Mayor Talks To Local Business Owners About Stellar
WARSAW — This morning, June 20, Warsaw Mayor Joseph Thallemer met with local business owners at the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce to discuss the recent stellar nomination. Thallemer started the presentation by giving a brief overview of the projects and how each of them would impact the community.
“Our Stellar initiative is essentially connecting Warsaw and Winona Lake through Market Street and Argonne Road,” said Thallemer. “We are going to do these projects anyway, but it would be really nice to have access to these funds.”
The business owners who were present were able to bring up concerns with the proposed Stellar projects. Some of the concerns included traffic, parking and accessibility. Thallemer stressed each of the projects are still in the planning stages and concerns can only be worked on if the city is aware of them.
“This is about sitting down with the details of all the projects and making sure they work with everyone,” assured Thallemer.
If Warsaw and Winona Lake are chosen as a Stellar Community, they will be notified Aug. 18, during the Indiana State Fair. At that point the cities will receive about $6.5 million for the projects identified. Each project must be started within three years of the designation and completed within five years.
Members of the state will do a site visit to Warsaw and Winona Lake on July 21. The site visit will be one of the last chances for the community to show that Warsaw and Winona Lake are deserving of this nomination. Thallemer and Rob Parker, chamber CEO and president, invited all businesses and homes located on Market Street and Argonne Road to show their support through signs and window displays during the site visit.
Mayor Thallemer has also invited everyone to write letters of support for the Stellar Projects to send to the state. These letters can talk about specific projects and how they would impact the community or why someone thinks the community deserves the Stellar nomination. Letters are due this week and can be sent to the mayor’s office or the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce.