Milford Adds 2 New Employees
January 11, 2020 at 5:07 a.m.
Milford Adds 2 New Employees
By Denise Federow-
Todd Wissinger and Angela Heltzel were introduced as new employees of the street, water and park departments.
Prior to approving the new hires, council members approved an amendment to the salary ordinance, which Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall read aloud. She said the additions were that maintenance person No. 3 would be paid $42,000 annually with that amount split between the motor vehicle fund and the water department. Maintenance person No. 4 would be paid $32,000 annually with the same 60/40 split and maintenance person No. 1 would be paid $47,488.90 annually, which she said is the same rate as before, but is just split between the two departments as the other salaries. There’s also an addition about maintenance person No. 2, which will be paid according to the schedule of the apprenticeship program through Alliance of Indiana Rural Water as established with the grant.
There’s also an addition that personnel could be granted an increase for obtaining licensing.
12 Body Cameras Approved For Cops
Police Chief Derek Kreider received approval to purchase 12 G-Tech body cameras and the total cost includes multiple docks, clips, charging cables, cloud plan support and onsite training for one day. The total cost is $13,899, however, Kreider said $5,760 is for cloud support, which was budgeted and they received a grant from Kosciusko County Coalition for Drug Education for $1,125 so he was seeking approval for $8,454, which the council decided should be taken from the riverboat fund.
Council President Doug Ruch asked why they were purchasing 12 body cams and Kreider said each officer and reserve officer would have their own plus there’d be a spare. He explained each body cam was “officer specific” and that was best in case any questions arise.
He also got approval to hire two new reserve officers, and the council approved his proposed screening method so he could get a hiring pool built back up.
The council approved renewing the department’s lease with Leads Online at the cost of $1,881. Kreider said it’s an investigative tool that helped solve three burglaries in the last year.
Public Input
Council members heard proposals from several members of the public, including Dan Byam, engineer with Jones, Petri & Rafinski, who gave information to the council about all the engineering services and more that the firm offers.
“We like to say we’re your single source for project planning, design, surveying, etc.,” Byam said.
Council members thanked him for the information.
Matt Sandy, Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission assistant planner, was there as administrator of the town’s flood plan, which has to be recertified every year. The council approved signing off on the recertification of the flood plan program.
Sandy also shared they received a rezoning request for a property right on the outskirts of town. He explained the property, which used to be an old hog barn along Ind. 15, is currently zoned Industrial-2 and the request is to have it rezoned to I-3, which is the heaviest industrial zoning. The property owners want to have a concrete mixing plant on the site. Sandy asked the council to submit any concerns to him before the next plan commission meeting Feb. 5.
He said even though the property is not in the town limits, “You’re the most impacted. We want you to be involved if you want to be.”
James Lewis, of GM Express Transportation, gave a proposal to the town council requesting funds in the amount of $30,700 to start up a transportation service in town, especially for children and seniors. Lewis said he’s be in the transportation business for several years, starting with transporting recreational vehicle drivers and others to and from airports, train stations, etc.
Lewis said he wants to provide transportation for students from school to the YMCA in Warsaw and seniors to stores and other appointments.
Council took his proposal under advisement.
Med Flight Resolution
Van Buren Township Trustee Rebecca Alles brought a resolution to the council regarding medical flights for discussion. She said the township advisory board has had several discussions.
“One concern was the cost factor between using Lutheran Air and Parkview Samaritan – they’re quite disparate in cost,” Alles said.
Alles said she understands that if the town or township specifically requests that they first call one service the dispatcher would honor that; similar to what is currently done. She said the township board voted in favor of calling Parkview first and Alles thought the town should be part of that decision, too.
Council members felt differently. Ruch said he reached out to both Lutheran and Parkview to research costs and found so much disparity in billing methods it was difficult to evaluate.
“Furthermore, I feel the responsibility for air ambulances relies on those medical personnel who are first responders. As a government entity we have no right to dictate who to call because it’s cheaper,” Ruch said.
Ruch said he didn’t want to jeopardize relationship between the township and the town but he had a problem demanding through a resolution when there’s a contract.
