Milford Gets Four New Reserve Officers
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jordan Fouts-
Three of the reserves were sworn in Monday: Angie Howard, Cody Ong and Bryan Starr. The fourth, Samuel Fowler, was unable to attend the council meeting.
The hires are the result of a long process, Police Chief Rich Miotto noted, adding that part of that was his selectiveness in choosing candidates.
“I don’t like to hire someone just because they like to watch ‘CSI,’” he remarked.
He said the reserves will undergo 40 hours of pre-basic training locally, but won’t be put on duty until they’ve finished reserve academy next year. They might be paired with a regular officer for patrols during Milford Fest May 23, Miotto said.
Council approved several things in preparation for the fest, including street closures that weekend and an ordinance allowing residents to participate in the townwide garage sale without it counting against their three allowed sales per year. Forms for vendors and festival pageants are available in the town office, council heard.
Miotto also said during his report that residents should be wary of home improvement scams this time of year, such as a stranger showing up offering to fix their roof or paint their barn.
Also Monday, Tim Wall with the Troyer Group answered further questions from council on a proposed $12,700 cost to draft a master plan for Milford. The plan would address the feasibility of jointly housing police and fire services, and would also serve as a “kick in the pants” for the town to pursue development plans, Wall remarked.
Council will make a decision on the study after getting the Milford Redevelopment Commission involved.
And council members vowed Monday to follow up on a list of at least 11 properties in need of cleanup or teardown. The list includes homes damaged by fire but never repaired and garages left half-built, some of the issues decades-old.
Town attorney Jay Rigdon talked council through the process of addressing the properties, which starts with a building inspector and a decision by a building commissioner on what property owners have to do and how long they have before action is taken against them.
He cautioned council members that they can’t make a decision on the fate of a property until the building commissioner gives a recommendation, because the property owner must first have a fair and impartial hearing.
Council members admitted to the full audience that they’ve been lax in addressing problem properties.
“We’ve probably let you down,” Councilman Dan Cochran remarked.
Also Monday, council:
• Approved up to $5,000 for purchase and installation of equipment for a new police SUV. They will decide next month whether to keep the 2008 model being replaced.
• Heard that the wastewater treatment plant will soon be required to test for phosphorous, which will require the purchase of $4,500 in testing equipment and the extra cost of bagging and disposing of more solid waste.
• Approved a little over $2,000 to upgrade lighting in the community center to LEDs, at a cost of $81 for each of the 27 fixtures.
• Heard a proposal to double the price of pavilion rental from $25 to $50, which Clerk-treasurer Joellen Free noted is still comparatively pretty cheap. Members agreed to wait for feedback from residents before making a decision next month, after Cochran said he sees the park as a public service rather than a revenue generator, but observed the extra money would help with upkeep.
• Heard a proposal from Councilman Doug Ruch to annex homes in the North Park subdivision east of town, which he said would be a tradeoff between the higher charge for utilities for the homes currently and the potential to increase the town’s overall assessed valuation.
“The first step for us is to see the financial impact,” Ruch said. “If the numbers aren’t there it’s a moot point, but let’s say realistically it adds 4 percent to the assessed valuation of the entire town,” it might help offset the lower valuation responsible for taking a bite out of the budget this year.[[In-content Ad]]
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Three of the reserves were sworn in Monday: Angie Howard, Cody Ong and Bryan Starr. The fourth, Samuel Fowler, was unable to attend the council meeting.
The hires are the result of a long process, Police Chief Rich Miotto noted, adding that part of that was his selectiveness in choosing candidates.
“I don’t like to hire someone just because they like to watch ‘CSI,’” he remarked.
He said the reserves will undergo 40 hours of pre-basic training locally, but won’t be put on duty until they’ve finished reserve academy next year. They might be paired with a regular officer for patrols during Milford Fest May 23, Miotto said.
Council approved several things in preparation for the fest, including street closures that weekend and an ordinance allowing residents to participate in the townwide garage sale without it counting against their three allowed sales per year. Forms for vendors and festival pageants are available in the town office, council heard.
Miotto also said during his report that residents should be wary of home improvement scams this time of year, such as a stranger showing up offering to fix their roof or paint their barn.
Also Monday, Tim Wall with the Troyer Group answered further questions from council on a proposed $12,700 cost to draft a master plan for Milford. The plan would address the feasibility of jointly housing police and fire services, and would also serve as a “kick in the pants” for the town to pursue development plans, Wall remarked.
Council will make a decision on the study after getting the Milford Redevelopment Commission involved.
And council members vowed Monday to follow up on a list of at least 11 properties in need of cleanup or teardown. The list includes homes damaged by fire but never repaired and garages left half-built, some of the issues decades-old.
Town attorney Jay Rigdon talked council through the process of addressing the properties, which starts with a building inspector and a decision by a building commissioner on what property owners have to do and how long they have before action is taken against them.
He cautioned council members that they can’t make a decision on the fate of a property until the building commissioner gives a recommendation, because the property owner must first have a fair and impartial hearing.
Council members admitted to the full audience that they’ve been lax in addressing problem properties.
“We’ve probably let you down,” Councilman Dan Cochran remarked.
Also Monday, council:
• Approved up to $5,000 for purchase and installation of equipment for a new police SUV. They will decide next month whether to keep the 2008 model being replaced.
• Heard that the wastewater treatment plant will soon be required to test for phosphorous, which will require the purchase of $4,500 in testing equipment and the extra cost of bagging and disposing of more solid waste.
• Approved a little over $2,000 to upgrade lighting in the community center to LEDs, at a cost of $81 for each of the 27 fixtures.
• Heard a proposal to double the price of pavilion rental from $25 to $50, which Clerk-treasurer Joellen Free noted is still comparatively pretty cheap. Members agreed to wait for feedback from residents before making a decision next month, after Cochran said he sees the park as a public service rather than a revenue generator, but observed the extra money would help with upkeep.
• Heard a proposal from Councilman Doug Ruch to annex homes in the North Park subdivision east of town, which he said would be a tradeoff between the higher charge for utilities for the homes currently and the potential to increase the town’s overall assessed valuation.
“The first step for us is to see the financial impact,” Ruch said. “If the numbers aren’t there it’s a moot point, but let’s say realistically it adds 4 percent to the assessed valuation of the entire town,” it might help offset the lower valuation responsible for taking a bite out of the budget this year.[[In-content Ad]]
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