Contracts with the city of Warsaw go before the Board of Public Works and Safety, and Utility Superintendent Brian Davison had a handful of them Friday for the board to approve.
The first was a 2025 contract between the Stormwater Utility and Stantec Consulting Services Inc. for $12,600 for Stantec to maintain the shoreline restorations that the city has done, along with a couple basins.
“They come in, take out the weeds we don’t want in there and spray it to make sure the shoreline restoration projects are being maintained and doing what they’re supposed to do,” Davison said. “We had some complaints that at Center Lake there weren’t enough areas where you could get to the lake and fish and that kind of thing. We tried to open some of that up last year. So it’s just maintaining, making sure we keep the plants that are low-growing so we can still benefit from the lake but still maintaining that shoreline restoration.”
He said it wasn’t that his department or the parks department couldn’t do it, but it would require more training into shoreline maintenance.
Councilwoman Diane Quance said it really does pay to have an expert come in and do it.
The board approved the contract.
The next Stormwater Utility contract Davison presented was an annual contract for on-call services with Christopher B. Burke Engineering LLC for an amount not to exceed $40,000. Davison said it was just to help the utility as needed, but they often don’t use the full amount every year. The contract was approved.
Next up, the board awarded a $108,968.99 contract to G & G Hauling & Excavating for Timber Ridge stormwater improvements, phase 1, as Davison requested.
They also approved the modification of a wastewater utility contract with Merrell Brothers Inc. for $17.50 per wet ton.
Davison explained, “We entered into a contract with them back in 2011, I believe was the initial contract. In the last year or so, one of the major septic haulers purchased the receiving station in Milford and quit using Warsaw so the volume has decreased drastically that we’re receiving. So Merrell, in order to be able to keep that station open, we need to pay a little bit for our hauling. Now, the original contract was we would pay zero to haul all of our solids out of the plant, which was a savings back in 2011 of nearly $250,000.”
The $17.50 per wet ton, Davison continued, would be a cost of about $70,000 to $80,000 per year, so still a savings to the city, while also making it worth keeping the station open for Merrell.
If the Warsaw Disposal Solutions facility reaches 4.5 million incoming gallons per calendar year, that $17.50 per wet ton goes back to zero, Davison stated. “If for some reason business picks way up, our costs then continue to escalate.”
The last contract Davison presented was with Insight Pipe Contracting LLC for a sewer lining project for $376,303.50. He said they do some sewer lining projects every year to keep up with it. The board approved the contract.
In other business:
• The board approved a $100,000 contract with Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO) for economic development in 2025, as requested by Mayor Jeff Grose. The amount for the annual contract will be paid in 12 equal payments of $8,333.33.
• The board approved pay application No. 3 for $359,083.63 from Niblock Excavating for work done on the reconstruction of Lincoln Street (Hodges Addition phase 3), as requested by Street Superintendent Dustin Dillon.
The project is substantially complete, with remaining work to be completed in the spring.
• Human Resource Director Denny Harlan recognized three city employees with a total of 65 years of service. They included Robert Marshall, wastewater treatment utility, 25 years; Jeremy Skinner, community and economic development director, 20 years; and Josh Engler, Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory, 20 years.
• The board approved the take-home vehicles for 2025 for Nick King, Warsaw Municipal Airport; Hal Heagy, Oakwood Cemetery sexton; Larry Plummer and Shaun Gardner, parks; Dustin Dillon, Damian Pass, Keith Arnold, Joseph Vetor, street department; Davison, Larry Hyden, Kevin Smith, wastewater treatment utility; and Mayor Jeff Grose.
Other than the mayor who is allowed personal miles, employees’ use of a city-owned work vehicle is to be driven to work and back home only.
• The board approved the interlocal agreement between Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory and Kosciusko County for terminal services data for the territory’s One Solution Freedom-Fire (Central Square) app for CAD integration so they can communicate with Central Dispatch and get real-time information on calls, as requested by Fire Chief Joel Shilling. The amount is $1,500 for Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2025. The county already approved the agreement.
Warsaw Police Department Chief Scott Whitaker presented a similar agreement with the county for $33,075 for Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2025.
• The board approved Shilling’s request to apply for a grant not to exceed $50,000 with the Indiana Fire and Public Safety Academy.
“They have a grant that just helps us maintain our equipment and our training center so it’s out there to use,” Shilling said. “That training center is a District 2 training center so we do get funds from the state to help maintain that and keep that to have other departments come into our area. Say a volunteer fire department that lives farther away, or not, in this county wants to use it, we have equipment out there that’s dedicated to the training center that’s provided by this grant.”
It is a reimburseable grant.
• The board approved an agreement between the fire territory and Lexipol for implementation/start-up fees of $31,645.80, as requested by Shilling. The estimated fee starting in 2026 will be $10,855.80.
“When I became the fire chief, one of the things that kind of got pointed out was our best policies and best practices and SOPs were kind of not as in line as I would like them to be. So, in talking with other fire departments and fire chiefs throughout the state, a lot of people have recommended Lexipol, which is a company that helps us streamline those.”
He said the Warsaw Police Department also uses Lexipol.
• The board approved a contract for $1,365 per month with Orange Marketing Group for 2025 for social media management for the city, as requested by Grose.
• The board approved a $2,070 contract with AP Sounds LLC/All Pro Integrated Systems to provide annual maintenance on the audio, video and lighting system at the Zimmer Biomet Center Lake Pavilion, as requested by Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer. The company is the same one that installed the equipment into the pavilion.