Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WINONA LAKE - A new option for the combination town hall and police station was introduced at Friday's budget hearing when the town council received a proposal to use half of the Grace Brethren Home Missions building.
The building, which is being renamed as "Kingsway Office Suites," would lease approximately 6,200 square feet to the town, including a garage area. The lease amount of $6,200 per month would include all utilities except phone, and the town may have the option to buy the space later.
Town council members said they would like to tour the building before further discussion, and town council president Brent Wilcoxson said the subject will be addressed at the council's Sept. 9 meeting.
On the Quonset hut, another town hall option the council has considered, Jim McCleary, the town's architectural consultant, gave the council a breakdown of costs involved to renovate that building for town offices.
Necessary basic repairs would cost approximately $250,000, Wilcoxson said. McCleary's estimate of total renovation on a phased-in basis was $400,000.
When asked for opinions on the choices available for a town hall, councilman Randy Ruppel said of the Quonset hut: "I think that's an ugly monstrosity that would be better served torn down. And that's sugar coated."
Council member Edna Gamble also introduced a plan from the Winona Lake Fire Department for a new building on the town's Pierceton Road property. The Fire Department's proposal is that town and police offices move to the building the fire department now uses and the town build a larger fire department.
Because the Pierceton Road property was previously used as a landfill, the council expressed concern about building on that property and about Indiana Department of Environmental Management requirements for the property.
The council also reviewed the proposed $1.5 million town budget for 1998. Wilcoxson said most of the budget increases were a result of expected expenditures for equipment and buildings.
He also said the town expects to spend more next year because of an increase in sewage rates charged by Warsaw, and that he will make a presentation to the Warsaw city council at its Sept. 15 meeting on that subject.
In other business:
• The council approved installing curbs on Tennis Street, on the island. The curb issue was raised at two previous council meetings, and the council took no action. Since Ruppel was present Friday, councilman Dick Taylor's motion to install curbs was seconded by Ruppel, and the motion was approved over Harold Dunn's opposition and Gamble's abstention.
• Approved Dunn's motion to make the intersection of Wooster Road and King's Highway a four-way stop. Dunn said the intersection is a crucial intersection in the town, and town marshal Malcolm Gilbert said the town's worst accidents occur at that intersection.
• Agreed to let Gilbert to limit or prohibit parking on 13th Street between Chestnut Street and Sunday Lane. When cars park on both sides of the street, Gilbert said, it becomes impassable.
The council will meet next at 6 p.m. on Sept. 9.
