BOW OK’s Permits For New Taxi Company Owners
April 1, 2022 at 10:21 p.m.
BOW OK’s Permits For New Taxi Company Owners
By David L. Slone-
Permits on five other vehicles will continue to remain in effect for the year.
Warsaw Police Department Deputy Chief Bryan Sherwin told the Board, “After 36 years, Dave Cesaretti is retiring as the owner of Fast Cab. He has found two guys that have purchased it and it will be called L & L Taxi - Leonard Burns and Larry Scripter. Of those two guys, each one of them will have their own taxis and then there are five other taxis that already have permits on them that were originally Dave’s. So Dave sold five taxis back to his own drivers and those permits were already in effect on those vehicles. So what I’m asking is to see if you guys would allow those five permits to continue on those vehicles since they’ve already been paid for, for the remainder of the year, and then without having to pay for them again. And then there are two new vehicles that Leonard Burns owns that will be paid for because they did not have a permit on them.”
All the vehicles have been reinspected, Sherwin stated.
“The five vehicles that are individually owned by the drivers have up-to-date insurance, registration, all in their names, and valid licenses,” he said. “So I’m asking for the five permits to waive a new fee, just be able to change the permits back to either the vehicle or L & L and we’ll start next year with new fees on those.”
The annual fee is $50 per vehicle.
The two new vehicles have been inspected and do have insurance on them, Sherwin said. Both are owned by Burns, who has a valid license.
Board member George Clemens made the motion to approve the request and it was approved unanimously.
Mayor Joe Thallemer said Cesaretti served the community well.
“I talked to him. He was concerned because transportation is critical for folks who have to get to work, kids who need to get to school or getting kids to daycare,” he said, adding that he was very happy that Cesaretti was able to find someone to take over the taxi service.
In a telephone interview after the meeting, Scripter said Cesaretti retired around March 10. “He was ready to retire,” he said.
He said they have seven cars in the fleet and multiple drivers.
“It’s pretty much the same thing it’s always been. We’ll always be guided by Dave Cesaretti as long as he’s alive,” Scripter said.
Warsaw Evangelical Presbyterian Church is planning to have an Easter egg hunt this year, according to Paula Bowman on behalf of the church. She requested closure of Buffalo Street from Main to Center streets and Center Street from Buffalo to Lake streets on April 16. The road closure times would be noon to 6 p.m., with the egg hunt being 3 to 5 p.m. on the county courthouse lawn.
Bowman said the church does have permission to have the egg hunt on the courthouse lawn. The event will include inflatables, over 3,000 eggs and Shawnanigans will have food available.
Thallemer asked if the egg hunt was open to the public and Bowman said it was.
The Board unanimously approved the street closures as requested.
“It should be fun,” Bowman said.
In other business, the Board of Works approved:
• Contracts for the stage hands for the rock and country concerts and the Lakes Festival, as requested by Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer. The contracts are for $150 per date, from 8 a.m. to midnight, up from $120 per date in 2019.
The stage hands are Brian Neher, all three events for a total of $450; Brian Smith, $450; Carrie Heflick, $300 for the rock and country concerts; Paul Lafferty, $450; Ted Heflick, $450; and Tim Smith, $450.
“This group right here has been the core for about the last 12-15 years. They’re very good at it,” Plummer said.
Lunch will be provided by the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department.
Jefferson Starship headlines the free Classic Rockin’ for Riley rock concert, which starts at 6:30 p.m. June 17 on the Glover Pavilion stage; while Night Train recording artist Tyler Farr has the honors for the free Country Concert for St. Jude that kicks off at 6:30 p.m. July 22. The Lakes Festival, which includes the Blues & BBQ, is July 9.
• A reduced peddler permit fee of $300 for Cold Delights, Plymouth, for their mobile ice cream business for the summer season. The out-of-county business received a reduced rate of $250 in 2021 for three months.
Assistant City Planner Bekah Schrag said there are no Warsaw residents currently offering an ice cream truck.
• For the Warsaw Police Department to participate in the school bus stop arm violation enforcement (SAVE) program, as requested by Sherwin.
On March 18, the Board approved for the WPD to apply for the SAVE grant. WPD has since received notice that the Kosciusko County Traffic Safety Partnership has been approved to receive the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grant funding, which pays overtime to officers to enforce school bus stop arm violations.
The Partnership has been awarded $10,800, with WPD’s portion at approximately $2,700. The fiscal grant period started Friday and ends Sept. 15.
• For the WPD to participate in and accept the funds for the Homeland Security Local Body Camera matching grant.
On Feb. 4, the Board of Works approved WPD to apply for the grant. WPD received notice the grant was approved. The grant will be used to purchase 43 body cameras at $600 each for a total of $25,200.
The grant awarded is the full application amount of $16,800, Sherwin said. This is a matching grant so WPD’s portion will be $8,400.
