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Relocating Mantis Skate Park makes up part of an overall 6% increase in the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department's proposed 2026 budget as compared to 2025.
The Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department approved the budget at its meeting on Tuesday. It will be approved by the Warsaw City Council at a later date.
Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department Superintendent Larry Plummer broke down the numbers before the board took a vote.
The overall proposed 2026 budget stands at $3,443,800, with Plummer mentioning 2% of the increase over 2025 comes from raising employee salaries and wages by $1,600 each, plus factoring in longevity.
Board Vice President Larry Ladd asked if the salary and wage increase had been measured by a percentage before.
Plummer said it was previously.
"We went through a wage committee, and they decided that $1,600 per employee would be more across the board," he said. "If you do a percentage basis, the 20-year person is going to get a higher raise than the one year. So they wanted to go $1,600 across the board so all employees got that raise."
Total employee salaries and wages amount to $1,342,000 in the proposed budget, which is part of the $2,057,500 personal services section of the budget.
Plummer also said moving Mantis Skate Park from Boggs Industrial Park to Richardson Dubois Park by Fribley Field accounts for 4% of the increase of the proposed 2026 budget over the 2025 one, or $139,970.
He said the department is seeking several grants for the move, with the parks' department's money needing to match those funds.
Also part of the 2026 budget is a $25,000 engineering cost for expanding the Pike Lake Campground.
"We would like to see ... what it would cost to expand the campgrounds just north of the Firemen's (Building) fence," said Plummer. "We think we can get another eight to 10 sites down there."
He said if that happens, plans are to put in the sites in 2027.
The board also approved two non-reverting budgets of $27,350 and $45,000, with those monies raised from fees for parks' services in 2025.
In other business, the board:
• Heard that the last piece for the new special-needs-equipped merry-go-round at Kiddieland should come in the next few weeks.
• Approved a request from Kosciusko County Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Cori Humes to allow DreamOn Studios to fly a drone at Central Park on Friday to film the crowd at the parks' department's Country Concert for St. Jude for promotional purposes.
• Heard a reminder from Recreation Director Stephanie Schaefer that Confederate Railroad takes the stage at 7 p.m. at the free concert, with The Kentucky Headhunters at 8:30 p.m.
• Heard from Schaefer other upcoming events include an animal show from 6-7 p.m. Thursday, July 24 at Lucerne Park Amphitheater; and the Family Carnival is from 6-9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1 in Central Park.
• Heard that maintenance laborer Isaiah Owens was the June Team Member of the Month.
The board's next meeting is 5:15 p.m. Aug. 19, at Warsaw City Hall.
