Waubee Lake Association To Run Concession Stand

MILFORD - Visitors to Waubee Lake beach will be able to have concessions, thanks to an agreement between the town of Milford and the Waubee Lake Association approved at Monday’s council meeting.
Eldon Seidner, of the Waubee Lake Association, was present at the meeting with two other board members, and he had a couple of questions about the agreement regarding responsibility for insurance and if there was a rental cost.
Councilman Kenneth Long remarked that in the past the town provided the food for the concession stand and the Waubee Lake Association would be doing that. The town is providing the building and equipment, and the building is insured through the town so they wouldn’t be required to insure it.
They discussed whether they’d just operate the concession stand June, July and August and he said they would be operating it on weekends and when they had volunteers. Seidner said they were seeing how it worked this year and hopefully could expand it next year. Any money they raise would go to the lake association. He said they received a $40,000 grant from the Department of Natural Resources for an aquatic weed study to help keep the lake up to standards but were turned down for another grant they applied for.
“We want to run it as a community outreach and participate more with the town of Milford,” Seidner said.
Long suggested they charge the non-profit $1 to rent the concession stand for the season. Council President Doug Ruch asked if it would be better to rent it for the entire year, and Seidner thought that’d be a good idea because they may want to do a polar plunge and other events during the off-season. Utility Superintendent Steven Marquart reminded them that the water is turned off in October.
Seidner also brought up the fireworks they do annually on July 11 will be able to be seen from the beach this year as they’ll be setting them off from land, not the pontoon. They haven’t broadcasted that they’ll be viewable from the beach but they did mention it in their newsletter so they thought maybe the police might want to patrol there later.
Resident Jay Urbin wanted to know if the park was annexed to the town. He was told it wasn’t, but the park belongs to the town. Urbin wondered why they were allowing the lake association to use it and supply police protection if the town wasn’t benefiting from it.
Ruch told Urbin, “The beach and land was donated to the town of Milford since Noah came on the ark, so we have to patrol it and maintain it as we always have.”
Urbin thought they should be charged more than $1. Town attorney Jay Rigdon said since all of the public can use the park, there are places that belong to towns and cities that are not annexed like airports and beaches and are not necessarily money makers, but they provide a service to the public.
“If the association can help provide some of those services, it’s value-added,” Rigdon said.
Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall said if Urbin wanted to talk directly about finances, “We operated the concession stand at a loss for years and the association wants to use the money to improve the lake, which they would have come to us for those funds, so there are financial gains for having them take it over.”
The council also approved extending the curfew at the park until 11 p.m. on July 11 due to the fireworks.
After the meeting, Gall confirmed that the Waubee Lake Association approached the town about operating the concession stand.
Beautification Moving Forward
Ron Baumgartner came to the council again regarding the landscaping at the Fourth Street crossing. Long shared that he was provided with a railroad right-of-way map first drawn in 1915 and updated in 1959 that showed the right-of-way was 50 feet from the center of First Street north to the center of Syracuse Street and he believes it is the same all through town. He said the person who provided him the map wanted to keep that private.
“I believe that map is still valid, there’d be no reason to change it, and we can proceed with Baumgartner’s beautification plan. I don’t see the need to spend the money — I was willing to do it if we could get the information for all the crossings, but it is $500 per crossing,” Long said.
He also said he spoke to a nearby neighbor, and he didn’t have a problem with the plans. “Mr. Baumgartner has made a very generous offer, and I think we should take him up on it,” Long said.
Ruch said the town would mark off the area and cut the concrete and then the beautification committee can plant when they are able to.
Baumgartner also brought up a question of adding a turn lane on Emeline and Ind. 15, but Marquart said he’d have to find out from the state of Indiana as they would be responsible for the intersections.
New Deputy Chief
The council approved promoting Benjamin Sanders to chief deputy marshal after the retirement of Derek Kreider and Gall swore him in to his new position.
In other police business, Town Marshal Tom Waikel asked for and received approval to declare a Hummer as surplus as it has not been used in years and have Metzger Auction sell it with a reserve price of $7,500. Councilman Jim Smiley voted against that as he thought the reserve should be lower. The motion passed 2-1.
Waikel said he wanted to use the profits from the sale of the Hummer to outfit a new police cruiser. He asked to purchase a new police cruiser to replace a 2015 that needed a lot of work. He wanted a Dodge Charger though and they quit making them in 2024. He obtained quotes for a new 2023 Charger. Thomas Dodge has one for $34,000 but someone else was interested in it so they told Waikel if it didn’t sell, they would call him. The other quote was from John Jones for $38,928. The council approved purchasing the Charger from Thomas Dodge for $34,000 if available, but if not, they gave approval to purchase the one from John Jones for $38,928.
He also obtained quotes for outfitting the vehicle with police options. John Jones’ quote was $18,410 and the council approved outfitting from Cops Gear, including additional rear lights at a cost of $14,312.68.
Insurance
Lisa Frazzetta Manning, with Frazzetta Finance, who is in charge of the town’s benefits, said they’ve been having issues with the life insurance company since Anthem sold it to another company and they’ve also experienced issues with the short-term disability insurance company. So, she suggested they shop around for the vision, life and short-term disability insurance options. They wanted to keep the benefits the same but hopefully get better service at a lesser cost.
She said they are currently paying $143 for vision insurance, and she got quotes from Guardian for $104 and from United Healthcare for $85.61. She said they are paying $221 for life insurance and Guardian quoted $126.30 and United Healthcare quoted $162 and for short-term disability Guardian quoted $352 and United Healthcare quoted $199.
Those quotes would be if the town is willing to pay 100% of the cost of the short-term disability insurance, now they are paying 50% of the cost and the employees are paying 50%. She said the town would save money by doing so. Long was on board for that, even if it cost them a little more if it put more money in the employees’ pockets. Ruch asked if she could have solid numbers at the next meeting and she said she could, they were just wanting to be sure the town was open to paying the full cost of the short-term disability insurance.
In other business, the council:
• Approved closing Main Street from First Street to the alley by the doctor’s office from 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for fire department’s hose testing on June 27.
• Approved replacing a 21-year-old auto sampler for the wastewater treatment department with a Hach sampler from B.L. Anderson at a cost of $12,496 including installation.
• Heard that large meters were being replaced starting that day.
• Heard the next hydrant flushing is scheduled for July 16-17.
• Approved an amendment to the salary ordinance to reflect chief deputy marshal’s salary at $53,500.08 and four lifeguards being paid up to $20 an hour.
• Approved utility credits in the total amount of $684.03
• Heard the first Food Truck Friday is this Friday with a Growing Roots theme including eco-friendly activities like plantings, a run and butterflies. The event is from 5 to 8 p.m.
Milford Fest representative Barb Zimmerman thanked the council, the town employees and police for all their assistance and said they are looking for more volunteers to join the committee to plan next year’s event.
• Heard a reminder from Utility Superintendent Steven Marquart to Milford residents not to brush debris into the streets as it creates a road hazard and plugs storm drains. He also warns residents to be aware that town employees will be painting curbs and lines in the street this week. The beach is now open and there are four lifeguards, so he encourages residents to enjoy the beach.