MILFORD – Milford Town Council members met in special session Wednesday afternoon to deal with a couple of police matters, among other items.
The council took several actions to replace a police vehicle that was totaled in an accident on March 3 at 3:22 am. According to ClerkTreasurer Tricia Gall, the officer was responding to assist a Leesburg officer at the time of the accident. No other vehicles were involved, and the officer was unhurt except for bumps and bruises.
Town Marshal Derek Kreider presented three quotes to the council — a quote from Kelly Auto for a Chevrolet Tahoe at a cost of $57,683, a quote from John Jones for a Dodge Durango at $47,285 and a quote from Kerlin Motor Company for a Ford Interceptor at $47,235.
The council approved purchasing the Chevy Tahoe from Kelly Auto, Fort Wayne despite it not being the lowest quote because it would be available April 15 and it had a V8 engine.
The Durango would not be available until late summer and only had a V6 engine and the Ford Interceptor wouldn’t be available until 2025 and it had a V6 engine as well.
In addition, they approved a police upfit package from Cops Gear, Columbia City, at a cost of $18,075.49 and a computer at a cost of $4,283.45.
“Nothing was salvageable out of the vehicle,” Gall said.
The council also approved new radio equipment for the new patrol car from J & K Communications at a cost of $4,759.69.
Resignation/Hiring
The council accepted the resignation of police officer Tyler Schmucker, who reportedly had been with the department a year and a half. Additionally, they approved hiring Travis Bay on a fulltime basis to replace Schmucker. Bay was with the department as a parttime officer and in the past was full time.
They also approved an amendment to the salary ordinance to reflect Bay’s pay of $47,000.16 annually.
Fire Engine Discussed
Gall reported that Council President Doug Ruch gave an overview of the request from the fire department to purchase a new fire truck, particularly for new Council member Jim Smiley.
She reported that the consensus was Smiley and Council member Ken Long were interested in purchasing the truck for $610,291, but they don’t have the appropriations needed so they would have to go through the additional appropriations process. Ruch abstains from such decisions as he is a member of the fire department.
They plan to purchase the truck through Sourcewell’s Cooperative Purchasing program. She said they were offered a tradein, too, but decided not to use the tradein and instead sell the old truck separately.
They voted to have a special public hearing on the additional appropriations at a special meeting on April 15 as there is not enough time to advertise before the next council meeting on April 8.
In other business:
• The council approved the Water Asset Management Plan for the State Revolving Fund grant, and they signed the grant documents. Ryan LaReau from Commonwealth was there to collect the documents and will submit the grant.