By David Slone
Times-Union
WARSAW — With 1990s band Everclear headlining the free Rockin’ for Riley concert at Warsaw Central Park at 8 p.m. June 21, hours for Third Friday downtown will be reduced by an hour.
Main Street Warsaw Executive Director Rob Parker went before the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety on Friday to request the closure of Center Street, between Lake and Indiana streets, and Buffalo Street, between Main and Market streets, for June’s Third Friday. The road closures will be from 3 to 8 p.m. – instead of 3:30 to 9 p.m. – with Third Friday being from 5 to 7 p.m. Third Friday usually goes until 8 p.m.
“We’re closing a little bit early so everyone can go down to the concert,” Parker said. “We’re working with ABATE (American Bikers Aimed Toward Education), as requested. It should be a pretty sizeable event, we’re getting a lot of interest. So, I just wanted to be sure that we could get everybody in a little bit earlier than normal. A half hour is all we’re asking.”
Third Friday will include a motorcycle show and events.
Everclear is most known for their ’90s hits like “Father of Mine,” “Santa Monica,” “Wonderful” and “I Will Buy You a New Life.”
Opening act for the rock concert is The Michael Weber Show at 6:30 p.m.
Parker also presented a road closure on behalf of the Kosciusko County Historical Society for 2 to 9 p.m. June 21 for their Museum Under the Big Top event. That closure includes the 100 block of North Indiana Street in front of the museum, between East Main Street and the alley.
Mayor Jeff Grose asked if the KCHS event was part of Third Friday. Parker said it’s separate, but because they’re on the same date, they’re being promoted together. Third Friday also will be a shorter time frame than the KCHS event.
“Our intent, as you know, is to work with the Parks Department on the concert series to get people here, and then move them to the concert series. That’s what we want to do – get people eating in the downtown, maybe having a nice cocktail in the downtown with DORA (Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area) and then going down to the park to watch the concert,” Parker said.
Museum Under the Big Top is the Historical Society’s event in conjunction with its circus display this year.
The board approved the road closures 2-0, with Councilwoman Diane Quance absent.
The only sealed quote for 2025 fuel for the Warsaw Police Department also was opened during the board meeting. It came from Lassus Brothers. It was for 85,000 gallons of 87 octane unleaded at $2.75 per gallon.
The WPD is paying about $2.98 per gallon this year, and the price of 87 octane unleaded at the pump as of Friday is around $3.35 per gallon.
After reviewing the quote, Whitaker recommended the Board of Works accept the bid from Lassus at $2.75 per gallon, which they did.
In other business, the board approved:
• A contract between the city and Language Matters for 18 months for a total of $73,080, as requested by Grose. The agreement will continue the city’s current document management and translation services, as well as expand the Spanish call center to eight hours a day, five days a week.
• The outdoor seating area in front of Maggie’s Coffee, 124 S. Buffalo St., as presented by City Planner Justin Taylor.
• Five travel requests as presented by Human Resource Director Denny Harlan. They include Harlan going to Richmond June 5-6 for the IMPACT summer meeting at $474.56; Kelly Geiger and Lynne Christiansen, clerk’s office, going to the LMCT annual conference and State Board of Accounts School in South Bend June 23-26 at $1,067 and $1,240, respectively; Warsaw Police Department Capt. Joel Beam going to the COPS Traumas of Law Enforcement in Indianapolis July 7-10 at $690; and Kelly Bradley, WPD, going to ALICE instructor certification in Crown Point Aug. 5-6 at $984.
• The new hire and change in payroll report as presented by Harlan.
Six items in that report were for the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory, including the position change of Jeremy Williams to fire marshal; promotion of Tony Shilling to lieutenant; two new full-time probationary firefighter hires, Kegan O’Brien and David Holladay; Delton Moore as a part-time probationary firefighter while the city waits for his Public Employee Retirement Fund (PERF) paperwork; and hiring part-time probationary firefighter Myles Scott to full time.
There also were two new hires at the street department – Cameron Craig as full-time laborer and Jeff Thompson as full-time equipment operator – and a wage increase for line technician Joe Fretz at the airport to $22.68 per hour.
