Milford Studies Water Rate Increases
February 14, 2017 at 6:14 p.m.
By JUDE STRIEBY-RASKA-
The rates will increase 16.43 percent, which would average out to an extra $6.08 increase to an average monthly bill of 4,000 gallons.
When the public hearing about the ordinance was opened, a member of the public, Jay Urbin, voiced anger and frustration.
“You can’t just keep hammering these rates because you guys need more money,” railed Urbin.
“We went through a period of 12 years where we did not raise the rates, and that was, I believe, a huge mistake,” said Council President Dan Cochran. “Things are as they are because we have not taken the time to spend the money.”
Cochran went on to stress the fact that the wastewater plant improvements were mandated by the government, which the Milford community has no control over, a sentiment that was also stated by Vice President Doug Ruch.
“It was mandated by the state and we have no control over what is mandated by the state,” he said.
Ruch also mentioned that Milford has up till now been in the bottom third of the rates paid by the users in the state, and is only now getting closer to that halfway mark, which would be what the average state resident pays.
The council passed the ordinance and passed the service agreement with Umbaugh & Associates for 2017.
The council passed a motion to re-enter into a contract with Lutheran EMS. The contract is the same as the previous one on the books except for amended amounts. The new contribution amounts will be reduced by 50 percent in 2017, 75 percent in 2018 and contribution will be at 0 for 2019.
Milford Town Marshal Rich Miotto announced his intent to retire March 31. He recommended his replacement be Deputy Chief Travis Marsh. The council extended their thanks for Miotto’s almost 25 years of service to the town, and then accepted Marsh to become the town marshal on March 31.
On March 1, the Milford Fire Department will play the Lake City Hoopsters. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. at the Milford School. The cost is $2 per person or $5 per family. All proceeds with go to Toys for Tots.
In department news, Marsh recommended switching to a different pistol replacement company, due to trade-in savings involved. The council passed the motion to upgrade Milford Police Department's pistols from the Glock 21 to the Glock 22 in the amount of $504.
Marsh also stressed the importance of getting a Narcon policy adoption in the Milford books, due to a bad batch of heroin that recently was introduced to Indiana. The council passed the motion to adopt the Narcon policy.
Marsh mentioned his intent to advertise in March for a replacement deputy chief.
Steven Marquart, superintendent of street and water, recommended that a VFD system be added to pump number 4 at the water plant.
Marquart introduced a representative from Peerless Midwest, who explained that Milford could save money on energy costs as well as avoiding potential main breaks by using the VFD system. Another potential benefit is pressure pump regulation during the 35 days the water tower might be shut off for repainting.
After questioning the representative about pricing and benefits, the council passed motions to enter into three contracts, pending the future quotes for the proposed construction of refurbishing of the water tower. The first was with Peerless Midwest for a veritable frequency drive system and a new meter system for $14,890. The second was with Living Waters for a new fluoride, chlorine and phosphate system and a spare motor install for $7,890. The third was an agreement for a test portal and blowoff hydrant from Ferguson Enterprises for $2,042.
Marquart also requested funds in order to install three new hydrants. The council approved $25,623; $24,780 will come out of the hydrant rental fund and $843 will come out of the water fund.
Also requested and approved was $3,995 for maintenance on the street sweeper.
Finally, Marquart asked to have a spring cleanup as well as the normal fall cleanup. The council approved the dates of April 6-8 to be the town spring cleanup.
In wastewater news, Wesler Engineering brought its 60 percent proposal changes to the 2017 wastewater construction plan. The company originally proposed using sodium aluminate hauled into the plant in totes, but due to rising costs of the chemical since the initial report, they recommended switching to alum and building a tank to store it in. The sodium aluminate option was originally cheaper than the alum option with its building requirement, but the raised cost of sodium aluminate made building a tank for the alum the cheaper option. Besides the costs of sodium aluminate rising, the advantage of storing alum is that its shelf life is a year as opposed to a few months for the sodium aluminate.
After lengthy deliberation, the council passed a motion to accept the proposed amendment to the wastewater construction plan.
Town Clerk Joellen Free asked for funds to pay the Milford cleaning lady to spend a few hours painting the community building. The council agreed to pay $15 per hour for the work.
Free also opened comment to the public for the appropriation of funds from the Local Road and Bridge grant. Urbin requested the right of way portion of his driveway be fixed. Free explained that the grant funds needed to be appropriated in order to pay for the project completed in 2016, during which several streets were paved. After public comments were done, the council approved appropriation of funds to pay for the project completed in 2016.
