Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety Thursday approved a cell phone payment reimbursement plan for limited city business for three park employees and a patrolman.
The board approved the city reimbursing Warsaw Parks department employees Joseph Burtoft, aquatics director, and Stephanie Schaefer, skate park director, for their limited city cell phone business at $6.95 each bi-weekly; and Staci Young, Warsaw program director, and Jeffrey Ticknor, Warsaw Police Department patrolman, at $16.15 each bi-weekly.
The city previously approved the cell phone payment reimbursement plan for 21 other city employees.
Under the plan, instead of the city providing employees with cell phones, city employees will be allowed to use their own personal cell phones for limited city business and be reimbursed for doing so.
This is saving the city approximately $13,000, according to Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer.
Human Resources Director Jennifer Whitaker said the city currently has a system where the city reimburses employees $15 or $35 a month depending on usage.
However, she said she will propose at the next board meeting a tiered system of another option of the city reimbursing the employees $25 a month.
“When we first started looking at the cell phone policy we knew certain individuals would not be required to use their phones as much as others,” Whitaker said. “We thought the $15 and $35 would be adequate, but we found there is a third level of $25 that needs to be another option.”
In other business, the board approved a $13,335 change order for the new city hall at 102 N. Buffalo St.
The majority of the change order is to provide flooring underlayment for the second floor north side of the building. The remaining portion is for grab bars to be installed in the restrooms in the city hall.
The board also approved bi-weekly salaries for Shade Keeney to serve as a full-time firefighter for Warsaw Fire Department at $1,628.20 bi-weekly; and Randy Schmucker, Warsaw Street Dept. equipment operator, to receive $14.68 hourly.
The board approved the city paying a $75 training fee to the American Police Chaplains Association for Layne Sumner, Warsaw Police Department chaplain, to attend a training conference.
The board also approved a three-year vending machine contract between Warsaw Parks Department and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group for 12 vending machine services in the parks system.
Warsaw Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer said there was vandalism last week on the Snapple Machine in Central Park. The face of the machine has been replaced.
“The person kicked the front of the machine and broke the front face out of the machine and we called the company that morning and a new machine face has been put on,” Plummer said.
Plummer said the city has received $25,838 in funding from Dupont, a chemical company, to replace eight trees that were damaged in Central Park.
There were two trees in Central Park that were damaged. The trees will be treated and replaced in 2013.
The board approved a temporary street closure for the June 1 First Friday between Buffalo and Lake streets by Reinholt’s Town Square Furniture for a 3-on-3 tournament to benefit Habitat For Humanity.
The board approved a three-year service agreement between Warsaw Street Department and MacAllister Power Systems for a backup generator.
The board also approved a $324,545.62 payment application between Warsaw Wastewater Treatment Utility facility and All Star Construction Co. for Center Street force main work.
Follow staff writer Jennifer Peryam on Twitter at TUNews_Peryam
