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Kosciusko County Commissioners Tuesday approved a deviated fixed route with Kosciusko Area Bus Service Tuesday.
General Manager Kristin Rude said KABS has been working on a deviated fixed route for over a year in the Warsaw and Winona Lake area. She asked for formal approval from the commissioners to implement the Lake City Loop route, which is scheduled to launch in the fall. Rude said the commissioners’ approval was necessary to get the route started.
Rude shared details about the route with the commissioners. The Lake City Loop route would operate Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., running on an hourly clockwise loop with 16 designated stops. The stops include Walmart, Kroger, Warsaw Community Public Library and Lutheran Kosciusko Hospital.
The deviated fixed route follows a set path and schedule but has the flexibility to travel for limited off-route deviations. The fare is $1 per boarding, and an additional 50 cents for a deviation. KABS is also looking at offering an unlimited bus pass for $20 per month. All the vehicles are ADA accessible.
Commissioner Cary Groninger said he wanted to thank Rude, Cardinal Services and everyone who has been working on the route. He said he knew it was a long process. He said he was really excited for it to come to fruition.
Earlier in the meeting, the commissioners also approved several proposals brought before them by County Administrator Marsha McSherry in regards to the proposed county parking garage in downtown Warsaw.
The first thing McSherry presented to the commissioners was a conceptual design for the proposed county parking garage done at a cost of $57,000 through Design Collaborative.
County Administrator Marsha McSherry money for the conceptual designs include the fees for the architectural, electrical, plumbing and mechanical designs and parking structure design.
Also presented to the commissioners was a proposal from Foresight Professional Surveying Services for a total of $13,200 for work. Of that amount, $2,400 will be spent on a boundary retracement survey, $4,400 on a topographic and utility survey, $4,800 on a private utility locate and $1,600 on a title commitment/search.
McSherry also presented a proposal from GME Geotechnical Engineering for ground testing for $7,500. The commissioners approved the proposal.
When asked how big the parking garage would be, Groninger said that’s what will be looked into and the county will see how many parking spots they can fit in on the property and how it will be laid out.
In other business, the commissioners:
• Approved a memorandum of understanding for Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office to rent night vision goggles for the SWAT team at $1,800. Sheriff Jim Smith said the goggles are very expensive to buy, but the sheriff’s office is trying to put together a program where they can own a couple goggles, as an estimated price for one set of goggle is between $3,200 and $3,600.
• Approved a no parking ordinance for the end of the lane T47, which is at the back of the Mineral Springs subdivision upon request of County Highway Superintendent Steve Moriarty.
• Approved a contract with Right Stuff Time Keeping for time keeping for personnel for a total of $30,400 for a three-year renewal for the software.
• Heard from McSherry the county has been going through a building assessment countywide. There were some of the recommendations that came out of the assessment. The first is spending $51,000 for exterior ADA access upgrades for multiple sites. The $51,000 is for design schematics and bidding. It was not for actual construction costs.
There was a recommendation to put two ADA compliant men’s bathrooms and two ADA compliant women’s bathrooms in Kosciusko County Work Release. The cost of that is $68,000. It includes work on schematic designs, construction adminstration and construction bidding. It does not include construction work.
There was a recommendation to bring the lower restroom in the old courthouse into ADA compliance. The commissioners approved $2,900 to be spent on design plans.
The commissioners approved all three costs.
• Approved several Indiana Health First MOUs: 1Eighty Digital, $4,860; Fellowship Missions, $2,087; Live Well Kosciusko, $48,878.20; Warsaw Community Schools, $6,656.00; and Wawasee Community Schools, $13,626.
