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Warsaw Common Councilwoman Diane Quance’s district looks to be growing as the City Council approved the annexation ordinances on first reading Monday for four properties.
All four are in Council District 5, which Quance represents.
“This is the second step in the annexation process. The first step was the petition that was submitted a month ago when you reviewed and accepted their petition for annexation. That starts the clock turning on the work that we have to do. If we do not go through this process, they will have the ability to directly appeal to the courts to have their annexation heard,” Warsaw Community and Economic Development Director Jeremy Skinner explained to the council.
“The first step in that process is to complete a fiscal resolution with an attached fiscal plan, which you have. That fiscal resolution reviews all the costs and services that the city goes through when providing services to new property.”
He told the council most of the property the city annexes in has zero people and investment, and in all four annexations presented Monday, there is zero houses, zero people and very little assessed valuation.
“It looks from an appearance standpoint that we’re going to be paying more money to annex these in, but the reality is, obviously, we hope and plan to develop these properties, which will increase their value, assessed value, create housing projects and so forth that long term will create a positive revenue flow for the city of Warsaw,” Skinner said.
For each of the annexations presented, the council approved the resolution approving the fiscal plan, held a public hearing on the annexation, closed the public hearing and voted to approve on first reading the annexation ordinance.
The first property on the corner of CRs 300N and 100E is owned by Chandler Williams and will be brought into the city as an Industrial-2 property as the adjacent properties are also I-2.
The second property is on the corner of CR 250N and 100E and owned by Robinson Construction. It is zoned Industrial in the county now and will remain so once it’s annexed into the city.
The third property is along CRs 300N and 175E and owned by the Warsaw Municipal Airport. It’s about 61-62 acres, and Skinner said the property will not be developed but remain under the control of the city and airport.
The fourth and final property is along CRs 300N and 150W and is owned by West Hill Development LLC and Groninger Group LLC. Skinner said the property is on the opposite corner of Madison Elementary School and is roughly 80 acres.
“Obviously, the intent is to develop it, which will increase the value in the future. It is being brought in as (Residential-3),” Skinner said.
The second readings of the annexation ordinances will take place at the council’s Nov. 2 meeting.
In other business, the council approved:
• On second reading, the 2027 appropriations and tax rates ordinance. It was approved on first reading at the council’s Oct. 5 meeting.
Clerk-Treasurer Lynne Christiansen said, “After this, we will submit it to the DLGF (Department of Local Government Finance) for their review before we receive the 1782 Notice sometime later this year. And as I mentioned at the last meeting, our rate will go down, but I can’t guarantee how much until the DLGF does their review.”
The ordinance lists the adopted 2027 budget at $41,806,286 and the tax rate at $1.3378 per $100 of assessed valuation, before the DLGF review. The 2026 tax rate is $1.26.
Councilwoman Diane Quance asked Christiansen how long they have after the city receives the 1782 Notice back from the DLGF. Christiansen said 10 days.
• A resolution for a transfer of $100,000 from the Economic Development Income Tax (EDIT) fund into the EDIT Revolving Loan Fund, as requested by Skinner.
“As you are aware, it’s probably been six years, seven years ago we created the EDIT Revolving Loan Fund. That fund doesn’t have any direct income of itself, it comes from EDIT. So, from time to time, we need to put funds into that fund for any expenses that you as a council may approve,” he explained. “So, this request is to transfer $100,000 in to cover expenditures out of that fund. Keep in mind, the Revolving Loan Fund is only by the council’s approval, so any funds that are spent from this fund are approved directly by you and no one else.”
The transfer puts the dollars into the fund to pay the bills, he stated.
• A resolution for a transfer of $35,000 from the Oakwood Cemetery permanent account contracted maintenance repairs fund into the improvements other than building fund, as requested by sexton Hal Heagy.
Normally, road work in the cemetery in done by contract. “But with the gracious Street Department that took care of me, the funds have to come out of (improvements) and not out of the contract fund,” he said.
“So we weren’t sure at the time how much. We estimated about $40,000 and I didn’t have that in there, so I switched it over to that account and, just so you know, the Street Department crew put in about 800 feet, 20 foot wide, of asphalt and road, helping us build it and we have less than $30,000 in it, which is a project if it were hired out would be about $200,000, so the Street Department saved me quite a bit of money in this project,” Heagy said.
• On first reading an ordinance to make Bison Lane, from Fort Wayne Street until it ends at an alley connecting to the Nye Youth Cabins, a northbound one-way street, as presented by Public Works Director Dustin Dillon. The Warsaw Traffic Safety Commission unanimously recommended at their meeting Oct. 7 that Bison Lane become a one-way.
The second reading will be at the council’s Nov. 2 meeting.
• On first reading an ordinance to vacate a small portion of the Columbia Street right-of-way in order to place necessary NIPSCO transformers to serve the new Millworks development at the intersection of Columbia and Market streets, as requested by Skinner. A public hearing was held but no one spoke for or against the vacation. The second reading will be at the council’s Nov. 2 meeting.
