Winona OKs Prestwick Subdivision Street Bid Advertising
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
WINONA LAKE – Winona Lake Town Council Tuesday night approved the town advertising for bids for Prestwick Subdivision Street reconstruction.
The streets to be repaired are St. Andrews, Prestwick and Liver Pool streets, according to Larry Long, town engineer.
In Prestwick Subdivision, there are currently 1.18 miles of streets that are 6 inches thick with no aggregate base. There is poor drainage with no curbs, gutters or side ditches. The pavement failure is due to settling, cracking and excessive slab movement.
In Muirfield Subdivision, the streets were constructed in 1988, and are 6 inches concrete with no aggregate base.
There is surface deterioration due to original surface grinding, and minor storm drainage problems.
The council also approved awarding a $13,900 contract to G & G Hauling for repairing sanitary sewer lines for Prestwick and Muirfield subdivision streets.
The council also heard a presentation from Erin Porter, who came up with the idea of a universally accessible limitless park in Winona Lake.
The park would be handicapped accessible and go beyond American Disability Act guidelines.
She also discussed a splash pad that has been approved by the Winona Lake Park Board.
There would be accessible water play, sand play areas, age-appropriate areas and universally accessible restrooms.
There have been six committee members who have been meeting since August to discuss the project.
In April some of the Limitless Park and splash pad committee members won a $1,000 award through their Kosciusko Leadership Academy project for the splash pad idea.
Porter said grant applications will take the next 1-1/2 years, and plans are to break ground on the Limitless Park and splash pad in spring 2014 if it is approved and funding is obtained.
“We are asking the town to join forces in support of this,” Porter said.
Councilmen Greg Winn and John Boal agreed to serve as council liaisons on the Limitless Park and splash pad committees.
“I think this is an excellent idea and very much supplements the successes we’ve had here such as the Greenway,” Winn said.
Boal suggested the planning committee show the costs of each phase to the council as well as the maintenance costs and how the idea fits into the park master plan.
The committee has met with Scearce Rudisel Architects for design plans and consulted playground equipment consultants.
Porter said three phases are anticipated for the project, and the phases will be determined as funding comes in.
Funding would come from grants, private foundations, public donations and fundraising. The capital campaign estimate is $1 million, Porter said.
The committee also has met with K21 Foundation and Kosciusko County Community Foundation to discuss funding options.
Also during the meeting, the council discussed repairing the Winona Lake lodge.
Craig Allebach, town coordinator, said the lodge’s foundation is in poor shape and water damaged. He said estimates to put a new foundation in is $235,000, and installing new windows is $30,000.
The approximate cost to build a new lodge is $330,000.
Allebach said he will have a professional come in and do a mold assessment on the lodge.
“A decision needs to be made to repair, put a new lodge up or demolish the existing one,” Allebach said.
Randy Swanson, council president, said with the bad foundation, windows and walls, it is a hazard to rent out.
“It doesn’t sound like it’s a good measure to invest good money into something like that if you tear it down and build a new structure. The income it produces is not justifiable,” said Bruce Shaffner, councilman.
Boal suggested the park board provide a case for either improving the lodge or demolishing it.
Also during the meeting, the council approved travel requests for Allebach to travel to DePauw University and Jim Walmer, town attorney, to travel to the Indiana Municipal Lawyers Association conference in Indianapolis.
The council approved an anti-nepotism policy that the state requires local governments to be passed by July 1.
The new law mandates all local governments adopt and implement anti-nepotism policies that restrict local officials from hiring or promoting their relatives. It also compels local elected officials to disclose any financial ties they may have with contractors that receive taxpayer dollars.
Winona Happenings are Masterworks Festival Sunday to July 14; Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Triathlon is June 23 at 8 a.m.; Patriotic Pops Concert is June 30; Winona Lake Great 4th of July Celebration is June 30; and fireworks over Winona Lake are at dusk June 30.
