Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
MILFORD – A public hearing was held for the proposed $2.98 million 2027 budget at Monday’s Milford Council meeting.
Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall read the proposed budget, which totals $2,975,914 with a maximum levy of $920,615 and an advertised tax rate of $1.177 per $100 of assessed value.
A resident had questions about whether the township’s fees for pavilion rentals, for example, help fund the park. Gall said those fees go into a separate account that can only be used for parks. She said the park budget comes from the general budget which gets funds from property tax, local income tax, gas taxes, etc. She also said the township gives the town $750 annually for the parks, which also goes into that separate fund.
There were no other questions, and no action was taken on the proposed budget.
Another public hearing was held for the Americans with Disabilities Act transition plan regarding public right-of-ways.
Utility Superintendent Steven Marquart said the plan “gives a description of the plan for street crossings and so forth.”
A resident asked what he meant by “so forth” and he explained if someone came to them to say the doorway of the community building wasn’t wide enough for them to get in, for example, the plan lists those types of things and how to address them.
Asked if there was a timeline, Marquart said they needed to show they were making progress in order to be eligible for some grants.
Councilman Ken Long said, “There are nine intersections that need to be addressed and 27 have been fixed, so the majority are ADA compliant. Steven’s done a great job getting them fixed.”
During the regular part of the meeting, town attorney Jay Rigdon reported there has been movement on two outstanding issues. On the Miller litigation, he reported there is now an order from the court to demolish the property within 30 days. He said if the landowner doesn’t do that, the town can demolish and add the cost to the real estate taxes.
On the trail condemnation project, he said one landowner didn’t want to participate so appraisals came back and once the court receives the appraisals, which he said were in the neighborhood of $30,000, the clerk can write the check and then the town will have ownership of all the properties it needs for the trail project.
Gabrielle Biciunas, with Commonwealth Engineers, was present with pay applications and a change order on the water projects.
She had a request for payment for partial pay on Division A, which is the water treatment plan in the amount of $135,312.80 to R. Yoder Construction. She also had a pay application for Division B, which is the water main project, and she said it was a release of retainage final payment in the amount of $43,480 to Selge Construction.
The council approved both pay applications.
She also asked for a change order for Division B — it had four items listed, including a final quantity adjustment, which resulted in a credit but there were other add-ons. The total amount of the change order was an increase of $40,621.30. The council approved the change order.
Community Crossing
Beth Johnson, with USI Consulting, was present to get approval to apply for the Community Crossing Matching Grant Program. She said it’s an 80-20 match program and the town’s match of 20% is $40,852.74.
Councilman Jim Smiley asked if that amount was budgeted and Marquart said yes and no — he budgeted $30,000. Gall said the balance of $10,852.74 would come from local road and streets fund. The council approved applying for the grant.
Streets included in the plan are Emeline, East, Alexis, Lehman, Jeremy, Heidi and Michelle Streets.
Health Insurance
The town health insurance representative was present and gave the town a couple of options.
Currently, they have health savings plans, and the town is contributing an amount for each employee. She said that it might be great for some employees, but not for others, especially those who take monthly medications. She said going back to a co-pay program might be better. She would like to survey the employees and get their feedback, however, so she suggested renewing their current plan for this year, giving her the time to survey the employees.
The council agreed.
Resolutions Approved
Gall presented two resolutions for approval. Resolution 2026-7 is to allocate a tax increment finance (TIF) district area 3 in order to capture those taxes. She explained that TIF 1 recently expired as they expire after 20 years.
She said the Redevelopment Commission wants to re-TIF the area that includes Chore-Time Brock and areas to the north where growth is taking place.
Once the council approves the resolution, it will go back to the Redevelopment Commission, and they’ll hold a public hearing on Oct. 13.
The council approved.
They also approved Resolution 2026-8, approving the ADA Transition Plan.
Utilities Department
Marquart asked for and received approval to have preventative maintenance done on the chlorine and Sulphur dioxide monitoring equipment at an amount not-to-exceed $7,197.08 to Living Waters. He said that would be “a worse-case scenario.”
In a related matter, he asked to have Living Waters also test equipment before the new water treatment plant, also not to exceed $3,863.27. Even though it would only be for a few months he thought it was important for safety reasons. The council agreed.
He also received approval to have Peerless Midwest to treat well number 3 at a cost of $7,475.
In other business, the council:
• Approved advertising for a laborer position at the utility department to replace Robert Murphy.
• Approved having Todd Haines pursue his Class II certification.
• Approved replacing the air conditioning unit at the community building as an emergency by Foyle’s Plumbing for $7,324.92.
• Approved ordering 12 more residential meters from Utility Supply for $4,971.48.
• Approved Marquart using the town truck to attend WT3 classes and reimbursing him for lodging, travel and meals.
• Heard the parks season is coming to an end, lifeguards are back at school, and people should swim at own risk.
• Paid a Commonwealth Engineer invoice for $33,905.90.
• Approved an interlocal terminal service agreement for 911 calls for $641.25 for 2027.
• Set trick-or-treat hours for Oct. 31 from 6 to 8 p.m.
• Approved a group using the community building’s parking lot for trunk or treat, if they should ask to do so.
• Heard the next meeting will be held Oct. 13 due to the Columbus Day holiday on Monday.