The aging body cameras to be replaced are over eight years old. Sherwin said 14 of the new cameras will go to SWAT team members with the remainder going to the patrol officers.
Permits on five other vehicles will continue to remain in effect for the year.
Warsaw Police Department Deputy Chief Bryan Sherwin told the Board, “After 36 years, Dave Cesaretti is retiring as the owner of Fast Cab. He has found two guys that have purchased it and it will be called L & L Taxi - Leonard Burns and Larry Scripter. Of those two guys, each one of them will have their own taxis and then there are five other taxis that already have permits on them that were originally Dave’s. So Dave sold five taxis back to his own drivers and those permits were already in effect on those vehicles. So what I’m asking is to see if you guys would allow those five permits to continue on those vehicles since they’ve already been paid for, for the remainder of the year, and then without having to pay for them again. And then there are two new vehicles that Leonard Burns owns that will be paid for because they did not have a permit on them.”
All the vehicles have been reinspected, Sherwin stated.
“The five vehicles that are individually owned by the drivers have up-to-date insurance, registration, all in their names, and valid licenses,” he said. “So I’m asking for the five permits to waive a new fee, just be able to change the permits back to either the vehicle or L & L and we’ll start next year with new fees on those.”
The annual fee is $50 per vehicle.
The two new vehicles have been inspected and do have insurance on them, Sherwin said. Both are owned by Burns, who has a valid license.
Board member George Clemens made the motion to approve the request and it was approved unanimously.
Mayor Joe Thallemer said Cesaretti served the community well.
“I talked to him. He was concerned because transportation is critical for folks who have to get to work, kids who need to get to school or getting kids to daycare,” he said, adding that he was very happy that Cesaretti was able to find someone to take over the taxi service.
In a telephone interview after the meeting, Scripter said Cesaretti retired around March 10. “He was ready to retire,” he said.
He said they have seven cars in the fleet and multiple drivers.
“It’s pretty much the same thing it’s always been. We’ll always be guided by Dave Cesaretti as long as he’s alive,” Scripter said.
Warsaw Evangelical Presbyterian Church is planning to have an Easter egg hunt this year, according to Paula Bowman on behalf of the church. She requested closure of Buffalo Street from Main to Center streets and Center Street from Buffalo to Lake streets on April 16. The road closure times would be noon to 6 p.m., with the egg hunt being 3 to 5 p.m. on the county courthouse lawn.
Bowman said the church does have permission to have the egg hunt on the courthouse lawn. The event will include inflatables, over 3,000 eggs and Shawnanigans will have food available.
Thallemer asked if the egg hunt was open to the public and Bowman said it was.
The Board unanimously approved the street closures as requested.
“It should be fun,” Bowman said.
In other business, the Board of Works approved:
• Contracts for the stage hands for the rock and country concerts and the Lakes Festival, as requested by Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer. The contracts are for $150 per date, from 8 a.m. to midnight, up from $120 per date in 2019.
The stage hands are Brian Neher, all three events for a total of $450; Brian Smith, $450; Carrie Heflick, $300 for the rock and country concerts; Paul Lafferty, $450; Ted Heflick, $450; and Tim Smith, $450.
“This group right here has been the core for about the last 12-15 years. They’re very good at it,” Plummer said.
Lunch will be provided by the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department.
Jefferson Starship headlines the free Classic Rockin’ for Riley rock concert, which starts at 6:30 p.m. June 17 on the Glover Pavilion stage; while Night Train recording artist Tyler Farr has the honors for the free Country Concert for St. Jude that kicks off at 6:30 p.m. July 22. The Lakes Festival, which includes the Blues & BBQ, is July 9.
• A reduced peddler permit fee of $300 for Cold Delights, Plymouth, for their mobile ice cream business for the summer season. The out-of-county business received a reduced rate of $250 in 2021 for three months.
Assistant City Planner Bekah Schrag said there are no Warsaw residents currently offering an ice cream truck.
• For the Warsaw Police Department to participate in the school bus stop arm violation enforcement (SAVE) program, as requested by Sherwin.
On March 18, the Board approved for the WPD to apply for the SAVE grant. WPD has since received notice that the Kosciusko County Traffic Safety Partnership has been approved to receive the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grant funding, which pays overtime to officers to enforce school bus stop arm violations.
The Partnership has been awarded $10,800, with WPD’s portion at approximately $2,700. The fiscal grant period started Friday and ends Sept. 15.
• For the WPD to participate in and accept the funds for the Homeland Security Local Body Camera matching grant.
On Feb. 4, the Board of Works approved WPD to apply for the grant. WPD received notice the grant was approved. The grant will be used to purchase 43 body cameras at $600 each for a total of $25,200.
The grant awarded is the full application amount of $16,800, Sherwin said. This is a matching grant so WPD’s portion will be $8,400.
The aging body cameras to be replaced are over eight years old. Sherwin said 14 of the new cameras will go to SWAT team members with the remainder going to the patrol officers.
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