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A West Market Street property in Warsaw potentially contaminated by petroleum products is finally going to get an inspection.
County attorney Ed Ormsby presented to the county commissioners on Tuesday an agreement to allow inspection of the property at 715 W. Market St., Warsaw.
Reading portions of the agreement, he said MACOG (Michiana Area Council of Governments), along with Roberts Environmental Services, is “assisting in the exclusive purpose of conducting environmental investigation activities associated with potential petroleum contamination at 715 W. Market St., Warsaw, consisting of two tax-delinquent parcels owned by Forrest Tinkey and Tinkey Oil, as part of the MACOG Regional Brownfields Coalition, of which Kosciusko County and the city of Warsaw are members.”
He said the county commissioners are being requested to allow access to the real estate, pursuant to Indiana code, under the county’s authority to permit entry onto the tax-delinquent property with potential environmental hazards for the purpose of that inspection.
“That agreement is simply to allow that inspection, and there is nothing further at this point. If there is environmental contamination, at that point there will be potentially available grant money through MACOG that will benefit the city of Warsaw, who would then pursue that with MACOG at that point,” Ormsby stated.
President of the Commissioners Cary Groninger said, “This is a program that MACOG was fortunate to get some brownfield dollars for. This allows them to be able to go in and do an assessment of the property to just better understand what really needs to happen for the cleanup. This isn’t to pay for the cleanup, this is just to get an assessment to be able to do that. They have the dollars so there’s no dollars that the county has to put into this.”
He said the property hasn’t been on the tax rolls for a long time and the property really needs cleaned up.
“This was an issue back when I was the auditor and the Solid Waste (Management District) was trying to do something with the property,” said County Commissioner Sue Ann Mitchell. “So this has been a long time.”
She made a motion to approve the request, Commissioner Bob Conley seconded and the motion passed 3-0.
The commissioners heard 2026 budget presentations from six local nonprofits. No action was taken on the requests.
Cardinal Services requested $111,373 for 2026, up from $108,129 in 2025. Stillwater Hospice requested $50,000 for 2026, the same as 2025. Kosciusko County Historical Society requested $24,000 for 2026, up from $23,230 in 2025. The Beaman Home requested $40,000 for 2026, up from $33,425 in 2025. Kosciusko Community Senior Services requested $33,425 for 2026, the same as 2025. Kosciusko County 4-H Council requested a 2% increase for 2026 from the $46,590 in 2025.
At the commissioners’ May 20 meeting, Mike Wyrick, president of the Webster Lake Conservation Association (WLCA), requested the commissioners sign a letter in support of a grant that the WLCA wanted to apply for.
“That was a new, innovative weed control process. The request was tabled until we could do some more research on it,” Mitchell explained. ... The grant was going to come through (U.S. Rep. Marlin) Stutzman’s office in D.C. Later that afternoon, I received a call from his office. A lady asked some questions, and before we finished talking, she realized that the paperwork was incomplete so she shared with me that the grant would not be moving forward, so we have no real need to make a letter in support.”
Mitchell said the woman in Stutzman’s office did contact the property owners from Webster and they were clear on that.
In other business, the commissioners approved:
• County Auditor Alyssa Schmucker’s request for an additional appropriation to have a contract with Reedy Financial Group for $43,000 to assist the county with its TIF (tax increment financing) areas. The commissioners had discussed it at their last meeting. Mitchell abstained from voting on the request.
• Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Chris McKeand’s request to apply for the 2025 Safer Outcomes program grant through the Department of Justice. The maximum grant that can be awarded is $250,000, and runs through Oct. 1, 2025, to Sept. 30, 2027. It’s a nonmatching grant.
“What the grant is for is to aid law enforcement in upgrading the way we train,” he said. “Right now, we do a lot of hands-on training as far as it comes to our defensive tactics, our handgun operations, things like that. We do use older technology as far as 2D shoot/don’t shoot less than lethal training.”
The machine currently used for that training is brought in. If the grant is awarded, it would be used to purchase equipment to go from 2D to virtual reality training to immerse officers in various situations that need de-escalation. Other local agencies will be able to use the equipment, too.
• KCSO Lt. Mike Mulligan’s request to purchase a 2025 Dodge Durango PPV V8 for $44,400 from John Jones Auto Group.
At the May 6 meeting, the commissioners gave him permission to purchase a Dodge Durango for an investigator from Warsaw Buick GMC. When they went to place that order, Dodge advised them that ordering was closed and they could no longer order that vehicle. After some checking, Mullligan said they were able to find a very similar vehicle on the lot of John Jones.
The money for the vehicle will come from the budgeted vehicle fund.
• A contract between the Kosciusko County Highway Department and the LPA consultant, USI Consultants, for bridge inspection for 2026-29, as requested by Highway Department Superintendent Steve Moriarty. He said it’s an 80/20 federal grant. All the bridges in the county have to be inspected every two years.
• The annual interlocal agreements, as presented by County Administrator Marsha McSherry.
“What that is, is an annual agreement between the local outlying police departments and it gives them access for the data that the sheriff’s department here has, and it helps with the annual maintenance agreement for that system,” she said.
Every year, McSherry said they try to assess a 5% rate increase, “which is pittance to what the contract itself is.”
• Rescinded their appointment of Ben Rice to the Warsaw Community Public Library Board of Trustees and appointed Christopher Merrill. The commissioners had approved Rice at their last meeting, but Rice is the county council’s appointment and Merrill is the commissioners’ appointment.
The commissioners’ next meeting is at 9 a.m. June 17.
