City Council Endorses MOU With County For $500K
December 6, 2022 at 2:27 a.m.
By David [email protected]
While the Warsaw Common Council previously approved ARPA funds for the project, they unanimously endorsed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) Monday night between the city and county for the money and project. The Board of Public Works and Safety will have to approve the MOU before the city can cut the county a check.
Mayor Joe Thallemer said, “We talked, we appropriated for this year up to $1 million for various infrastructure improvements and I asked - when we met - our ARPA committee, I thought it was important that the city get involved in this project.”
He said of the three communication towers that have gone up, one will serve the Warsaw community directly, and the towers will provide “wonderful” communication across the county.
The Warsaw Council, Thallemer told them, had appropriated $500,000 to the project “and as promised I told you I would bring it back.” As the MOU has to go to the Board of Works, he said he was just asking the Council to “reinforce” the appropriation.
County Commissioner Cary Groninger said the project has been ongoing for about four years now.
“This project is a wonderful example of multiple units of government coming together, identifying a problem, finding and designing a solution to that problem and then actually executing and solving the problem,” Groninger said.
The four-year project started with a complete communications study of the existing system in the county, he said, and they found some areas that were lacking and a lot of equipment that was needing updated around the county.
After the needs were identified, Groninger said the county went through an extensive bidding and selection process. In the end, the county selected an Atlas radio system from Kenwood.
“This system is some of the latest technology that’s available out there that will serve us for many years to come, so it’s something that will last us a long time,” Groninger stated.
He said this is a “complete reconstruction of the public safety communication systems in Kosciusko County.”
The three new towers include one just west of Warsaw at the Kosciusko County Highway Department garage, one north by Dewart Lake and the other one is south in Claypool.
“So there’s three major tower locations, all fiber connections in between those towers, from dispatch all the way out to those towers and then connecting the individual towers. New microwave connection system. New generators. Complete new software and equipment in our dispatch center, as well as radios for every fire, police department in the county,” Groninger said.
Police departments in the county already have switched over to the system, with fire departments planning to switch over next week.
“It’s going to be something we’ve never had in the community, so it’s a pretty special project,” Groninger said.
Total cost of the infrastructure was about $4.9 million and another 800 radios for all the departments cost an additional $1.6 million. County ARPA funds provided a bulk of those funds.
The city’s representatives on the communications projects committee are Joe Shilling, fire department, and Joel Beam, police department.
Councilwoman Diane Quance said, “When we met as an ARPA committee, we take distributing those funds really seriously, and this is one of the highest and best uses I think we can have of these funds, to both protect the safety of our citizens, but also it’s (important) for the safety and health of our public safety officers. So I think it’s really important that it all comes together and I hope the community can see all of the work that went into trying to do the best that we can with the money we received for the greatest benefit for the greatest amount of people.”
Quance made the motion to endorse the MOU, with Councilwoman Cindy Dobbins providing the second and it passed 7-0.
In other business, the Council:
• Approved on second and final reading the 2023 elected salary ordinance by a vote of 6-1, with Councilman Jeff Grose opposed as he was at the first reading.
As part of the ordinance, Council members will see their annual salary go from $6,946 to $8,556 in 2023; and it provides for a 4% increase for the mayor, to $3,145.82 biweekly; and for the clerk-treasurer, to $2,863.41 biweekly.
Human Resource Director Denny Harlan said nothing in the ordinance changed from the prior meeting.
Quance said, “I would just like to restate, because I’ve heard some misunderstanding in the community, that this is wage correction such as we did for all of our employees in the middle of the year and then those employees are receiving the end-of-the-year 4% wage increase for next year.”
She said elected officials can not change their salary in the middle of the year, it has to be done at the end of the fiscal year.
“So this is including both the wage correction and then also the 4% cost-of-living that every employee is getting. So I just wanted to make that clear because it appears to have been combined in some people’s minds from what they read and heard,” she said.
Harlan said, “The numbers were factual as far as they were shown, but it’s not fair to compare the 14% that the Council is getting compared to the 4% the employees are getting. That’s not apples to apples, oranges to oranges. The mid-year corrections that you guys gave us, as far as the city employees, I think I speak for the majority of the employees in the city, and we appreciate and are very grateful for what you guys have done for us, and even with the raise you guys are voting on for yourselves, it’s still well below what the majority of the employees received at mid-year. We appreciate what you guys have done for us and we believe you deserve this raise.”
Councilman Jerry Frush made a motion to approve the ordinance, Councilman Josh Finch seconded it and it was approved 6-1.
• Approved a resolution for the reductions in the 2023 budget, formerly called “line 1” cuts. The cuts total $1,462,480.
• Heard from Thallemer that the city’s exit audit with the Department of Local Government Finance was Monday. While it hasn’t been released yet, Thallemer said, “Let me just put it this way: I don’t think we’re going to have anything to worry about.”
• Was reminded by Thallemer that Tuesday is the Planning and Environmental Linkages study at Lincoln Elementary School from 5 to 7 p.m. A presentation by the Indiana Department of Transportation will be given at 6 p.m.
• Approved Rick Snodgrass and Councilman Mike Klondaris to serve as the Council’s appointments to the Warsaw Redevelopment Commission for another one-year term.
• Heard from Mike Loher that the ninth annual “A Country Christmas with Susie McEntire” and guest Linda Davis will be Dec. 17. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the concert is at 7 p.m. The concert is free from attendees are asked to bring a new, unopened toy for Toys for Tots.
Loher said over 120 elementary choir students will be participating. He said it’s estimated that the event brought in over $50,000 worth of toys for Toys for Tots.
