Milford Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall opens one of two bids for replacing the town’s water meters at the town council meeting Monday, July 8. The council also approved grant administration from MACOG and heard a request for support from the fire department this month. Photo by Lilli Dwyer.

By Lilli Dwyer
InkFreeNews

MILFORD — Milford Town Council received two bids for the replacement of the town’s water meters at the Monday, July 8, meeting.

The first bid was from Everett J. Prescott of Fort Wayne for $388,205.83. The second bid from Neptune Equipment Company, or NECO, of Cincinnati for $407,157. The bids were taken under advisement and were given to Ryan Lareau of Commonwealth Engineers, who will provide his letter of recommendation before the next meeting.

The Michiana Council of Governments is the grant administrator for both the water meter replacement and the town’s economic recovery plan. The council approved a resolution authorizing MACOG to submit their grant application to the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The OCRA grant is for $33,000, with the town committing to match $10,000 of that in local ARPA funds.

As part of the economic recovery plan, a consulting firm for a downtown revitalization study has been chosen. The downtown revitalization committee received six statements of qualification. After deliberation, the committee chose USI Consultants. Town council approved their decision. The next step will be contract negotiation for the downtown master plan study with UI Consultants.

Departmental reports started off with a request for support from Assistant Fire Chief Brian Haines in light of new potential legislation. OSHA is updating the fire brigade section of their standards. According to Haines, the new requirements would place a great financial burden on the department, as well as many volunteer and smaller career departments around the nation.

“The cost to be able to stay up with this would mean our budget would have to be 1 1/2 to two times the amount it is currently. … Some of the simple things are physicals for the firefighters would go from a $3,900 per year cost to just shy of $50,000 per year. But we can get away with that if we’re not around contaminants or carcinogens more than 15 times a year, and that includes walking by the exhaust in the truck when the truck’s running,” he explained.

Haines also cited new training requirements as a problem.

“A new firefighter will have up to 300 hours worth of training before he can even step foot on a fire scene. We’re a volunteer service, we’re not getting paid to begin with, you’re not gonna get people to do it. … Some of the training they’re asking for is not even offered in the state of Indiana,” he said.

He added, “it’s not just us, volunteer fire service makes up 72% of the fire service (nationwide).”

The Kosciusko County Firemen’s Association has already drafted a letter to OSHA detailing the financial situation and their concerns.

Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall agreed to draft a letter from the council on behalf of the department. Vice President Ken Long also encouraged Haines to approach the local press with the issue in order to get comments from the public.

A summary of the new regulations is available at nvfc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/What-OSHA-Standards-Means-to-Fire-Departments.pdf.

The deadline for comments is Monday, July 22. Comments can be submitted to regulations.gov/commenton/OSHA-2007-0073-0118.

Police Marshal Derek Kreider gave the council the department’s stats for the first six months of 2024, as compared to the full year of 2023. At the end of 2023, the department made 33 arrests, of which 24 were misdemeanors and nine were felonies. There were 124 reports made to the department and 250 citations given.

As of June 2024, the department has so far made 66 arrests, consisting of 50 misdemeanors and 16 felonies. There have been 112 reports made and 247 citations given.

“We stepped up our patrol and stepped up trying … our best to be more proactive,” said Kreider.

He also reported on two directed patrols made by special request at 1250N and Heide Lane, which is a 30 MPH zone. The hour-long patrols, run June 28 and July 6, revealed a 36-38 MPH average speed. One ticket was issued on July 6 for 46 MPH in a 30 MPH zone.

Wastewater Superintendent Mark Brubaker gave an update on transitioning the Turkey Creek lift station to a gravity system. A homeowner has signed off on the easement and work on the gravity system is contracted with Siteworks for $25,424.50. Brubaker also asked for approval to contract R&R Excavating for storm sewer cleaning and camera inspection for $295 an hour, at a minimum of eight hours work, and 1,115 feet of camera line at $1.20 per foot. The council approved, with the stipulation that the job was not to exceed a cost of $6,000. The cost will depend on the hours taken by R&R to do the job.

In water department news, Superintendent Steven Marquart asked for approval on a four-day cleaning for Well No. 3 to restore lost capacity, followed by an inspection. The council approved service from Peerless Midwest for $17,800. Marquart also reported seeking quotes for power washing the water tower, which helps preserve the paint job.

Hydrant flushing will take place Wednesday, July 24, and Thursday, July 25. Any abnormalities in water flow will subside after flushing is complete.

For the street department, Marquart asked that $2,000 be moved the local roads and streets fund to the street department fund. This is to cover any potential overages after Community Crossings Grant funding is received. The council approved the money to be spent if need be.

The council also approved:

• Street closures starting at 2 p.m. Friday, July 19, for Food Truck Friday, as well as the same street closures for all upcoming Food Truck Friday events this year.

• The Milford Redevelopment Commission’s infrastructure purchase agreement with Miller Brothers.

• Setting fall cleanup dates for Sept. 26-28.

• Transferring $46,760 of reserve money for yearly bond payment.

• Setting this year’s budget meeting dates for Monday, July 29 and Tuesday, July 30.

• Payment of the fire department’s insurance for $10,141.

A utility credit for a minimum water payment, $47.91, was denied. Two other credits were approved.

The next Milford Town Council meeting will be Monday, Aug. 12.