MILFORD – Given the choice between having them but not needing them or needing them and not having them, Milford Town Council voted Monday to buy two generators for emergency use.
The two 25kw generators from Middlebury Electric will cost $32,454 together, and could be used to power both a shelter and command center in case of a disaster such as snowstorm or widespread power outage. Council members decided to look into them last month when they also decided the town should have a disaster plan in place, after recalling times in recent years when residents lost power and had to take shelter in the fire station.
Council appointed Milford Police officer Travis Marsh as the town’s emergency management director Monday, after hearing an update from Marsh on the disaster plan he’s developing. He said the biggest challenge now is coming up with a method to activate an emergency plan, and council members agreed that it might prolong an emergency situation if enacting the plan required tracking down all the town officials.
Marsh also told council about two grants he’s looking at to fund the purchase of the generators, but since they might not hear a decision on them till fall, council decided to buy the power units now with emergency cumulative fund money and possibly a contribution from the Milford Redevelopment Commission.
Also Monday, council:
• Approved rezoning the former Christian Church of Milford parsonage at 111 W. 4th St. from public to residential, in order for it to be used as a home again.
• Voted to allow Graber Steel Specialties to use a former Catholic church purchased near its property for part residential, part storage use, on the stipulation nothing be stored outdoors; but voted against allowing another owned property across the street be used for part-time residential use.
• Heard an update from Building Inspector Ken Brower on unsafe properties in town. He said several are in the process of being repaired or sold, but a property at 209 N. West St., which received a hearing before the town building commissioner Wednesday, has been ordered to be razed if improvements aren’t made within 60 days.
• Adopted a peddler ordinance which requires every individual to buy a license, rather than allowing a company to buy one license to share among its salesmen.
(Story By The Times Union)