Council member Kenneth Long agreed. “If someone’s life is on the line we have no place in saying we want this done,” he said.
Several representatives from Lutheran Health were present and RN Scot Tuttle said regarding costs there were so many factors in health care and insurance costs, etc. , that it’s hard to compare prices but he said they always work on how to keep costs low for the patients and provide good care. He said the health organizations have a good working relationship.
“We work with each other every day – not just on air. We couldn’t survive without each other,” he said.
The council decided not to take action on joining the resolution.
Issues Tabled
The council tabled several items after lengthy discussions including installing meters for the town buildings. Street, Water and Parks Superintendent Steven Marquart obtained three quotes but they included other plumbing work aside from the cost of the meters so Ruch suggested Marquart ask them to divide out the cost of just the meters from the rest so they can get a better idea of that cost.
Clerk-treasurer Tricia Gall brought up that they were told the cost may be prohibitive if they can just estimate their usage. Marquart said estimates are not accepted for a water audit. He was going to go back to get the contractors to get clearer quotes.
The other tabled matter was the community room policy and fees. They went back and forth on new rates for residents and non-profit organizations. At first they liked the idea of higher rates for non-residents, like Syracuse charges, but then decided to keep it simple. The current charge is $30 an hour with a minimum of two hours and $20 an hour (minimum two hours) for nonprofits. They felt more discussion was needed before trying to vote on it.
In Other Business, The Council:
• Held election of officers with Ruch remaining council president and Long remaining vice president for 2020.
• Approved the fire protection agreement with the town and the township, which was the same as last year at a cost of $31,325 paid quarterly.
• Approved purchasing a plow for the toolcat to be used downtown alleys and lots at a cost of $2,129.49 from Bobcat of Warsaw.
• Approved paying Beer & Slabaugh $2,800 for the cost of emergency repair of a water main break on Maple Street.
• Approved an interlocal agreement between the town and Van Buren Township and Kosciusko County for Waubee Lake Park for $750.
• Approved an Alliance of Indiana Rural Water membership at a cost not to exceed $250.
• Approved the clerk’s office closing at 4 p.m. on Jan. 22.
• Heard auditors would be coming next week for about two to four weeks.
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Todd Wissinger and Angela Heltzel were introduced as new employees of the street, water and park departments.
Prior to approving the new hires, council members approved an amendment to the salary ordinance, which Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall read aloud. She said the additions were that maintenance person No. 3 would be paid $42,000 annually with that amount split between the motor vehicle fund and the water department. Maintenance person No. 4 would be paid $32,000 annually with the same 60/40 split and maintenance person No. 1 would be paid $47,488.90 annually, which she said is the same rate as before, but is just split between the two departments as the other salaries. There’s also an addition about maintenance person No. 2, which will be paid according to the schedule of the apprenticeship program through Alliance of Indiana Rural Water as established with the grant.
There’s also an addition that personnel could be granted an increase for obtaining licensing.
12 Body Cameras Approved For Cops
Police Chief Derek Kreider received approval to purchase 12 G-Tech body cameras and the total cost includes multiple docks, clips, charging cables, cloud plan support and onsite training for one day. The total cost is $13,899, however, Kreider said $5,760 is for cloud support, which was budgeted and they received a grant from Kosciusko County Coalition for Drug Education for $1,125 so he was seeking approval for $8,454, which the council decided should be taken from the riverboat fund.
Council President Doug Ruch asked why they were purchasing 12 body cams and Kreider said each officer and reserve officer would have their own plus there’d be a spare. He explained each body cam was “officer specific” and that was best in case any questions arise.
He also got approval to hire two new reserve officers, and the council approved his proposed screening method so he could get a hiring pool built back up.
The council approved renewing the department’s lease with Leads Online at the cost of $1,881. Kreider said it’s an investigative tool that helped solve three burglaries in the last year.
Public Input
Council members heard proposals from several members of the public, including Dan Byam, engineer with Jones, Petri & Rafinski, who gave information to the council about all the engineering services and more that the firm offers.
“We like to say we’re your single source for project planning, design, surveying, etc.,” Byam said.
Council members thanked him for the information.