While the Warsaw Common Council previously approved ARPA funds for the project, they unanimously endorsed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) Monday night between the city and county for the money and project. The Board of Public Works and Safety will have to approve the MOU before the city can cut the county a check.
Mayor Joe Thallemer said, “We talked, we appropriated for this year up to $1 million for various infrastructure improvements and I asked - when we met - our ARPA committee, I thought it was important that the city get involved in this project.”
He said of the three communication towers that have gone up, one will serve the Warsaw community directly, and the towers will provide “wonderful” communication across the county.
The Warsaw Council, Thallemer told them, had appropriated $500,000 to the project “and as promised I told you I would bring it back.” As the MOU has to go to the Board of Works, he said he was just asking the Council to “reinforce” the appropriation.
County Commissioner Cary Groninger said the project has been ongoing for about four years now.
“This project is a wonderful example of multiple units of government coming together, identifying a problem, finding and designing a solution to that problem and then actually executing and solving the problem,” Groninger said.
The four-year project started with a complete communications study of the existing system in the county, he said, and they found some areas that were lacking and a lot of equipment that was needing updated around the county.
After the needs were identified, Groninger said the county went through an extensive bidding and selection process. In the end, the county selected an Atlas radio system from Kenwood.
“This system is some of the latest technology that’s available out there that will serve us for many years to come, so it’s something that will last us a long time,” Groninger stated.
He said this is a “complete reconstruction of the public safety communication systems in Kosciusko County.”
The three new towers include one just west of Warsaw at the Kosciusko County Highway Department garage, one north by Dewart Lake and the other one is south in Claypool.
“So there’s three major tower locations, all fiber connections in between those towers, from dispatch all the way out to those towers and then connecting the individual towers. New microwave connection system. New generators. Complete new software and equipment in our dispatch center, as well as radios for every fire, police department in the county,” Groninger said.
Police departments in the county already have switched over to the system, with fire departments planning to switch over next week.
“It’s going to be something we’ve never had in the community, so it’s a pretty special project,” Groninger said.
Total cost of the infrastructure was about $4.9 million and another 800 radios for all the departments cost an additional $1.6 million. County ARPA funds provided a bulk of those funds.
The city’s representatives on the communications projects committee are Joe Shilling, fire department, and Joel Beam, police department.
Councilwoman Diane Quance said, “When we met as an ARPA committee, we take distributing those funds really seriously, and this is one of the highest and best uses I think we can have of these funds, to both protect the safety of our citizens, but also it’s (important) for the safety and health of our public safety officers. So I think it’s really important that it all comes together and I hope the community can see all of the work that went into trying to do the best that we can with the money we received for the greatest benefit for the greatest amount of people.”
Quance made the motion to endorse the MOU, with Councilwoman Cindy Dobbins providing the second and it passed 7-0.
In other business, the Council:
• Approved on second and final reading the 2023 elected salary ordinance by a vote of 6-1, with Councilman Jeff Grose opposed as he was at the first reading.
As part of the ordinance, Council members will see their annual salary go from $6,946 to $8,556 in 2023; and it provides for a 4% increase for the mayor, to $3,145.82 biweekly; and for the clerk-treasurer, to $2,863.41 biweekly.
Human Resource Director Denny Harlan said nothing in the ordinance changed from the prior meeting.
Quance said, “I would just like to restate, because I’ve heard some misunderstanding in the community, that this is wage correction such as we did for all of our employees in the middle of the year and then those employees are receiving the end-of-the-year 4% wage increase for next year.”
She said elected officials can not change their salary in the middle of the year, it has to be done at the end of the fiscal year.
“So this is including both the wage correction and then also the 4% cost-of-living that every employee is getting. So I just wanted to make that clear because it appears to have been combined in some people’s minds from what they read and heard,” she said.
Harlan said, “The numbers were factual as far as they were shown, but it’s not fair to compare the 14% that the Council is getting compared to the 4% the employees are getting. That’s not apples to apples, oranges to oranges. The mid-year corrections that you guys gave us, as far as the city employees, I think I speak for the majority of the employees in the city, and we appreciate and are very grateful for what you guys have done for us, and even with the raise you guys are voting on for yourselves, it’s still well below what the majority of the employees received at mid-year. We appreciate what you guys have done for us and we believe you deserve this raise.”
Councilman Jerry Frush made a motion to approve the ordinance, Councilman Josh Finch seconded it and it was approved 6-1.
• Approved a resolution for the reductions in the 2023 budget, formerly called “line 1” cuts. The cuts total $1,462,480.
• Heard from Thallemer that the city’s exit audit with the Department of Local Government Finance was Monday. While it hasn’t been released yet, Thallemer said, “Let me just put it this way: I don’t think we’re going to have anything to worry about.”
• Was reminded by Thallemer that Tuesday is the Planning and Environmental Linkages study at Lincoln Elementary School from 5 to 7 p.m. A presentation by the Indiana Department of Transportation will be given at 6 p.m.
• Approved Rick Snodgrass and Councilman Mike Klondaris to serve as the Council’s appointments to the Warsaw Redevelopment Commission for another one-year term.
• Heard from Mike Loher that the ninth annual “A Country Christmas with Susie McEntire” and guest Linda Davis will be Dec. 17. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the concert is at 7 p.m. The concert is free from attendees are asked to bring a new, unopened toy for Toys for Tots.
Loher said over 120 elementary choir students will be participating. He said it’s estimated that the event brought in over $50,000 worth of toys for Toys for Tots.
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