A public hearing to re-establish the county’s cumulative funds tax rates for capital development and bridges was the first order of business for the Kosciusko County Commissioners Tuesday, but no one spoke for or against them.
County Auditor Alyssa Schmucker explained, “Each year we re-establish the cumulative rate for the capital (development) fund and the bridge fund, so that’s just a formality to hold this public hearing this morning, to re-establish those funds.”
The cumulative capital development fund rate will be $0.0333 per $100 of assessed valuation, and the cumulative bridge fund rate will be $0.10. Schmucker said those are adjusted down as needed.
Commissioner Cary Groninger opened the public hearing up to public hearing, but no one said anything so the hearing was closed to the public. Commissioner Sue Ann Mitchell made the motion to approve the re-establishment of the rates, Commissioner Bob Conley seconded and they passed 3-0.
Area Plan Director Matt Sandy was scheduled to present three rezoning recommendations from the Area Plan Commission, but one rezoning was withdrawn from the petitioner.
Ben and Dani Barkey requested permission from the plan commission on March 5 to rezone 6 acres from agricultural to residential south of East Wilcox Road, east of South CR 350E, Warsaw, but the commission voted to recommend the commissioners deny the rezoning.
Tuesday, Sandy said, “They have chosen to withdraw that hearing. It was coming to you with a negative recommendation, however, I talked to their attorney late last afternoon, they chose to pull it. It may come back at some point, it may not, but ultimately it’s off the public record.”
The other two rezoning requests from the plan commission came with favorable recommendations to the commissioners, who approved both of them. No one spoke in favor or against either of the two requests.
The first was a rezoning for Michael Chupp of 20.8 acres southwest of Milford from agricultural to agricultural-2. The property is on the west side of CR 500W, north of CR 1100N, Milford. A self-imposed condition on the rezoning is that the two parcels are combined with adjacent tracts so there’s no new standalone parcels, Sandy said.
The second request approved was for Linda and Donald Scott to rezone 3.77 acres from an agricultural to an agricultural II district. The property is on the north side of CR 500S, north of CR 550W, south of Palestine Lake.
Looking ahead to the 1 p.m. April 2 Area Plan Commission meeting in the old courtroom of the county courthouse where there’s a petition to rezone 554 acres near Clunette and Leesburg for a potential data center, Sandy said there will be a limit of 120 people in the room due to occupancy limits set by the fire marshal. However, the meeting will be livestreamed on the county’s YouTube channel.
In other business:
• Kosciusko County Highway Department Superintendent Steve Moriarty requested, and the commissioners approved, to purchase a 2025 GMC 2500 pickup truck for $61,850 from McCormick Motors, Nappanee. It was the lowest of three quotes he got for the truck. He said the money was in his department’s budget for this year.
• Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) Lt. Mike Mulligan requested permission to participate in the 2025 Comprehensive Highway Injury Reduction Program (CHIRP), which the commissioners granted.
He then said, with the retirement of Craig Allebach as the Winona Lake town manager, the Kosciusko County Traffic Safety Partnership is being dissolved, so he wanted permission to apply for the 2026 CHIRP grant on behalf of the KCSO alone. The commissioners approved.
• KCSO Chief Deputy Chris McKeand asked for permission to apply for $10,000 in funding through the 1st Source Foundation.
“The funding would go towards the Kosciusko Community Recovery Program (KCRP). As you know, we placed peer recovery coaches in the jail to add those services to that program itself, and this funding would go towards a radio for those individuals doing that service, and then it also would fund what they’re calling care packages upon the release of the inmates that are participating in that program,” he said.
“Many of the individuals that we see throughout the year will come in - say they come in during the summer - and they might come in just in a bathing suit. They go out in the middle of winter. The care packages will include minimal clothing to get them out, get them started. Hygiene products, things like that,” McKeand continued. “So as we move forward, we try to include as many community partners as we can, and this is one of the streams we’re going to try to utilize.”
The commissioners approved the grant application.
• Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board President Rob Bishop and Vice President Aggie Sweeney presented the commissioners with the trail master plan and design master plan that the park board approved. The commissioners also approved it Tuesday.
They also made the commissioners aware that the Friends of the Trail group was created. A fund also is being established at the Kosciusko County Community Foundation to accept donations.
• Warsaw Community Public Library Director Heather Barron presented on the library’s feasibility study, similar to presentations she previously gave to the county and city councils.
• The next commissioners meeting is at 9 a.m. April 8.