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Residents Continue Quest To Remove Pile Of Rocks

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A road leading to nowhere was again brought up during Monday night's city council meeting, with Warsaw residents hoping to regain access to Pike Lake through a street running into the water.

Last month, a handful of surrounding property owners complained of large rocks that were placed at the end of Webber Street, which ran directly into Pike Lake. Councilmen said the rocks had been installed for public safety, but Frances Lane said the city had alternative reasons for the rock placement.

In a letter to the council, neighbors said the rocks were dangerous to walk over and drastically decreased the value of surrounding properties.

A lakefront residence adjacent to Webber Street is owned by former mayor Jeff Plank, a factor city officials said had nothing to do with the rock installation.

"I thought the rocks were placed there as a safety issue, and safety overrides everything else," Councilmen Bob Morrison said. "We've beaten this (issue) to death, and safety should be the obvious answer."

Council members asked if a path leading through the rocks would be sufficient, or if neighbors wanted all rocks removed.

"The large things that we call 'boulders' can stay," Lane said. "We just want to be able to get to the lake, and the small rocks won't let us do that."

With that said, the council approved a decision to create a path through the rocks.

Also addressed during Monday's meeting was a resolution to designate an economic revitalization area for property owned by Flexaust Co. inside Bogg's Industrial Park.

The resolution would allow the company to apply for a 10-year tax abatement on real estate and personal property. During this 10-year period, Flexaust plans to expand to an existing building and create 25 additional jobs.

Councilmen unanimously approved both the resolution to define the revitalization area and allow the Flexaust tax abatement.

The board also:

• Approved a request from Habitat for Humanity to waive a sewer tap fee for a family residence on Logan Street.

• Approved a resolution to transfer $114,220 from the General Fund to the General Bond Fund. The transfer was requested to meet bond obligations for a Logan Street construction project started in 2000.

• Approved an ordinance to appropriate additional funds of $80,000 to various city departments. The increased funding comes directly from distributions made through Indiana's Major Moves project and the state leasing of the Indiana Toll Road.

Present for Warsaw's council meeting were Morrison, Mayor Ernie Wiggins, George Clemens, Jeff Grose, Joe Thallemer, Jerry Patterson and Bill Rhoades.

The next meeting is May 15.