Warsaw Board Of Works Approves a $20K Change Order For New City Hall
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Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
A nearly $20,000 change order was approved for the new Warsaw City Hall Friday by the city’s board of works. The change order is for the new city hall project for installing fire alarms, smoke detectors, door contacts and motion detectors. The change order also is to install exterior design panels and some minor dry wall additions under the staircases, some additional drywall and removing the exterior alarm. More designated city employees will use their cell phones and receive a bi-weekly stipend rather than having a cell phone furnished by the city. The board approved Greg Oberlin, Warsaw Police Department sergeant, Lewis Fuller, WPD patrol officer, and Wayne Wilkie, WPD corporal, to be allowed $16.15 bi-weekly and Steve Adang, WPD lieutenant, to be allowed $11.54 bi-weekly. Kim Arnold, police parking control, and Charles Hodges, police corporal, were approved to receive a $16.15 bi-weekly cell phone allowance. A first round of cell phone stipends were approved May 18 and at that time Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer said it would save the town nearly $13,000 a year. Due to the city moving to a cell phone allowance for certain employees, the board approved designated employees the option of purchasing older and discounted phones as follows: iPhone S, $50; iPhone, $25; Blackberry, $3.50; and Flip/Basic, $1. The majority of these phones were provided at no cost to the city due to the governmental contracting option that was offered at the time contracts were signed several years ago. The board also approved a request from the Warsaw Street Department to purchase a front loader and skid steer loader for $28,360.57. The money is available for the purchases in the department’s street main budget. A web-based computer software system for Warsaw Fire Department also was approved Friday. The board approved the five-year, $3,103 firehouse software system. The web-based system will allow the department to access hydrant locations, site history and other important information en route to a fire scene and while on scene. The board also approved the fire department accepting a $2,000 grant for the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory for its annual Play It Safe Family Safety Day. This year the event will be Sept. 8 at Central Park and Center Lake Pavilion. Warsaw Fire Department firefighters Brent Fifer and Shade Keeney were sworn in during the meeting by Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer. They met their yearly probationary period requirements. The board approved WPD applying for seven bulletproof vests for a total of $7,000 through a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance program. The board also approved a contract between WPD and Bockman Brothers Painting Services for painting of four rooms and two hallways at the department. The agreement consists of repairing and priming of walls as well as doors, frames and windows. The total cost of the project is $2,570. The board approved a contract with Yellow Taxi Cab to provide transportation from Fort Wayne International Airport to Warsaw for Grand Funk Railroad June 14 and 16. The group is the performer for the Classic Rock Concert in Central Park. The board also approved a request from Brian Davison, Warsaw Wastewater Utility manager, for the city entering into an agreement with the county to resurface Fox Farm Road in conjunction with the city’s sewer projects. Tim Dombrosky, assistant city planner, gave an update on a bike-walk master plan for the city. The city signed a contract with R.W. Armstrong in May for the company to develop the plan. There have been 150 people who have taken the bike master plan survey, and the advisory committee will meet next week to determine when public meetings will be for the bike-walk plan, Dombrosky said. There will be volunteers at the Northern Indiana Lakes Festival next weekend providing information on bike safety and helmet fitting, Dombrosky said. The master plan will continue to be developed throughout the summer, and plans are to have community input and have the city council look at the bike-walk master plan by October. Kip Shuter, Warsaw Traffic Safety administrator, informed the council the Warsaw Police Department’s new NIXLE system launched Friday. The system alerts residents and media of breaking police information. Residents can apply to be notified through the system at www.nixle.com and for more information visit the city’s website at warsaw.in.gov Shuter also said a downtown traffic meeting was Wednesday at city hall, and the city received input on traffic concerns. The city has a downtown parking survey residents can complete on the city’s website.
