WINONA LAKE - The Winona Lake Fire Department will be better prepared to fight fires now that a request to purchase new gear has been approved.
The Winona Lake Town Council approved a $4,542 contract between the town and the fire department to purchase three sets of bunker gear during Tuesday's council meeting. The contract will allow the department to purchase three sets of fire coats and pants for fighting fires from Hoosier Equipment Inc.The council also discussed vacating a 20-foot section of property that goes into Winona Lake along Park Avenue during its meeting.
The town requested the vacation and has discussed and tabled it since Nov. 28, awaiting a legal description of property ownership by town engineer Larry Long.
The council voted against vacating the property at Tuesday's meeting.
Janice Nelson, of 1012 Court Circle, Winona Lake, attended Tuesday's council meeting and requested a piece of land at the end of Auditorium Boulevard be left in control of the town.
"This approximately 50 feet or so of land is the only place on the island where a non-lakefront citizen can fish or just stand and ponder the lake," Nelson said.
Nelson said there are people who regularly put piers at the end of Auditorium Boulevard. She suggested the town rent the spots each year instead of vacating the area.
She said a neighbor adjacent to Auditorium Boulevard has volunteered to extend the new seawall he is building in front of his property to cover part of the eroding area of the town's land.
Town Council President Dave Delp said he was unaware of the landowner seeking permission to construct a seawall and said the Department of Natural Resources oversees seawall construction.
Delp said seawall construction in the town is generally not allowed because it batters fish, but riprap is allowed.
Town council member Joy Lohse informed council members a public meeting will be held March 21 at 7 p.m. at the Winona Lake Senior Center to discuss water quality in Winona Lake.
There were 26 birds killed on Winona Lake Feb. 20 and Lohse has spoken with Indiana State Conservation Officer Lyle Enyeart. She also presented photos of the dead birds at the council's Feb. 27 meeting.
Lohse said Winona Lake town council members will meet with Warsaw city council members during the meeting. Kosciusko County Soil and Water Conservation representatives and Lake Tippecanoe Water Shed Coordinator Holly LaSalle also will attend.
Town Coordinator Craig Allebach said a bike festival will take place in Winona Lake the first weekend in May. He said the route will begin and end at Jefferson School on Kings Highway.
