Milford Waives Fire Hydrant Fees for CTB
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jordan Fouts-
The council voted to waive $6,700 in tap fees, materials and labor after CTB facilities manager Gary Tenney asked the town to help offset the $19,000 the company is facing to have the hydrant installed. Milford's expenses will be charged instead to the town’s redevelopment commission.
The new hydrant will be installed on the west side of Ind. 15. The fire department said it can close the road and run a hose across to the plant in case of fire, Tenney told the council.
Council President Doug Ruch asked for the motion to waive expenses, noting that a hydrant at that location would benefit the whole town.
The council later voted to reverse an earlier decision to charge town civic groups a higher fee for community building rental along with other renters. Civic groups such as Kiwanis and Lions Club will be charged the older fee of $20 instead of the increased $30 fee.
“It’s never going to be a profit center for us,” Ruch observed. “If the need would come and we have to do major renovations, I think we could rely on them for help.”
A $50 deposit will still be waived for the civic groups, and the center remains free for groups including the Boy Scouts and 4-H.
Also Monday, council members raised the fee for turning water lines on and off. Milford previously charged a property owner $10 when it turned water off for nonpayment or back on when the bill was settled, but that’s well below the $25 to $100 neighboring towns charge, according to Clerk-Treasurer Joellen Free.
Councilman Bob Cockburn was hesitant to raise the fee too much, saying he understood failure to pay a water bill was often a sign of financial hardship. He suggested charging $10 for the first time water had to be turned off and on and $25 for subsequent offenses. The council agreed.
Free observed that on average the town has to turn water off for only two or three residences a month – often the same people – and that she often works with people who have trouble paying their bill.
“It’s not something we just do. Some people make payments, and we go a long way with them before we turn the water off,” she said. “If they give me $10 (toward the bill), I do not shut them off.”
The council also voted for an appropriations bill to ask Kosciusko County for $200,000 for the County Economic Development Income Tax fund, money not appropriated in the 2012 budget. The fund is dedicated mainly to sewer plant bond payments.
And the council approved $2,218 for new street signs, part of a schedule of replacements to comply with state law requiring reflective signs. The town bought several stop signs last year, and this year will see speed limit and other traffic signs.
Town marshal Rich Miotto said in his report that he wants residents to be wary of scams that come out in spring. Town police recently spoke with a man with out-of-state plates who a resident reported trying to charge a hefty amount for tree trimming, he said.
“Be vigilant. If they’re not local, or something doesn’t feel right, or you didn’t call for service, then turn them away,” Miotto cautioned residents.[[In-content Ad]]
The council voted to waive $6,700 in tap fees, materials and labor after CTB facilities manager Gary Tenney asked the town to help offset the $19,000 the company is facing to have the hydrant installed. Milford's expenses will be charged instead to the town’s redevelopment commission.
The new hydrant will be installed on the west side of Ind. 15. The fire department said it can close the road and run a hose across to the plant in case of fire, Tenney told the council.
Council President Doug Ruch asked for the motion to waive expenses, noting that a hydrant at that location would benefit the whole town.
The council later voted to reverse an earlier decision to charge town civic groups a higher fee for community building rental along with other renters. Civic groups such as Kiwanis and Lions Club will be charged the older fee of $20 instead of the increased $30 fee.
“It’s never going to be a profit center for us,” Ruch observed. “If the need would come and we have to do major renovations, I think we could rely on them for help.”
A $50 deposit will still be waived for the civic groups, and the center remains free for groups including the Boy Scouts and 4-H.
Also Monday, council members raised the fee for turning water lines on and off. Milford previously charged a property owner $10 when it turned water off for nonpayment or back on when the bill was settled, but that’s well below the $25 to $100 neighboring towns charge, according to Clerk-Treasurer Joellen Free.
Councilman Bob Cockburn was hesitant to raise the fee too much, saying he understood failure to pay a water bill was often a sign of financial hardship. He suggested charging $10 for the first time water had to be turned off and on and $25 for subsequent offenses. The council agreed.
Free observed that on average the town has to turn water off for only two or three residences a month – often the same people – and that she often works with people who have trouble paying their bill.
“It’s not something we just do. Some people make payments, and we go a long way with them before we turn the water off,” she said. “If they give me $10 (toward the bill), I do not shut them off.”
The council also voted for an appropriations bill to ask Kosciusko County for $200,000 for the County Economic Development Income Tax fund, money not appropriated in the 2012 budget. The fund is dedicated mainly to sewer plant bond payments.
And the council approved $2,218 for new street signs, part of a schedule of replacements to comply with state law requiring reflective signs. The town bought several stop signs last year, and this year will see speed limit and other traffic signs.
Town marshal Rich Miotto said in his report that he wants residents to be wary of scams that come out in spring. Town police recently spoke with a man with out-of-state plates who a resident reported trying to charge a hefty amount for tree trimming, he said.
“Be vigilant. If they’re not local, or something doesn’t feel right, or you didn’t call for service, then turn them away,” Miotto cautioned residents.[[In-content Ad]]
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