Milford Commission to Grant Manufacturing Scholarships
MILFORD — Milford Redevelopment Commission met Monday, June 13, at town hall. Among the motions passed was one to set aside $2,500 for scholarships.
With 11 new projects and 850 new manufacturing jobs paying $18.26 per hour in the works, Kosciusko County is in dire need of skilled labor. Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation is partnering with area schools and Ivy Tech to implement training for high schoolers, making them job ready upon graduation.
Commission member Doug Ruch suggested using half of the $5,000 set aside for scholarships for this program, and the motion passed. “This will help more people in a positive way,” he stated.
Commission president Dan Brown reported prospects for the newly annexed industrial area. Some of the interest stems from Kosciusko County’s involvement with the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, an economic team serving 11 counties as a point of contact for businesses interested in locating in the region.
“We’re getting some eyes on it,” Brown commented, adding hopefully someone will seek further interest.
Other items on the commission’s agenda are as follows:
• The invoice for Middlebury Electric was presented for the amount of $29,804 for the generators now up and running in town hall and the community building. The commission voted to approve payment.
• A “no excess value” letter was adopted by the commission to be downloaded to Gateway, where government spending is made available to the public by the Department of Local Government Finance.
• The economic development report, showing revenue of $380,000 from July 1, 2014, to June 30, 2015, was approved.
• Annual membership to KEDCO was renewed at a cost of $1,200.
• The budget for 2017 of $150,000 was approved by the commission.
• The commission discussed future projects, including the extension of CR 1300N, which is underway. About 1,000 feet of the extension will be Milford’s to maintain. Work is expected to begin in 2020.
Expected upgrades to the sewer plant will also effect TIF districts one and two, but details will not emerge until next fall, according to Ruch.
• Commission members Charlotte Siegfried and Ruch are researching the possibility of a new fire district.