Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE -ÊSummer has started, the flowers are blooming, the sun is shining and train traffic will begin increasing.
Wednesday, Syracuse Town Manager Brian Redshaw told the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce he was told by CSX a train will pass through town every 20 minutes.
"I'm concerned about two of the crossings they are going to put arms on," said Redshaw, referring to the Oak Street and Front Street crossings. He said CSX expects to have the crossing arms up by the time school starts this fall, but accidents could still occur before that. When trains go 80 miles per hour, he said, that limits time for people to react.
Redshaw also told the Chamber he is attempting to get "Tree City USA" status for Syracuse. The town will soon cut down old, rotting trees around the town and replacing them with new ones.
"They supply sources for trees. There's educational programs they provide for the community," he said. When the town replaces their old trees, Redshaw said, they should replace them with quality trees.
In other business:
• There are 131 Chamber paid members to date.
• The next meeting for the Wawasee Village Comprehensive Plan will be June 14 at 6:30 p.m. at Oakwood Inn. It is the beginning meeting of the training for the steering committee.
"I would like to see some of you take the time and become a trained member of the committee," Chamber treasurer Steve Ehle told the chamber members.
• The lake area map is expected to come out next week. The Chamber hopes to make a $5,000 profit from the map.
• Bill Beemer reported to the Chamber on the community center and the park department's recent meeting.
"The bonding people were there to handle the bond. The bond was set at $2.3 million for the entire structure," Beemer said. The park board and project steering committee will meet Monday.
With a donation campaign, Beemer said, the park board hopes to reduce the bond figure. He also said architectural plans were changed to accommodate Lakeland Youth Center's interest in becoming part of the center.
• The Flotilla will be July 3 beginning at 1 p.m. The Chamber hopes to have a banner and/or float in the parade.
• Attendance at Chamber meetings will be enforced by the Chamber. If a board member fails to attend four consecutive meetings, the member may be expelled.
"We're in a position where other people in our community want to be on the board," said Chamber director Shelly Bickel.
Ehle said, "We're having difficulty getting quorums for our meetings."
No action could be taken Wednesday because of a lack of quorum. The Chamber has 18 board members and needs 10 for a quorum.
