Text and Photos
By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — The Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department’s operations have moved to a central location once again.

The Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce had a ribbon-cutting for the department’s new office building on Wednesday, May 17. It’s located at 123 E. Fort Wayne St., Warsaw, near Central Park and close to where the old parks office was on Canal Street.

Its opening means parks staff no longer have to double up in offices at the Pete Thorn Center on Park Avenue, where they had been since 2019.

Parks staff and city officials gathered for a small ceremony before the ribbon was cut. Among the speakers was Parks and Recreation Department Superintendent Larry Plummer.

“I can’t tell you how ecstatic I am,” he said. “This has been a lot of years coming, and I’d like to thank Mayor Joe Thallemer, the city council, the park board (and others that helped with the project).”

“We’re so fortunate that when our other building went down, I told Joe how important it was for us to be in this location, the accessibility to the public,” he continued. “A lot of our events and things go on in this area … and it’s just a dream come true.”

Thallemer then spoke, mentioning how the building was in an “up-and-coming neighborhood if you will, with the Buffalo Street project getting some traction.”

He said the city constructed the facility through means of build-operate-transfer, by which private entities build a project, then transfer ownership to a government entity. Winona Lake used the same process for the Miller Sunset Pavilion.

It’s the first time Warsaw used BOT for a project, said Thallemer.

“I couldn’t be happier with the outcome,” he said. “I appreciate the parks department, their patience, the staff. They were all moved into tighter corners for a long time and never complained.”

“(Warsaw Park Board President) Steve (Haines) and the park board, we wrestled through all this BOT stuff and figured it out,” he said. “Council members — There’s a lot of them here. I appreciate them coming — They had to make that initial decision on the BOT, and it was just a group effort.”

Haines talked.

“I want to thank Larry and the crew. They’ve had pretty cramped offices,” he said. “Like the mayor said, they’ve never complained or anything, and I think we’ve done a really good job here, and I’d like to thank the mayor for all the work you’ve put into it.”

City Council President Jack Wilhite then spoke.

“I think the BOT process was a real learning experience. It was a very positive experience, and I look forward to doing more like that in the future,” he said.

The project cost $3.6 million, Plummer told InkFreeNews, and the city is paying for it out of budgeted and bond money.

Thallemer told InkFreeNews later that it was a “beautiful building (on) a couple of empty lots in an area that we’re trying to redevelop.”

“This is just a perfect spot for a perfect building in our perfect park,” he added.

Haines told InkFreeNews that the parks building has been one in a series of projects the department has done more recently, including “the shoreline restoration, improvements to the campground … (and) the work going on at (what was once known as Center Lake) Pavilion.”

“We’re really happy with the way everything’s going,” he said.

Wilhite told InkFreeNews that the building is “quite the upgrade.”

“I love the fact that they’ve got the office space that they need,” he said. “It’s built around being able to be used. It’s a very utilitarian-type of building, and yet it looks nice.”

“I think it’s going to be a real nice asset to the parks,” he continued.

Parks and Recreation Director Stephanie Schaefer told InkFreeNews she was “happy” to be working out of the building.

“I think being centrally located to a lot of my events in the park will be huge for us, and looking out at Central Park, obviously it’s a beautiful sight,” she said.

Plummer told InkFreeNews that regular staff moved into the facility “about a month ago” and maintenance staff should be moved in by the end of next month.

The more than 6,000-square-foot building includes storage space and a lunch room, as well as an area to work on department vehicles and wash bay for them.

The public is welcome to check out the building during an open house from noon to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 20.