WARSAW — During a short meeting on Monday, Jan. 23, the board of public works and safety approved consulting engineering services from Lawson-Fisher Associates for the dike located on the northwest side of Center Lake.

A dike is an embankment built to prevent flooding. The dike has existed for a number of years, but no design plans have been uncovered that detail its origin. The dike is on property that is not currently owned by the City of Warsaw, and will most likely, in time, fail due to lack of proper maintenance.

A failure would result in an emergency repair situation in order to protect Center Lake and the areas surrounding. The proposed consulting will uncover the options available to replace or maintain the dike along with estimated costs. The board approved the consulting.

“Sounds like a necessary expense,” noted board member George Clemens.

Warsaw Mayor Joseph Thallemer added that it was, “really a public safety issue.”

In other news:

• Downtown street closures were approved for the 2017 First Friday dates, along with the Optimist Car Show on June 4 and Spooktacular on Oct. 27.
• The park board presented a Kosciusko County Community Foundation grant to help fund the 2017 Central Park Concert Series and a contract with Mello Productions to provide balloon artists for the 2017 Light Up The Night event. Both were approved.
• The planning department presented two pay applications for the Market Street and Buffalo Street projects. Both were approved.
• Two street department employees received compensation for completing their CDL license requirements.
• Ryan Moore with the Warsaw Police Department received a promotion to Detective Sergeant.