Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety Friday approved transferring a lease agreement from Warsaw Community Development Corp. to Warsaw Biblical Gardens for the garden to become its own entity. The board approved transferring the rights, obligations, assets and liabilities of the Warsaw Biblical Gardens from WCDC to Warsaw Biblical Gardens. The board reviewed a memorandum from Mark Dobson, Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce president, who did not attend Friday’s meeting. The memorandum stated in 2012 the chamber was hired by the WCDC board of directors as its executive director. The chamber sought to refocus WCDC to its original mission – “to further encourage the economic development of Warsaw’s Central Business District through investments in people, buildings, businesses and land.” WCDC had responsibility for two entities that Dobson said fell outside that mission, the Comstock House and Biblical Gardens. Comstock House was sold to Bowen Center and has since helped house people who are clients of the Bowen Center. The chamber approached Paul Refior, Biblical Gardens president, in 2013 about forming an independent entity charged with continuing operations and support of the Biblical Gardens. “While we believe in the importance of the Biblical Gardens, we knew that WCDC was not the proper overseer for this important community asset,” Dobson said. Biblical Gardens has had a lease with the Board of Works since 2008 and prior to that the lease was with the board of parks and recreation. During Friday’s meeting Larry Plummer, parks director, said Biblical Gardens being its own entity will be more efficient. “Right now we do repairs at the Biblical Gardens and they are taking bills to WCDC,” Plummer said. He said the Biblical Gardens being its own entity will allow the caretaker to write a check to pay for repairs that need to be made right away. The board also approved Friday: • A contract to replace playground equipment at Richardson Dubois Park. The $29,977.06 contract is with ParKreation. The present equipment is from the 1960s and 1970s and has several safety concerns, Plummer said. Swings and slides will be purchased. The new equipment will replace all of the old equipment that is at the park. • A $337.08 annual music licensing agreement between the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and the city to utilize copyrighted music for programs, concerts and events. • Purchasing $2,200 in software for use by the public works and wastewater departments to access online and maintenance service manuals that the departments currently do not have access to. • A $530 contract between the Kosciusko County Fair and the wastewater utility department for annual booth rental for awareness of wastewater and stormwater. • A $3,780 payment to A & Z Engineering for right-of-way-acquisition for Husky Trail improvements and a $4,075.40 payment to A & Z for engineering services for the Husky Trail improvement project. • Hourly salaries for Aaron Baier, cemetery groundskeeper, at $14.57 an hour, and Alaina Donovan, park supervisor, at $12.25 an hour.
