The Village of Milford Center is poised to purchase a new meeting hall.
At a meeting Monday night, Milford Center village officials approved the recommendation to purchase the VFW Building #4599 on 15 W. Center St. for $30,000. The village also approved of the recommendation to make repairs on the building, allowing for “up to $25,000” to be paid.
“That takes us down from the original $50,000 we were thinking about (using to build a) building,” said Don Jones, chairperson for the village’s buildings, equipment, land, streets and sidewalks committee.
The discussion was brought up during June’s village meeting, when officials toured the facility and later discussed other options. After reviewing options such as a pole barn and bus garage, the village came to the conclusion that the VFW building would best suit its needs.
The building needs to have repairs made to it before it can be used as a meeting place. Jones said these repairs include tasks such as replacing ceiling tiles and gutters.
However, the biggest repair will be the roof. Jones said that will cost about $15,000.
The recommendation was passed on an emergency, with the second and third readings waived.
The vote passed five-to-one, with council member Terri Kean opposing it. When asked why she voted no, she said she had no comment.
An agreement will be made within the week. Council member Jeff Parren said the purchase will be made sometime in September. Repairs will start before winter, said council member Derek Wilson.
Council member Ron Payne said the official move-in could happen in, the latest, January, 2019.
Also at the meeting, the village agreed to hold trick-or-treating times for Milford Center from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 31.
When Wilson held a parks, events, recreation and community meeting earlier, which included Payne and Mayor Ray Reisinger, he said it came through discussion to propose it take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on a Saturday, which happened to be Nov. 3.
“The reasoning behind it is because we give people more time with their kids on the weekends so they don’t have to worry about work the next day,” Wilson said.
Parren said discussion was had in the past to keep the holiday to be celebrated on Oct. 31.
“I’ve always proposed in the years I’ve been around in the meetings to set the date to Oct. 31,” Parren said. “It’s the day of the holiday.”
Though he was originally in support of the Nov. 3 date, Payne changed his mind. He said he changed his decision to vote for the Oct. 31 date because “I had heard others say they wanted to keep it on All Hallows Eve,” and “that was enough to convince me.”
Also covered at the meeting:
-Wilson said he is looking to invest in flowers, trees, mulch, playground equipment, a stage and security cameras for the park.
-Reisinger said vandalism in the parks looks to be down, as he hasn’t had to sand graffiti off of a park table in six weeks.
-Council agreed to host a special meeting in the near future to review bid packages for trash take-out services in the village.
-Payne said the internet plan has been improved for the village hall. He discovered the village was paying $253 a month to Century Link for an outdated internet package. He said the village hall now has a much faster internet connection for $246 a month.
-After discussion, the village is looking to get the fire chief to inspect houses they wish to have condemned due to them being safety or health hazards.
-The village’s water department will be flushing hydrants beginning today and will end approximately Friday. Flushing will be completed during daytime hours. Since this will cause changes to the water pressure, residents are encouraged to refrain from doing laundry if they see discolored water.
-A document that informs residents about applying for a Community Housing Impact and Preservation (CHIP) grant to assist low to moderate-income households with repairs will be sent through residents’ water bills.
-The village’s Christmas parade will be held Nov. 25, hosted by the Union Township Fire Department.
The council will meet again Sept. 10.