by Nancy McGill
    The Milford Times
     The votes were counted by 8:50 p.m. Sept. 11, and the majority of those who did vote said no to Milford's request to purchase Lots 13, 14 and 15 and 16 at 319 First Street for $55,000.
     The site was to be used for a future muncipal building.
     Seward County Clerk Sherry Schweitzer said 241 total votes were counted, with 80 for the purchase and 161 against. That's 24 percent of the 1,116 registered voters in Milford.
     Milford City Hall is currently housed in a crumbling building that is more than 100 years old. Plans for a new building began nearly three years ago. Southeast Community College students took on the project of designing a new city hall and presented their plans to the council at one meeting.
     The city's quest to purchase the land began at a public hearing April 30.
     From the outset, the city met opposition from citizens, and on June 6, Milford resident Bill White turned in 148 signatures protesting the purchase.
     The signatures were enough to warrant a special election. Although the petition had asked the city to hold off on the special election until a regular election was scheduled in order to save taxpayers' money, the council set a date for the special election at its July meeting.
     In an interview with The Milford Times Aug. 30, Councilman Rick Fortune, who is a member of the city's building committee, said the city does not want to spend a lot of taxpayer money on the building. The city did not have an estimated cost for a new building at press time.
     "We don't want to stack bonds on top of bonds. If it (the building) comes in too high, it will just have to wait," Fortune said. "The plan never had a timetable or what it would take to get us a new building. It is time to move on."
     Finding another option may be the city's only choice. In July of 2006, Jason Suelter of Structural Design Group wrote a report on the condition of the present city hall, a 100-year-old-plus building with two bank vaults.
     In the four-page report, Suelter said he observed efflorescent stains on exterior walls from masonry that had been saturated and then dried. Water damage created visible settlement around the vault area.
     Suelter wrote, "A single width brick wall that forms the perimeter of the partial basement under the original building is failing with multiple cracks throughout the wall and horizontal movement at the top of the wall. It is currently acting as a retaining wall, but it has no capacity to resist the loads imparted on it."
     To insure future stability, Suelter said the masonry walls showing "excessive" water damage will need repair. The single width masonry wall will need to be removed and replaced if the partial basement is kept.
     "The safety and stability of the building is a concern," Councilman Lyle Neal wrote in an e-mail. "Old buildings do fail as we know from Beaver Crossing."
     JD's Beaver Lounge, the Beaver Crossing bar, collapsed Aug. 26 with 10 patrons inside. No one was injured. Suelter said on Sept. 11 he did not have an estimate of what it would take to repair the building.
     Chief of Police Forrest Siebken, another member of the building committee, said the group does not have a figure either.
     "Even if we could put money into it, you're not gaining any square footage," Siebken said about the size of city hall.
     The city had sent several letters inquiring about properties around town. Criteria included staying in the downtown business district on First Street. Most of the letters were never answered. As the city looked into the former Schlegel's building on First Street, it decided more room was needed to accomodate staff and storage, among other reasons.
     "Acquiring a downtown site has been challenging in location, parking and the affect on retail," Neal wrote.
     But when Butch Utter of Butch's Welding and Repair offered the four 25-acre lots with a first option to purchase a fifth lot on the same block, the city thought it was a good deal.
     "It's a reasonable price and economically feasible," Siebken said.
     Utter, 65, said that after 32 years, he is ready to give up some of his heavy work. He set the price of the land low to help the city out.
     "The town has been good to me," he said.
     As it did with its bonds, the city is looking to lighten the expense for taxpayers. City public accountant Dennis Kubicek recently told the city that its bonds are all necessary to keep the city running.
     Following is a breakdown of the city's bonds (interest not included):
     • Original sewer bond/lagoon from 1998 (refunded in 2004): Balance on principal: $845,000; final payment: 2018;
     • Fire equipment bond from 2005: Balance: $320,000; final payment: 2020;
     • Combined general obligation sewer bond (1996) and paving district bond (1997): Balance: $190,000; final payment: 2014;
     • General obligation water bonds from 2002: Balance: $660,000; final payment: 2022;
     • Highway allocation bond, JTA Phase III from 2007: This bond is not callable for five years, however, developer Larry Jantze has already paid off the assessments. The city became involved with Phase III because Jantze wanted restrictions on the paving in front of homes for the Sixth and Seventh Street development project.
     In his e-mail, Neal wrote that a Milford businessman proposed an option that may not require a bond for a new building.
     "The idea was leasing the space from a contractor who would build according to a city defined spec," he wrote.
     As for the city's unfinished projects, the building committee was asked about a restroom facility in the Uptown City Park. For now, the police department is satisfied with the location of the restrooms in the Webermeier Building.
     The old restrooms had ongoing problems such as vandalism, Siebken said. There's a lot more supervision in the Webermeier, he said, and the police have not had problems.
     "We're not going to not have restrooms," Fortune said.
     Park funds are largely set up to maintain the city's parks and swimming pool. The city has budgeted for park improvements in the past, namely to the Welch Park Softball Complex and the swimming pool.
     "I desire a solution that residents would support and be proud of," Neal wrote about the proposed land purchase. "We have terrific parks, senior center, library, modern fire hall and new equipment. Many of the items listed were approved by the vote for the people.
     "I believe voters desire the same for their city office."