw when we did that back in 2010. And it’s also one of the target areas that we’re considering for a potential project downtown, so we want it to be kind of all-inclusive when we made this expansion, not only representing what Steve Snyder was looking to have added, but also what the city project-wise has looked at over the last five or six years, where we’re going and what we’d like to accomplish within this area.”
The expansion will take in Ind. 15 north and south from Fort Wayne Street to Gilliam Drive, east to the railroad tracks and west to include Center Lake and much of the central business distreict.
“We’re going to focus on projects that have merit for us, that are in our best interest as a community,” he later said. Skinner said no revenue for the city will be generated from the expansion, unless a project comes into the area.
In other business, the commission approved:
• A cash rental agreement with John G. Powell for 53 acres on property also known as the Kern Farm Property of the City of Warsaw. Powell will pay rent in the amount of $190 per acre, with $5,035 due May 1 and $5,035 due Nov. 1 of this year.
Skinner said it was the same contract that was entered into with Powell for the last four or five years. Powell farms the adjacent land.
This may be the last year for the agreement, he said, as Phase II of the Tech Park will begin either late this year or next year.
• Funds from the Redevelopment General Fund for a streetscape project along Indiana Street next to the Lake City Bank building. The cost of the project is $72,476, including an alternate bid, with the bank paying 50 percent.
• A client file transfer letter and engagement letter for legal services with Randy Rompola at Barnes & Thornburg LLP.
Rompola was with Faegre Baker Daniels LLP in South Bend, but when Faegre Baker Daniels closed its South Bend office, Rompola chose not to relocate to another one of its offices in Fort Wayne or Indianapolis. Instead, Rompola moved to Barnes & Thornburg and the City of Warsaw wants Rompola to continue to represent it.
• April claims, including $2,352 to HWC Engineering for a payment on the consulting contract in regards to the Gatke property and downtown projects; $2,209.52 to Troyer Group for professional services for the CR 300N project; and $1,054 to Faegre Baker Daniels for legal services toward the expansion of the Central Tax Increment Finance District.
Skinner said the CR 300N project will kick off “pretty soon, probably in the next couple of weeks.” Utilities are being relocated. The bulk of the road work will happen once school is out.
“When they come back, there will be new road, lights, sidewalk, sidepath, all pretty. Street lights,” he said.
There will be minor road closures when the cross storm pipes are laid, but it will only be a day or two here or there, he said. He estimated there will be three or four cross storm pipes.
“The biggest thing I don’t want to disrupt is the school, so we won’t be doing anything to the road that will prohibit them from driving on it,” he said.
Once the county officially gets it permit to do the bridge work, “all bets are off,” he said. “It’ll all work out in the end. Maybe a little frustrating, but when it’s all said and done, there will be a side path that will run all the way from Sheldon Street all the way to the Tech Park.”
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