Silver Lake Discusses Annexation Of Property At Dixie Drive, Ind. 15
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Maddie Jo Shultz-
SILVER LAKE - Discussions on the property at Dixie Drive and Ind. 15 continued Wednesday night, with the Rev. Duane C. Seitz of Silver Lake Wesleyan Church having submitted a letter asking for the property to be annexed into the town.
This annexation request brings the rezoning request with the Kosciusko Area Plan Commission "back to square one," according to Andrew Rossell, project manager and senior civil engineer at AR Engineering of Kalamazoo, Mich., who provided more details on the development of the property.
Rossell and the Council agreed that the motivation behind annexation is to gain access to the town's water and sewer. Rossell said the County Commissioners' advice was to annex now rather than proceed with rezoning and seek permits later.
Town residents Carolyn Montel and Steve Behny spoke to the Council in support of annexation if the property remains zoned residential.
Behny told the Council, more than another grocery store, the people of Silver Lake need more places to live. Behny cited the trend of converting unused properties into housing with the example of the Owen's building in downtown Warsaw being converted into apartments.
"I'm not against a Dollar General coming into Silver Lake. I'm against it going here," Montel said of the property adjacent to her own. Montel later said, "When the church bought that land, we thought they were building a church there."
If sold as commercial land, the property would be developed to house a market store with fresh meat and produce. Rossell said his client, unnamed, has been looking at several sites in Silver Lake for over 10 years, and while there are many properties in Silver Lake that are already zoned as commercial, the proposed store would require two acres of land not available within the existing town limits.
Councilwoman Nichole Taylor pointed out you cannot put something on a property if the owner is not willing to sell their property.
Town attorney Austin Rovenstine explained the letter from Seitz is an example of voluntary annexation where the owner of the land wants to be annexed into the town, but recommended the church seek legal counsel to draw up an official appeal. Seitz was not present at the meeting.
If the land is annexed, the rezoning will go before the Area Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals again, but the Council will have the final say on the property.
In new business, the Council approved an ordinance setting the second deputy's pay at $16 per hour and increased most town employees' wages by 2.5% for 2022.
The 2022 agreement with KEDCo (Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation) was signed.
Silver Lake will now use Astbury Water Technology Inc. of Indianapolis for water and sewer testing instead of Element Labs of Warsaw.
In other business:
• The year-end meeting was set for Dec. 29 at 6 p.m.
• Fire Chief John Conley reported five runs this month and an order for new radios through the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funds.
