NORTH WEBSTER – A multi-use path along Ind. 13 is a little closer to reality.
The North Webster Town Council on Tuesday approved a trail study to determine the feasibility of the path. The assessment would look at cost, alignment and environmental and utilities impact, among other factors.
The study will cost $30,000, and Council President Lisa Strombeck said the money to pay for the study will come from the K-21 Health Foundation grant, which will be designated to fund the path.
The study will be done by USI Consultants of Indianapolis. Ben Beer, the business development manager with USI, said his firm does a lot of road and bridge design, and the multi-use path would be a similar project.
Beer, who is a 1987 graduate of Wawasee High School, said they recently signed a small agreement with the town of Milford for a trail from the Mail-Journal/The Paper area to Waubee Lake. They are working on another proposal for the Syracuse-Wawasee Trail around Lake Wawasee.
The study will take about three months, Beer said, because of the number of right-of-way impacts.
Town attorney Jack Birch raised a concern about contract language that suggested the town would not own the study and so could not use it if they went with another firm to build the path. Beer agreed to change the wording of that paragraph to reflect that the town will own the study outright. The council’s approval of the study was given pending this change.
In other news, the beach opened Tuesday, reported Leann Hubbs for the park department. Hubbs said E. coli numbers in the beach area were “way down.”
Hubbs also reported success with an unorthodox method of discouraging Canada geese. She said that she had heard that grape Kool-Aid works as a deterrent for the birds, so she sprayed the grass, sidewalk and sand with a mixture of water and Kool-Aid, “and we haven’t had a goose since.”
In other business:
• Trick-or-treat hours were set from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31, a Saturday.
• Clerk-Treasurer Betsy Luce suggested the town continue to waive the penalty for delinquent sewer bills until the end of the year. The waiver was set to expire after this month. The council approved continuing to waive the penalty.
• Dan Thystrup announced he has signed a lease agreement with Hot Head Burritos for the old post office building. The goal is for the franchise to open in January.
• Hubbs introduced Kevin McGonagle as the newest member and president of the park board.
• Utilities manager Jayne Alger reported a sinkhole in the area of Albert Eckhert Drive and North Center Street. She said the hole appears small on the road, but closer examination revealed 2 to 3 feet of open area beneath the surface. They will do further checking with some green dye to determine the full extent of the problem. Tape is up around the area so cars can’t drive over it, she said.
• Alger also reported that grease is a problem at the town’s lift stations. She said the grease is draining in from the town’s restaurants. She said they either need to ask the restaurants to put in grease traps or the town needs to buy degreaser.
The next meeting will be at 6 p.m. Sept. 22 at the community building.
