Pylons being used for the Warsaw Parks and Recreation office and garage, at the intersection of East Fort Wayne and North Indiana streets, have been sunk 17 to 62 feet deep, Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer reported to the Parks Board Tuesday. The project is slated to be completed by May or June 2023. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union

By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW – Warsaw Parks and Recreation Superintendent Larry Plummer gave the Park Board quick progress reports Tuesday on the Bixler Park pickleball/tennis courts, Beyer Park playground and office/maintenance garage building.

He said Phend & Brown came in and widened the courts at Bixler Park and put asphalt down for the new courts. Custom Fencing is due to come in either this week or next to put fencing up on the east side and the divider between the courts. K & M is scheduled to come complete the courts in August. 

“So it’s moving along,” Plummer said. “I would have liked to have seen it done sooner than that but you know how contractors are these days – it’s when you can get them in, but we’re happy to see that going in.”

He said he spoke with K21 Health Foundation CEO and President Rich Haddad on Tuesday about a K21 sign at the courts. 

In October, the Parks Board, in recognition of a grant that will be used for the renovation of tennis courts at Bixler Park, voted in favor of naming the courts after the K21 Health Foundation and/or displaying some type of plaque in honor of the foundation’s contribution to the project.

The Parks Department was awarded a $53,000 grant through the K21 Health Foundation to refurbish the courts at Bixler Park to accommodate four pickleball courts and two tennis courts. 

In another update, Plummer said the playground at Beyer Park is “going really well.” He said when Maintenance Director Shaun Gardner and parks workers were putting that together, they realized deck pieces were sent wrong. The decks didn’t have cut-outs for the center pole. The new pieces won’t be shipped until next week so that’s holding the playground up from being completed. 

“We went as far as we can without those deck pieces because then after the deck pieces go in, we’ve got to attach some slides and pieces to it, so we’re going to try to finish that up,” Plummer said. 

A new sidewalk leads up to the shelter. The bench pads have been poured and the benches are installed. Once the needed pieces come in, Gardner said they should be able to complete the playground equipment in two to three days. 

On the future parks office at the intersection of East Fort Wayne and North Indiana streets, Plummer said they had their meeting with the contractors on Tuesday. They meet with them every two weeks now. 

The Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety on May 6 approved the build-operate-transfer agreement between GM Development Companies LLC and the city for the building. The maximum cost of the project is $3.65 million with a substantial completion date for the project of June 15, 2023, according to the agreement.

Plummer said Tuesday the pylons were going into the ground and they should have been completed. They’ve gone anywhere from 17 to 62 feet deep, but most were in the 17 to 30 feet range. 

“So that’s great news,” he said. Next, they’ll lay the foundation and pour the concrete. 

“We were told today that the metal for the building is coming next week, so they’re going to stage that off Buffalo Street, those lots. It still won’t affect the date of completion. We’re still looking at the first of March, but things are going well,” Plummer stated. “They’ve been great. They’ve kept us updated on things. We’re moving forward with it.”

Park Board Vice President Larry Ladd said, “It seems like every day you go by, there’s something happening through there.”

“We’re excited,” Plummer stated. 

In her report, Recreation Director Stephanie Schaefer said both of the Slip N’ Slide events are finished and they had 450 participants “so it was really popular.” She thanked the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory for coming out because “we couldn’t do it without them.” All of the firefighters worked really well with the kids and the kids liked seeing the firefighters there, too.

“I feel like that’s a really good partnership,” Schaefer said. 

Later in the meeting, Park Board member Michelle Boxell said she had a lot of people tell her how much they loved the Slip N’ Slide. The only thing they wanted was another slide because the line was so long with so many people. 

Plummer said they went from one slide when they started to two slides. It comes down to the amount of water the fire trucks can carry. He estimated that there were over 400 participants. 

Through Imagination Station, Schaefer said they reached a couple hundred children. The last one is next week.

There are three Summer Concert Series concerts left on Friday nights. 

Two of the free summer movies in the park are finished. A couple hundred children attended those.

“The families really have enjoyed Kelly Park. We had to move it this past weekend to Central Park, which worked out really well. I felt like it was a great place to hold that one,” she said.

Nature Explorers, Dino Dig and Go Wild! are all over with, she said, and the classes were full for all of them.

During the Lakes Festival July 9, she said they had 300 to 400 children participate in all of the events they had planned. The turnout for the blues concerts all day was smaller, though the music was good, she said.

This Friday is the country concert with headliner Tyler Farr. Opening act Robyn Ottolini takes the stage at 6:30 p.m. at Central Park Glover Pavilion, with Farr on stage at 8 p.m.

July 29 is the Family Carnival. 

As part of his maintenance report, Gardner said they had to paint the inside of the Richardson-Dubois Park men’s restroom because of some spray-painted vandalism.

Board President Steve Haines noted that the vandalism happens “every year.” 

Finally, Plummer reported to the Board that two bids were received for the Center Lake Pavilion remodel project. They were opened at Friday’s Board of Works meeting. It is hoped the bid will be awarded at the Aug. 5 Board of Works meeting. 

The first bid was from R. Yoder Construction, Nappanee, for $2,239,417.93. The second base bid was for $2,468,000 from CME Corp., Fort Wayne.

At the April Warsaw Parks and Recreation Board meeting, Thallemer announced a donor pledged $2.5 million toward the renovation. The name of the donor is not expected to be released until the Park Board approves a memorandum of understanding with the donor, which hasn’t happened yet. The last public estimate of the remodel was $3.1 million