MILFORD - Dan Brown, from Milford’s Redevelopment Commission, went before the Milford Town Council Monday for approval on engagement letters for bond counsel for property in the Tax Increment Financing 2 District.
He reminded the council that in 2013 the town entered into an agreement with BRTB to annex 200-plus acres, and because there was no funding available to extend utilities, they created a TIF district. The agreement calls for the developer to finance extending the utilities and they will recapture their investment over a period of 10 to 15 years.
BRTB has someone interested in about 40 acres of the property that is in the northeast corner of Milford, north of CR 1300 where the new overpass is being built. That will bring an investment of approximately $21 million, according to Brown, so BRTB is ready to extend utilities.
Brown said the 2013 agreement mentioned TIF bonds, so they are entering into an agreement with Barnes & Thornburg to be bond counsel at a cost not to exceed $40,000 and also an agreement with their financial advisor, Jim Higgins with LWG, to help with the bonds and also to assist with closing, if need be, at a cost not to exceed $36,000.
Brown said the redevelopment commission approved the agreements at its meeting Monday morning. Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall told the council that neither the council or redevelopment is responsible for those costs, the developer would be paying them, except in the event that the closing doesn’t go through, then the city and redevelopment would be responsible.
Councilman Ken Long asked what the developer was doing to extend the utilities out to the property on 1300 and how they plan to handle the reportedly low water pressure. Brown responded that lines have been run and they are working with Commonwealth Engineers to design a booster station to handle the needed volume and pressure. He said with the initial extension, the booster station and a section of road, the developer’s investment will be about $1.5 million.
Brown said the potential buyer of the 40-acre property wants to use it as a staging facility for utility trucks and plans to have 100 employees. The council approved the agreements.
Brown also gave the council a heads up that in order to do the TIF revenue bonds, they need to establish an economic development commission, so he’ll be bringing a resolution to them at the next meeting. He said the council president needs to choose one member, the council chooses one member and the county council chooses the third member.
Ryan LaReau, of Commonwealth Engineers, was also present and said since their last meeting, when the council approved a master utility study, he’s met with department heads and determined that there are several water and wastewater projects. Since there are a lot of water projects, he thinks they might be suitable for either a SRF (State Revolving Fund) or OCRA (Office of Community Rural Affairs) grants.
He told them that SRF has been the beneficiary of the bi-partisan infrastructure funds. “In Commonwealth’s experience, towns in similar situations have seen SRF deal favorably when it comes to determining how much of a project would receive grant funding,” he said.
One of the requirements is to have completed asset management plans, according to LaReau, and submission is usually in March. If the council approves the water management plan it will take about three to four months to complete.
“That would position us perfectly to submit next spring,” he said.
There was some discussion as to how it should be paid for. Commonwealth’s cost would be $40,000 and LWG would need to do the financial part at a cost of $10,000. Gall suggested using American Rescue Plan Act funds and the council agreed.
Town Marshal Derek Kreider asked for approval for the annual Santa parade on Dec. 9 at 6 p.m. He said Santa would be in the Humvee. All emergency personnel and their spouses are invited to take part in the parade with lights on their vehicles.
He said there’d be a meet and greet with Santa afterward at the fire station with cocoa and cookies served. He said they needed volunteers to help pass out cocoa and cookies and asked Councilman Doug Ruch to get the throne for Santa. He also asked the council’s approval to compensate Santa the same amount as last year – $100. The council approved the requests.
In other business, the council:
• Approved the purchase of six Mach 10 Neptune water meters at a cost of $2,357.16 or $392.86 each for new homes being built at Eastfield from Utility Supply in Peru.
• Heard the end of leaf pickup season is coming soon — probably the first week of December so leaves should be raked to the road as soon as possible.
• Heard the clerk’s office and city hall will be closed Nov. 23-24 for the Thanksgiving holiday. New hours for the clerk’s office and City Hall, effective Nov. 14, are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.