Among the changes to Milford in the coming months is the opportunity to become more biker-friendly.

On Monday morning, the Warsaw and Winona Lake area were informed that they had received a bicycle-friendly community status. Two years ago there were almost no bike routes in the area, according to Fred Helfrich, KCV Cycling Club spokesman, who attended the Monday evening Milford town Council meeting.

Helfrich stated the current goal of the club is to make all of Kosciusko County bike-friendly and that includes adding signs in Milford to create a bike route on the roads. The first set of signs will be at the edge of town at CR 1250, the second set will be on the south end of Main Street and the third set will take bikers out of town on CR 1150.

“One of the things we want to do here is create safety and improve health,” Helfrich said. He informed the council that the process of becoming bicycle-friendly will include more than just adding signs around town, it will include educating youth on safety and laws and more heavily enforcing bicycle laws, which are roughly the same as motor vehicle laws. The council seemed enthusiastic about the venture.

The Milford Police Department, Milford Town Council and Wawasee School Board continue to explore options to fund a resource officer for Milford School. One grant councilman Bob Cockburn has considered allows up to $55,000 to a school corporation the size of Wawasee, however, only 10 school systems in the state will receive it and the county needs to create a safety committee before any corporation in Kosciusko can be considered for it.

The town of Milford agreed to provide up to $10,000 for a pilot resource officer program from Aug. 15-Nov. 20, but they have decided not to sign documentation for it until Ridgon and Wawasee School Corporation’s attorney David Cates have discussed and modified the agreement.

In a separate matter, parking regulations may be changing in Milford with a new ordinance that Milford Town Attorney Jay Ridgon is drafting. Laws already guard against parking on the sidewalk, however, some houses in town have the unique situation of having their driveway go over the sidewalk, which have caused problems for utility crews trying to plow snow, leaves and general debris from the sidewalks.

Parking along Main Street may also be changing. Currently, ‘no parking’ signs cover four spaces along the main strip of the road, however, with 27 parking spaces the implication has been that individuals simply cannot park in spaces with a sign in front of them from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. The council is currently considering user-friendly signage to make the law more clear; no parking anywhere on Main Street. They are also hoping to change the time from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m., since some businesses on the strip are open late.

In financial matters, the utilities department is concerned about the amount of soybean oil being dumped by Biowaste Processing. Recently, the amount has reached about 5,000 gallons, costing the town nearly $6,000 to get rid of. While there is already a surplus charge on the bill, it is not enough to make up for the cost as waste fees are nearly double what the town believes they should be. The utilities department hopes to discuss limiting the amount of waste allowed by a single entity with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

The prescription drug collection box is now operational. Anyone with prescription pills or patches to discard can bring them to the back of Milford Town Hall for disposal between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. thanks to a donation by the Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation. Kosciusko County Prosecutor Dan Hampton has also agreed to provide the required video surveillance for the box to meet the Drug Enforcement Administration’s requirements.

The next meeting of the Milford Town Council is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, June 10. Trupointe is expected to attend the meeting to provide an overview of construction plans to the town.

For a more in-depth account of the Milford Town Council meeting, see this week’s issue of The Mail-Journal.