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To save money on the Warsaw City Hall roofing project, the costs will be split over 2026 and 2027.
At the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety meeting on Friday, city engineer Kyle Alger presented them with a contract to purchase OMNIA roofing material from The Garland Company Inc. for City Hall.
He said the material will be purchased this year, with the roofing project to be bid out in 2027 for construction.
“So what we’re looking to do is kind of spread the price between this year and next, so the $63,000 in this contract is just for the product and then we’ll get a contract next year for the construction. The overall anticipated estimate was about $127,000 for the roof,” Alger explained.
Mayor Jeff Grose asked what part of the City Hall roof would be included. Alger said the south side, the mezzanine and the elevator shaft roof.
Councilwoman Diane Quance said if they purchase the materials now, does the city not receive them until they need them or will they be stored somewhere? Alger said they’re still working that out, but it was his understanding they’ll purchase them now but don’t necessarily have to receive them until they’re ready but the price on the material won’t go up.
“So there’s flexibility on when we receive it, if I’m not mistaken,” Alger said.
Public Works Director Dustin Dillon said they’re locking in 2026 prices for the roofing material by purchasing it now.
The board approved the contract with The Garland Company Inc. for $63,219 for the OMNIA roofing material.
Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department Recreation Director Stephanie Schaefer requested board approval to apply for a $7,000 Kosciusko County Community Foundation grant to supplement the $4,000 grant she secured from the Indiana Arts Commission and the Parks Department budget for the Summer Concert Series.
“I appreciate everything that both of those grants do for the community,” she said.
After the board gave Schaefer permission to apply for the KCCF grant, Quance asked when the new skate park on East Market Street is expected to be completed.
Warsaw Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer said concrete was supposed to be done on Friday, Oct. 16, and they have some other stuff to do but construction will probably be completed by the end of October. Landscaping will be done after that.
“It’s coming along well,” Plummer said. “... Those guys, every one of them that work out there, skate, and they spend about 10 minutes in the morning skating out there and it’s incredible. That’s their passion, so it’s good to have people with passion work on that and it’s going to be a nice facility.”
Schaefer said Plummer has worked very hard on the skate park and the skate park is something that is “very near and dear” to her heart. “Been a part of that for 19 years now, and I tell him all the time thank you for doing this. It’s going to make a big difference.”
In other business:
• Human Resource Director Denny Harlan recognized Warsaw Police Department Lt. Wayne Wilkie for his 25 years of service to the city.
• WPD Chief of Police Scott Whitaker requested permission to apply for the 2026 U.S. Department of Justice bulletproof vest program. He said it’s a 50% reimbursement program. The request is for seven vests for an approximate cost of $9,800, with WPD’s share being $4,900. The request was approved.
• Harlan presented the new hire and change in payroll report, which included just two items from the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory (WWFT), which the board approved.
Firefighter Tyler Colt is transferring to the position of captain of inspection, effective Oct. 23. Harlan said Colt will be working with Fire Marshal Jeremy Williams on inspections and other things that the fire marshal does. His biweekly pay will be $3,080.
With Colt’s transfer, Matt Koldyke will be promoted to lieutenant, effective Oct. 23, at a biweekly pay of $2,875.
• WWFT Assistant Chief William Kornrumpf presented the interlocal agreement with Kosciusko County for terminal services data for $1,732.50 for 2027, up from $1,575 in 2026. The WWFT Board approved the agreement at their Oct. 6 meeting. The Board approved the agreement.
• City Planner Justin Taylor presented the annual employment agreement with Thomas Earhart to continue serving as the administrative law judge for 2027 for code enforcement hearings.
Earhart has been serving as the hearing officer and administrative law judge for the past four to five years.
“In this role, he facilitates our code hearing meetings,” Taylor said. “This contract before you is a carbon copy of the current 2026 contract. It has a quarterly code hearing meeting with a $1,000 per meeting retainer for Mr. Earhart, with the option to add additional meetings as needed. So far, the quarterly option is working very well for our staff.”
The board approved the agreement.