Matt Sandy, Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission assistant planner, was there as administrator of the town’s flood plan, which has to be recertified every year. The council approved signing off on the recertification of the flood plan program.
Sandy also shared they received a rezoning request for a property right on the outskirts of town. He explained the property, which used to be an old hog barn along Ind. 15, is currently zoned Industrial-2 and the request is to have it rezoned to I-3, which is the heaviest industrial zoning. The property owners want to have a concrete mixing plant on the site. Sandy asked the council to submit any concerns to him before the next plan commission meeting Feb. 5.
He said even though the property is not in the town limits, “You’re the most impacted. We want you to be involved if you want to be.”
James Lewis, of GM Express Transportation, gave a proposal to the town council requesting funds in the amount of $30,700 to start up a transportation service in town, especially for children and seniors. Lewis said he’s be in the transportation business for several years, starting with transporting recreational vehicle drivers and others to and from airports, train stations, etc.
Lewis said he wants to provide transportation for students from school to the YMCA in Warsaw and seniors to stores and other appointments.
Council took his proposal under advisement.
Med Flight Resolution
Van Buren Township Trustee Rebecca Alles brought a resolution to the council regarding medical flights for discussion. She said the township advisory board has had several discussions.
“One concern was the cost factor between using Lutheran Air and Parkview Samaritan – they’re quite disparate in cost,” Alles said.
Alles said she understands that if the town or township specifically requests that they first call one service the dispatcher would honor that; similar to what is currently done. She said the township board voted in favor of calling Parkview first and Alles thought the town should be part of that decision, too.
Council members felt differently. Ruch said he reached out to both Lutheran and Parkview to research costs and found so much disparity in billing methods it was difficult to evaluate.
“Furthermore, I feel the responsibility for air ambulances relies on those medical personnel who are first responders. As a government entity we have no right to dictate who to call because it’s cheaper,” Ruch said.
Ruch said he didn’t want to jeopardize relationship between the township and the town but he had a problem demanding through a resolution when there’s a contract.
Council member Kenneth Long agreed. “If someone’s life is on the line we have no place in saying we want this done,” he said.
Several representatives from Lutheran Health were present and RN Scot Tuttle said regarding costs there were so many factors in health care and insurance costs, etc. , that it’s hard to compare prices but he said they always work on how to keep costs low for the patients and provide good care. He said the health organizations have a good working relationship.
“We work with each other every day – not just on air. We couldn’t survive without each other,” he said.
The council decided not to take action on joining the resolution.
Issues Tabled
The council tabled several items after lengthy discussions including installing meters for the town buildings. Street, Water and Parks Superintendent Steven Marquart obtained three quotes but they included other plumbing work aside from the cost of the meters so Ruch suggested Marquart ask them to divide out the cost of just the meters from the rest so they can get a better idea of that cost.
Clerk-treasurer Tricia Gall brought up that they were told the cost may be prohibitive if they can just estimate their usage. Marquart said estimates are not accepted for a water audit. He was going to go back to get the contractors to get clearer quotes.
The other tabled matter was the community room policy and fees. They went back and forth on new rates for residents and non-profit organizations. At first they liked the idea of higher rates for non-residents, like Syracuse charges, but then decided to keep it simple. The current charge is $30 an hour with a minimum of two hours and $20 an hour (minimum two hours) for nonprofits. They felt more discussion was needed before trying to vote on it.
In Other Business, The Council:
• Held election of officers with Ruch remaining council president and Long remaining vice president for 2020.
• Approved the fire protection agreement with the town and the township, which was the same as last year at a cost of $31,325 paid quarterly.
• Approved purchasing a plow for the toolcat to be used downtown alleys and lots at a cost of $2,129.49 from Bobcat of Warsaw.
• Approved paying Beer & Slabaugh $2,800 for the cost of emergency repair of a water main break on Maple Street.
• Approved an interlocal agreement between the town and Van Buren Township and Kosciusko County for Waubee Lake Park for $750.
• Approved an Alliance of Indiana Rural Water membership at a cost not to exceed $250.
• Approved the clerk’s office closing at 4 p.m. on Jan. 22.
• Heard auditors would be coming next week for about two to four weeks.
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