Finally, Free presented several dedication plaques to be put in Waubee Lake Park for the recently installed park equipment.
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The rates will increase 16.43 percent, which would average out to an extra $6.08 increase to an average monthly bill of 4,000 gallons.
When the public hearing about the ordinance was opened, a member of the public, Jay Urbin, voiced anger and frustration.
“You can’t just keep hammering these rates because you guys need more money,” railed Urbin.
“We went through a period of 12 years where we did not raise the rates, and that was, I believe, a huge mistake,” said Council President Dan Cochran. “Things are as they are because we have not taken the time to spend the money.”
Cochran went on to stress the fact that the wastewater plant improvements were mandated by the government, which the Milford community has no control over, a sentiment that was also stated by Vice President Doug Ruch.
“It was mandated by the state and we have no control over what is mandated by the state,” he said.
Ruch also mentioned that Milford has up till now been in the bottom third of the rates paid by the users in the state, and is only now getting closer to that halfway mark, which would be what the average state resident pays.
The council passed the ordinance and passed the service agreement with Umbaugh & Associates for 2017.
The council passed a motion to re-enter into a contract with Lutheran EMS. The contract is the same as the previous one on the books except for amended amounts. The new contribution amounts will be reduced by 50 percent in 2017, 75 percent in 2018 and contribution will be at 0 for 2019.
Milford Town Marshal Rich Miotto announced his intent to retire March 31. He recommended his replacement be Deputy Chief Travis Marsh. The council extended their thanks for Miotto’s almost 25 years of service to the town, and then accepted Marsh to become the town marshal on March 31.
On March 1, the Milford Fire Department will play the Lake City Hoopsters. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. at the Milford School. The cost is $2 per person or $5 per family. All proceeds with go to Toys for Tots.
In department news, Marsh recommended switching to a different pistol replacement company, due to trade-in savings involved. The council passed the motion to upgrade Milford Police Department's pistols from the Glock 21 to the Glock 22 in the amount of $504.
Marsh also stressed the importance of getting a Narcon policy adoption in the Milford books, due to a bad batch of heroin that recently was introduced to Indiana. The council passed the motion to adopt the Narcon policy.
Marsh mentioned his intent to advertise in March for a replacement deputy chief.
Steven Marquart, superintendent of street and water, recommended that a VFD system be added to pump number 4 at the water plant.
Marquart introduced a representative from Peerless Midwest, who explained that Milford could save money on energy costs as well as avoiding potential main breaks by using the VFD system. Another potential benefit is pressure pump regulation during the 35 days the water tower might be shut off for repainting.
After questioning the representative about pricing and benefits, the council passed motions to enter into three contracts, pending the future quotes for the proposed construction of refurbishing of the water tower. The first was with Peerless Midwest for a veritable frequency drive system and a new meter system for $14,890. The second was with Living Waters for a new fluoride, chlorine and phosphate system and a spare motor install for $7,890. The third was an agreement for a test portal and blowoff hydrant from Ferguson Enterprises for $2,042.
Marquart also requested funds in order to install three new hydrants. The council approved $25,623; $24,780 will come out of the hydrant rental fund and $843 will come out of the water fund.
Also requested and approved was $3,995 for maintenance on the street sweeper.
Finally, Marquart asked to have a spring cleanup as well as the normal fall cleanup. The council approved the dates of April 6-8 to be the town spring cleanup.
In wastewater news, Wesler Engineering brought its 60 percent proposal changes to the 2017 wastewater construction plan. The company originally proposed using sodium aluminate hauled into the plant in totes, but due to rising costs of the chemical since the initial report, they recommended switching to alum and building a tank to store it in. The sodium aluminate option was originally cheaper than the alum option with its building requirement, but the raised cost of sodium aluminate made building a tank for the alum the cheaper option. Besides the costs of sodium aluminate rising, the advantage of storing alum is that its shelf life is a year as opposed to a few months for the sodium aluminate.
After lengthy deliberation, the council passed a motion to accept the proposed amendment to the wastewater construction plan.
Town Clerk Joellen Free asked for funds to pay the Milford cleaning lady to spend a few hours painting the community building. The council agreed to pay $15 per hour for the work.
Free also opened comment to the public for the appropriation of funds from the Local Road and Bridge grant. Urbin requested the right of way portion of his driveway be fixed. Free explained that the grant funds needed to be appropriated in order to pay for the project completed in 2016, during which several streets were paved. After public comments were done, the council approved appropriation of funds to pay for the project completed in 2016.
Finally, Free presented several dedication plaques to be put in Waubee Lake Park for the recently installed park equipment.
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