Milford Town Council Approves Fire Services Contract
Milford Town Council Approves Fire Services Contract
Posted
Denise Fedorow-
Milford Town Council Approves Fire Services ContractMILFORD – Milford Town Council met for their first meeting of the year Monday and approved the fire services contract for 2022.
The contract with Milford Volunteer Fire Department is split with Van Buren Township, with each entity paying $34,775 for the year, payable in quarterly installments.
The Council approved the contract with Doug Ruch abstaining as he is a member of the fire department.
The Council also approved an EMS agreement with Lutheran EMS. Last month, the Council asked Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall to see if the agreement could be renewed annually instead of automatically renewing. Gall said they were fine with that. It is a no-cost contract and there are no changes from the 2021 contract.
The Council held its election of officers for 2022. Councilman Bob Cockburn made the motion to keep the officers the same with Ruch as president and Kenneth Long as vice president. The Council approved.
Street, Water and Park Superintendent Stephen Marquart shared that it’s time to get another PASER rating by USI Consulting and doing so helps them receive Community Crossing funds. The cost is $6,000 and is good for two years.
Long asked how much it cost last year and was told $5,000. Long said he just wondered and felt the cost was a “good return on investment.”
Marquart told the Council he was receiving calls about American with Disabilities Act sidewalks – especially on Fourth and Henry streets. Marquart said it is ADA compliant but the concerns he’s hearing is about some worried a person or wheelchair could drop off. He said he talked with someone at Pulver Asphalt and they could install handrails at a cost of $1,580.
The Council approved taking that action as long as Marquart verifies that the rails will be compliant with ADA standards.
Marquart also received approval to renew the cellular router service for 2022 with B.L. Anderson at a cost of $1,200.
Since the onset of COVID and the governor’s emergency orders, the town of Milford hasn’t collected late fees on utility bills. The Council had discussion on Monday whether to continue the moratorium.
Gall said, “I can tell you that people appreciate it but we’re one of the only (towns) who still doesn’t collect the late fees.”
Council members wanted to know if people were taking advantage of it, how many were truly in need and how much money the town is losing.
Gall said she didn’t think people were taking advantage – many didn’t realize they weren’t charging late fees. She said there were people with real needs but she didn’t know percentages.
“Technically, we would use that money for town business,” she said. “But it hasn’t put us in the red.”
Cockburn said, “My point of view is if we could get by – I hope most who don’t pay on time have a good reason – but I think we should keep it as it is until we really need the money. There’s enough mess in the world right now.”
Long said they could always look at it month to month but the Council agreed to continue not charging late fees for January.
Gall said she could compile a report with more details for next month.
In other business, the Council:
• Approved paying one-third of the pagers for the fire department at a cost not to exceed $7,000. Ruch thanked the county for their portion.
• Approved paying the annual workmen’s compensation insurance at a cost of $15,315, which is less than the previous year.
• Passed resolution 2022-1 which declares certain funds dormant and closes them out.
• Was reminded that this is an election year so they need to file between Jan. 5 to Feb. 4 if they plan to run.
• Heard the town needs to make a presentation on Feb. 1 for trail grant through Indiana Department of Transportation.
