Residents and town officials Tuesday brainstormed ways to improve Milford facilities and plan for the future.
Mike Reese and Tim Wall, architects with the Troyer Group, lead the meeting introducing the town to the facility study the firm is developing. They spoke with town officials and department heads earlier in the day and gathered input from residents Tuesday evening.
The study focuses on several facilities in town: the utilities department complex on the north edge, the fire station on the south end and the town hall and community center in the middle. It may also take into account assets such as the water tower, wastewater treatment plant and the lakeside park, as well as new features to make the town more attractive to residents both current and future.
Town council contracted with Tryer Group after raising the possibility of combining police and fire services in a single building. The firm will try to determine if that idea makes sense, and figure costs for different options for other facilities as well as possible funding sources, including grants that need a facility plan for the town to be elligible.
“This is a good community, but how can it be better? I know that’s a big question to lay in your lap,” Wall said before having attendees break into three smaller groups. Group discussion touched on quality of life issues, such as having good schools but not having a grocery store for the better part ofa decade; the importance of planning rather than just reacting; and brick-and-mortor concerns such as how some buildings might be expanded or used differently.
Becky Alles, Van Buren Township trustee, highlighted one of the challenges of the study with the example of the fire house: it’s an historic building for the town, but the bay doors may prove to be too small for newer firetrucks the department is scheduled to buy in a few years. The town also doesn’t know if the EMS squad housed in the back of the community building will have new needs after the purchase of Multi-Township by Kosciusko Community Hospital.
From here, Reese said, the firm will put together and prioritize a number of objectives and start on a draft review for the town council to look at in preparation for the final study.
(Story by The Times Union)
