Milford Town Council officially approved the pilot program to allow a school resource officer to patrol Milford School during the first half of the school year. The Wawasee Community School Corporation approved the program last month. (See related story)

Officers on duty at the school do not have to be from the Milford Police Department and can be pulled into action in the community during an emergency situation. Syracuse Police Department and Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department officers have already expressed interest in assisting in the pilot program.

The council and the school board will re-evaluate the necessity for a school resource officer, as well as the pilot program as a whole, over winter break.

In other police business, with the new 2014 SUV patrol car on its way for the Milford Police Department, the question of what to do with the old 2007 patrol car arose during Monday night’s town council meeting.

Since the vehicle is already outfitted, striped and ready for use, the council voted to keep the vehicle for reserve officer usage to free up the new vehicle and the 2008 squad car for officer use. The hope is that with the five reserve officers instead driving the older 2007 vehicle, the new 2014 SUV will collect less mileage and last longer. The new patrol car is expected to arrive within the week from Kerlin Motors. It will be painted by T-Zone in Milford and outfitted by R & B Sales in Pierceton.

The town council has agreed to send Milford Officer Travis Marsh to a polygraph training conference in Orlando, Fla., and to send Town Marshal Rich Miotto to the Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police in Indianapolis. At the IACP, this year’s topic will be “Are Indiana Schools Safe for Our Children?” Chiefs will be presented with the ALICE training program by it’s founder, Greg Crane. Miotto believes that the training provided through ALICE will become the mandatory response to all school violence situations in the coming years.

Other topics discussed at Milford Town Council include roadwork and lift station repairs, and extending the life of the north tax increment financing district of Milford.

The next meeting of the Milford Town Council is scheduled for 7 p.m. Sept. 9 at Milford Town Hall.