Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
MILFORD - Eldon Sidener and Mike Bontrager, of the Waubee Lake Association, went before the Milford Town Council Monday night with an idea to hold a polar plunge event on Jan. 1 as a fundraiser.
Bontrager said his family had started that tradition a while back and he thought it would be good to bring it to Waubee Lake. He said they haven’t worked out all the details yet because they wanted to be sure they had the council’s approval, but they tentatively thought they could have the event as a fundraiser for the Milford Fire Department.
People could pay either $10 or $15 to jump in the lake or to have someone else jump in the lake, like possibly a Waubee Lake Association Board member. They’d also like to have the concession stand open for people to change clothes and have hot cocoa or coffee.
Councilman Ken Long said the bathrooms would not be operable and he suggested they contact someone from the Department of Natural Resources about how large a hole in the ice they can make, if the lake is frozen. Bontrager said if there are any permits they need, they’ll secure it.
Chief Deputy Ben Sanders suggested they also call the sheriff’s department because they usually have the dive team attend polar plunge events and have divers in the water, just in case because members of the fire department can’t dive in the water.
The council approved the event, pending they meet any requirements from the DNR or the sheriff’s department.
Town Hall Lobby Renovations
Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall brought three quotes to the council for the proposed renovations of the town hall lobby, which would include a larger entrance with seating for waiting, a window to access someone in the clerk’s office for payments, etc. and keep the rest of the building secure.
R Yoder Construction, Nappanee, submitted a quote for $42,850; Bail Home Service & Construction, Goshen, submitted an estimate of $42,000-$55,000; and O.A. Construction, New Paris, submitted a quote for $21,320.
Councilman Jim Smiley asked Gall if she was familiar with O.A.’s work because their quote was about half of the others. She responded only because they did the Harvest Coffee remodel, but she said she felt comfortable with them.
Long looked over the quotes and said O.A.’s quote was pretty vague, while R Yoder’s was very specific and the vagueness of the quote concerned him. Smiley and Council President Doug Ruch voted to approve having O.A. Construction do the work and Long abstained. The motion passed.
Police Department
Sanders had several items for the council, including asking them to approve the school police officer agreement with Wawasee School Corporation to provide a police officer at Milford Elementary School for three hours a day. He said they’d have police officers sign up to work the three-hour shifts, and he and Town Marshal Tom Waikel would fill in as needed. The school corporation would pay the town $20,000.
The three hours a day for the rest of the school year amounts to about time and a half, according to Sanders, and he said if the council approved it, they wanted to start the next day.
Long wanted to know if the agreement was different than last year’s and if it affected the JAG grant. He was told it was the same amount as last year and it wouldn’t affect the JAG grant because it is a special off-duty detail for the officers. The council approved the agreement but Long abstained because of his employment with the school corporation.
Sanders got the OK to move forward on applying for a couple of grants — a $1,250 grant from the Kosciusko Coalition for Drug Education, which he said would be available Jan. 1 and they’d use it for drug testing equipment and a computer for the pill drop program; and a SPARK grant through Walmart where they can apply for $250-$5,000 and he wants to apply for new desktop computers for the squad room.
He also informed the council the department received a $12,000 grant award from the Comprehensive Highway Injury Reduction Program, which includes programs like Operation Pullover and School Bus Safety Arm and is awarded through the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. He said they’re waiting on the execution of the grant agreement, but they did receive the award letter.
Sanders told the council the JAG grant hasn’t opened yet, probably because of the federal government shutdown because it’s usually open by November. He said they already received approval to apply for the grant, they just are waiting for it to open.
The council also approved the department’s purchase of two rifles from Norris Arms at a cost of $1,721. Sanders reported that they’ve been moving the speed sign around town and he’s been pulling the data off of the sign so they can target enforcement zones. Smiley pointed out that arrests went up 113% since last year and asked what they attributed that to. Sanders said officers being proactive.
Court Action on Property
Smiley asked town attorney Jay Rigdon the status of a property at 112 E. Syracuse St. He said it was a Quonset hut, and he thought it should have been taken care of by now as it came up when he first came on the council last year.
Rigdon said the property owner was given 90 days to tear down a portion of the structure and secure the rest of the building so it could be rehabbed. Rigdon said a follow-up letter was sent about 45 days ago.
Long said they did tear down a portion of the building, but the structure is not secure, they only put a tarp over the front. The council made a motion to instruct Rigdon to proceed with court action.
In other business, the council:
• Approved an ordinance amending the salary ordinance to allow for time and a half pay.
• Approved an ordinance creating a fund for the payment to the school officer agreement.
• Approved a pay application for Division A of the water project to R Yoder Construction for $91,657.34.
• Approved a pay application for Division B of the water project to Serge Construction for $271,326.77.
• Approved the purchase of a work hog jetting head from Brown Equipment at a cost of $1,832.55.
• Approved renewing the agreement with Everpar generators at a cost of $11,785.
• Heard the winterizing of the parks is completed. The end of the leaf pickup season will be determined in a few weeks.
• Decided the town employee Christmas dinner will be Dec. 12 at Camp Mack.
• Heard they need to appoint a new member to the Redevelopment Commission.
• Heard they’ll need to replace the building inspector as current inspector Tom Borger is retiring at the end of the year.
• Set the meeting for performance reviews for Dec. 15.
• Heard the Milford Fire Department will be collecting new, unwrapped toys for Toys for Tots and nonperishable food for the Milford Food Pantry on Saturday, Nov. 15 at the Milford Dollar General Store from 8 a.m. to noon.
