KABS General Manager Kristin Rude came to Milford Town Council’s meeting Tuesday, Oct. 15 to inform the public about the service. Photo by Lilli Dwyer.

By Lilli Dwyer
InkFreeNews

MILFORD — Kristin Rude, general manager of Kosciusko Area Bus Service, appeared at Milford Town Council’s Tuesday, Oct. 15 meeting to inform the public about the KABS service.

KABS is a countywide, curb-to-curb public transportation service that operates through Cardinal Services, but can be used by anyone.

“As long as that ride begins and originates within the county, KABS can provide that transportation based on availability,” Rude explained.

Buses run from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. An out-of-county fare structure was recently established, which is limited to 300 miles round trip.

Rude also mentioned KABS provides rides to medical appointments anywhere in the state through Medicaid and all vehicles are handicap accessible.

“We have a couple in the Milford area that are frequent fliers, and then we don’t get many other calls. I think that there’s more need that we aren’t addressing, maybe people aren’t aware,” she said.

More information is available at cardinalservices.org/services/kabs. Residents can schedule a ride by calling (574) 267-4990.

Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall informed the council about the final Food Truck Friday of the year on Friday, Oct. 18. Street closures for the event will begin at 2 p.m.

The fire department gave a reminder to the public to have their heating systems checked now that the weather is cooling down.

“If you can’t get it done professionally, at least pull the filter out, take a vacuum, sweep the thing out and get everything ready to go,” said Assistant Chief Todd Haines.

Residents should also check their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, Haines went on, and residents may contact the fire department at (574) 658-4141 with any questions. He mentioned the department has about 15 to 20 detectors left to give to residents who may not have one.

In police department news, Marshal Thomas Waikel announced the resignation of officer Travis Bayes and received permission from the council to hire a replacement. He stated he will be looking for someone who has already been through police academy.

Superintendent Steven Marquart reported the stormwater line repairs in North Park are now finished and the ground has been reseeded.

In water department news, new water meters for the town have been ordered. It is not yet known when installation will begin. Marquart stated if residents receive a letter from Neptune Equipment, they should fill it out with a time to have their water meter installed.

For the street department, Marquart asked for approval to pay $1,172.95 to Dean’s Ag Repair for a blown radiator on the town’s backhoe, which the council approved.

He also reminded residents to keep their leaves out of the street and to keep the leaf piles free of rocks, sticks, and other debris to avoid damaging town machinery during leaf collection.

For the park department, Marquart reported they are in the process of closing things up and the Waubee Lake pier will be removed the last week of October.

He asked if the council wished to seek quotes for security cameras for the community building, a topic that had come up at a special meeting Oct. 4. President Doug Ruch stated security cameras are “more of a wish list item,” and did not ask him to seek quotes.

Lastly, Marquart announced the resignation of town employee Anthony Hicks. The town is currently seeking applications for a replacement.

The council took their final action on the 2025 budget ordinance. The budget has been set at $2,459,989 with an additional $275,000 in ARPA funds and a tax rate of 1.2429%.

Council member Jim Smiley did not agree to sign the budget ordinance at first, stating he felt some items within it, like the fire department’s HVAC system, had not been thoroughly discussed.

Gall explained, “you’ll approve the actual agreement later. The only thing that we’re asking for the budget in the fire department is a certain amount to be able to spend up to. We’ll discuss the fire department agreement specifically, and we can decide to do whatever we want but it can’t be more than what we put in the budget. … In the budget (ordinance), we just ask for the permission to spend the money, and then you guys decide, per item that comes up, what you’re going to spend.”

The council then took another vote and approved signing the budget ordinance.

Gall gave an update on progress of the Waubee Lake Trail. The trail is still in the preliminary engineering stage, as an archaeological report was required and the town is still waiting on the report; however, it has been found there is no railroad interference with the trail, so the town will not have the expense of adding flaggers.

In other business, the council also approved:

• Payment of utility credits for a total of $704.46.

• Office closures on Nov. 11 for Veterans Day.

• Keeping President Doug Ruch as the council member on the downtown project committee.

The next Milford Town Council Meeting will be 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12.