Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
MILFORD - Milford Town Council members heard from several members of the public, including receiving a replica award from Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO).
Peggy Simmons, KEDCO chief executive officer, told the council, “Tonight is a moment of pride, not for one person or business but the entire county as Kosciusko County was named Community of the Year for 2025-2026 by the Indiana State Chamber of Commerce. This is the first time in history the award was given to a county instead of a city or town.”
She said that “doesn’t happen by accident — this award belongs to all of us — every business owner, educator, leader and every resident who chooses to call Kosciusko County home and make it better.”
Simmons said it’s not just about celebrating the award, but what it represents. “It represents momentum, belief and what’s possible when everyone aligns a shared vision for the future.”
Simmons said KEDCO made a deliberate decision to bring a replica award to all 14 communities and said it was more than a symbol, it’s a reminder “that your community helped earn this recognition. It’s a call to go even further. As we present this, we do it with great pride and a challenge — let’s continue to build, to collaborate and prove every day that Kosciusko County is not just community of the year, but community for the future.”
Language Matters Grant
Lucas Fonseca, of Language Matters, also had a “gift” for the town of Milford. He said he hopes to “continue the good news” and said he was there not to ask for money but to talk about a grant opportunity.
He explained they’ve been helping the city of Warsaw with non-English speaking people for a couple of years and they recently got a grant, which would allow them to expand to three other communities and Milford was one of those communities. He said they’ll be able to do everything they’ve been doing with Warsaw in Milford with the cost completely covered for six months.
He said they’d set up a call center with an on-demand phone number. They could call the police department or any town department that needs help with non-English speakers. They’ll also train employees how to use the resources and support the community and they’ll do outreaches, “So the people who would benefit the most are aware of it,” he said.
He asked the council for approval to move forward to working with Milford. He said the call center would be available five days a week from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Council President Doug Ruch asked if there were after-hours service available, citing a recent experience with a truck driver who had an accident and no one could communicate with them. Fonseca said they had other services for after hours, but it wasn’t included in this package. He said they did have text messaging also, but usually not the best in an emergency situation. According to a document Fonseca handed out, the text messaging includes Spanish, Haitian, Creole, Chuj, Burmese, French, German and Korean.
He also said if it’s a complex situation the town could delegate it to them to communicate rather than trying to go back and forth.
Councilman Jim Smiley asked the town marshal and clerk-treasurer if this was something that was needed. Town Marshal Thomas Waikel said it occurs frequently and they’ve managed, but he wasn’t opposed to additional resources.
Councilman Ken Long expressed concern about taking town employees away from their duties to be trained on this system. Fonseca said it was one 30-minute training and for employees who couldn’t make that, there was some online trainings.
Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall said she thought there was no harm in trying it for six months and if it’s not used or they don’t like it, they’ve not lost anything.
“We have this issue a lot — we use Google Translator, but that’s not ideal,” she said, giving an example of a situation they had and said often it’s an area planning or zoning issue, which can be complicated so to have someone who can communicate in their language would be helpful.
“If it helps five people, it’s worth it,” she said.
Ruch and Smiley voted to approve moving forward, Long voted against it, but the motion passed. In the document Fonseca passed out, it stated that the value of the package they were offering for six months, October 2026 to March 2027, was $3,955 funded through the city of Warsaw Kosciusko Community Foundation Grant.
Commonwealth Water Project
Ryan LaReau, of Commonwealth Engineers, was present with pay application #14 on Division A water treatment plant and said it included concrete, pipe coating, sanitary sewer work and site grading at a cost of $49,364.55 and they recommended it be paid.
LaReau also had an engineering amendment, task order 2026-02, that he explained would use engineering funds not used. There were two tasks that had deductions because they didn’t spent the full amount. LaReau suggested using it for cyber security vulnerability assessment, which is now a requirement from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and also an update to the water asset management plan for $764.
The cybersecurity vulnerability assessment would need to be done by end of November, and the asset management plan would probably be done after the water project is completed.
Smiley wanted confirmation this was not new funds.
LaReau responded, “It’s reallocating unspent dollars and saving $764.”
The council approved both the pay application and the task order.
Attorney’s Report
Town attorney Jay Rigdon had two follow-up reports for the council.
On the trail real estate acquisitions, he said they are now completed as the town now owns the final two parcels, they have the titles and the state has certified ownership.
Secondly, he was contacted by the property owner of the condemned property asking for a 30-day extension to get his son-in-law’s farm equipment removed. Long said, “It’s gone on long enough, personally, I think the order needs to be executed.”
Smiley said, “I agree, it’s been two years.”
Gall said she didn’t see the harm in giving him 30 days because they’d have to find contractors to do the demolition if he didn’t and they’d have to approve it after their next meeting. Rigdon said they could also deny the extension but say the town wouldn’t immediately demolish the structure.
After more discussion, the council decided to have Rigdon inform the property owner the extension was not approved.
2027 Budget Ordinance & Salary Ordinance Amendment
The council approved ordinance for the 2027 budget. Gall said the budget is $2,975,914, the levy is $920,155 and the tax rate is $1.1777 per $100 assessed valuation.
The council also approved the salary ordinance amendment to reflect two new employees’ rates for general laborers. One new employee’s annual salary is $40,560 and the other is $45,000. The salaries are split 40/30/30 between motor vehicle highway, water and wastewater department budgets.
Utility Department
Utility Superintendent Steven Marquart announced Angela Heltzel was retiring and her last day will be Oct. 15. He was seeking approval to hire two new employees as general laborers, Ian Waikel and Matthew Pettiette, both with an Oct. 19 start date.
The council approved the new hires pending pre-employment forms are completed.
The council approved paying Middlebury Electric for pulling pumps and repairing an alarm system at a cost of $950 for labor and $1,222.60 for parts for a total of $2,072.60.
Marquart informed the council that they had an IDEM violation that needs to be addressed concerning exercising valves for the main line, hydrant valves and other major valves. He said only M.E. Simpson is able to do the work and he received three quotes from them, one for completing the work in one year at a cost of $32,500, a two-year option or a four-year option which would be $9,750 for the first two years and $6,500 for the last two years. No matter which option, the total remains the same, it just spreads the cost out. The council decided to go with the four-year plan knowing that valves will need to be replaced, too.
In other business, the council:
• Approved resident Mark Wray’s request to put in a stone drive from the alley to his shed.
• Approved putting up a wall brochure display case for service clubs. Rigdon said his firm would pay for it as a donation. The council said if it is not maintained in a neat and orderly manner it may be removed again.
• Approved a request from LITE Recovery to close Catherine Street from the alley to Henry Street on Oct. 24 for a Halloween event with trunk and treat and hayrides from 4-8 pm.
• Approved updating the police department’s ride along and waiver policy.
• Approved payment for computer at the new water treatment plant at a cost of $2,607.80 through Microbyte.
• Approved adding keyless access to the back door at town hall for $2,309.74 through Prime Doors, Goshen.
• Approved paying Commonwealth invoice of $35,311.96.
• Approved employee review date meeting on Monday, Nov. 30 from 6 to 9 pm.
• Approved having Gall plan the employee Christmas party.
• Heard the fire department chicken barbecue was a big success.
• Heard it’s leave pickup time and leaves should be placed at the curb in narrow strips with no rocks, sticks or trash in the piles. Keep piles away from vehicles, poles and leaves will not be picked up in alleys.
• Head fall clean up was a big success with 100 visitors and collected five 30-gallon dumpsters and one 40-yard scrap metal.
