MILFORD – Milford is going to remain a two-police vehicle town after a vote Tuesday night to sell off the oldest car of the three the town owns. Town Marshal Rich Miotto pleaded his case to hold onto the 2007 Ford, one of three car-related issues discussed. He presented a list of benefits to retaining the car, among them that it is already paid for and other than insurance and licensing, the car would need little maintenance. “I have a set of tires we bought for the 2008 Ford that can be used on the 2007. We already have the car,” he offered. “We can let the reserves use that one.” Councilman Doug Ruch matched every argument of Miotto with a reason for selling the vehicle. “On paper it looks good,” he said referring to the benefits, “but in reality you know nobody’s going to drive the old car.” Miotto answered, “It’s my decision. They don’t decide what vehicle they drive.” The vehicle currently has more than 120,000 miles on the odometer. The council and Miotto went back and forth, stating pros and cons of keeping the vehicle, one of the biggest being cost. Councilman Dan Cochran listed his estimate of keeping the vehicle – $1,200 he totaled – to which Miotto claimed that was a good deal for another vehicle. He added that there were costs associated with getting rid of the car; he estimated $200 to remove equipment and around $300 to remove the striping. Ruch said they would take off the striping themselves. Ruch also said he was concerned with the image of having three cars, saying that with three cars parked outside the station, “It looks like the police are not on duty.” Miotto retorted, “Or they (the public) might think there’s a half dozen guys in there.” Ruch stated, “We can go back and forth until we’re blue in the face,” and drew the argument to a close with a vote to sell the car. The motion passed with only Cockburn dissenting. The car will be sold at a Feb. 4 auction at Polk Auction, New Paris. Prior to that car issue, however, was one pertaining to a scratch and dent on the new 2014 squad car. Miotto told council that he claimed responsibility. “I intend to get six to seven years out of it,” he stated, adding that it makes sense to repair it now. Council approved spending $681.28 for repairs at TLC Services. In one other related item, Miotto asked council to consider building a shelter for the police vehicles. This could be an addition to the community building, a pole barn or any other structure that would keep the vehicles out of the elements. “Isn’t it ironic that our first responders’ vehicles are the only ones left outside,” he said. In other business, Cockburn was appointed president of the council. Ruch was named vice president. All other department heads remained the same, including Town Marshal Richard Miotto, Utilities Commissioner Randy Veach and Fire Chief Todd Haines. The council also: • approved moving police training courses from the South Bend Academy to Northeast Training Council for a savings of around $300 per person. • instructed town attorney Jay Rigdon to look into an ordinance prohibiting the sale, distribution, etc. of synthetic drugs in the town. Miotto offered an ordinance recently enacted by Syracuse that they could copy. Rigdon said it would be prudent to make sure the ordinance would not preempt state law. • approved a contract giving $26,623 to the town fire department as its annual contribution. • hired Mike Clark as the new sewer operator for an annual salary of $34,320 or $16.50 per hour, to be reviewed after 90 days. • approved spending $1,100 to update utility department radios and the purchase of a new radio that would be located in the town clerk’s office. • approved the $1,698 purchase of a new shop air compressor for the utilities department.
