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Mike Miner, attorney for the Kosciusko County commissioners, said Tuesday the Gatke property on Wooster Road in Winona Lake will soon become the county's.
"If we don't own it," he said, "we will shortly."
Grace College has been working with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for 1-1/2 years to pave over that site, Miner said. It's considered a hazardous waste site. If it's paved over, that site will be considered safe. Grace wants to build next to it and use the Gatke site as a parking lot.
Grace College also wants to enter into a lease with the county for the site for a long-term amount of time. With the agreement, Grace gets rid of a hazardous site for the community and gets a parking lot. The county could lease the property to Grace for $1 for the life of the agreement.
Miner said the county would have no liability.
"So it's in both parties' best interest to do it this way," said Ron Truex, county commissioner. If the county tried to sell the property, it likely would not be bought.
Avis Gunter, commissioner, said the property has been up for tax sale for a number of years and no one bought it.
The commissioners unanimously approved to lease it to Grace after the county takes possession of the property.
In other business, the commissioners:
• Heard from Kosciusko County Auditor Sue Ann Mitchell property tax bills were sent out and are due Nov. 10. People may notice their taxes are slightly up, she said, because the spring tax bills were only 45 percent of the total, compared to 50 percent of the total last spring. Also, the state inventory tax is gone.
• Approved a change order to revoke a previous change order for the Bridge 226 project on Market Street, Warsaw, at a cost of $164. "It was pretty much a wash," said Kosciusko County Highway Department Superintendent and Engineer Rob Ladson.
• Approved for Ladson to ask vendors to renew their annual bids from last year for road materials.
• Approved the placement of stop signs on roads in Enchanted Hills that previously had no traffic control signs.
• Approved a mutual aid agreement between the county and Bourbon in case of emergency, as requested by Emergency Management Director Ed Rock.
• Approved an agreement between the county and Kosciusko Area Bus Service for transportation in case of an emergency.
• Approved the Turkey Creek Regional Sewer District semi-annual report.
• Approved changes in the county's personnel policies that included issues dealing with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, sexual harassment and sick days.
• Approved the establishment of the 2005 county holidays and county commissioners' meeting dates.
Kosciusko County commissioners are Avis Gunter, southern district; Ron Truex, middle district; and Brad Jackson, northern district. They meet at 9 a.m. in the county courthouse, Warsaw, every other Tuesday.
