MILFORD - Milford Town Council conducted a very short meeting Monday evening before the regular session during which the 2011 budget was approved.
Last month, the proposed budget was presented during a public hearing, but there were no challenges. Since the meeting was short Monday, no figures were presented.
There was a lengthy discussion involving erosion control on Waubee Lake.
One solution proposed by the Department of Natural Resources, along with Fish and Wildlife, is a method to "straighten out" a crooked shoreline using what is called a coconut roll bed. Fill is used to stop the erosion process, along with specific aquatic plants. The town would be responsible for the plants to see that they are not destroyed.
The area in question is 349 feet south of the pier, and 209 feet north. The town would be required to submit a drawing that shows every plant used, along with placement.
The actual amount of erosion is not considered to be significant, and could possibly be controlled with rock fill. Rather than go through a lengthy process as recommended by the DNR, the town decided to allow the parks department to handle it, and then revisit the issue in the spring or later.
During the discussion, it was announced the pier is scheduled to be removed this weekend.
Town Marshal Rich Miotto announced Halloween hours to be Oct. 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. The National Child Safety Council has provided trick-or-treat bags, which Miotto will be distributing to grades kindergarten to fourth grade.
The police department recently tagged five junk cars, and owners of these vehicles have 10 days to make them operational. If not done within that time, the vehicles will be towed. Miotto said there will probably be others tagged within the next few weeks.
Utilities Superintendent Dallas Winchester stated the fall clean-up covered about 160 to 200 cubic yards of refuse, with approximately 100 drop-offs taken in.
Leaf season will start Wednesday, and residents are reminded to place leaves on top of the curb and not in the street. Also, residents should make sure leaves are free of limbs and other debris. Street department crews will be running the pickup route daily.
Phend & Brown will be milling Emeline Street, and will have it paved by Thursday. Winchester approached the council to have the company also start work on the town's alleys. This would involve top coating only. The council approved this extra work, not to exceed $20,000.
Winchester also offered an explanation for all the hydrants that have been opened.
"The water tower is operating on pressure release valves throughout the system. We have no storage in the tower while it's being re-coated," he said. "We do have several hydrants in town ... that are open purposely to maintain pressure in the water system. This will go on for probably another three and a half weeks.
"We don't enjoy the water loss, but we have no choice. We have a certain demand on the system that we can't reduced. Be patient. We'll do our best to maintain service. The worst time you can have in a water department is when you take down a water tower. We have workers checking on things around the clock. The least amount of interruptions are what we're aiming for," Winchester said.
In other business:
n Milford Fire Department thanked everyone for making their recent chicken barbecue a success.
n The accounts payable voucher register for the previous month was approved.
Town council members are Douglas Ruch, Robert Cockburn and Gary Hurd.
