GRANT FUNDING APPROVED FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT

The Village announces approval of full funding for a JAG LE grant application for the Milan Police Department. The Village applied for $16,957.80 in funding through an application with the Governor's Office of Criminal Justice Services in October 2011. The project will install: a records management system, two mobile data terminals for the cruisers and one cruiser video recorder. Awards were announced on January 17, 2012 with Milan receiving $3,673.35. The Village Safety Committee met with Police Chief Jim Rose and discussed the options for the community. The Safety Committee recommended that Village Council fund the remainder of the project. Village Council approved the recommendation at their January 25th meeting and allocated $15,168.65 for the project.

LAST LEAF PICKUP SCHEDULED

The Village Street Department will make the final leaf collection for this season on Friday, December 2, 2011.  Wrapping up leaf collection will allow the department to ready all snow clearing equipment for the winter season soon to follow.  If you ever wondered what the Village does with the large amount of leaves collected during the fall, the answer is they are taken to a nearby farmed field.  The farmer composts the leaves for several years, at which point he spreads them on his fields as a natural fertilizer.  EPA permits are completed in order to use the leaves in this manner.

NEW MAYOR'S COURT TIME

The Milan Mayor's Court will start at 5:00 PM each Monday in the Council Room at 11 S. Main Street.  Doors will open at 4:45 P.M.  This change takes place beginning Monday, December 5, 2011.

NEW COUNCIL MEMBER

Todd Barber was elected by Council to fill the remaining portion of the Council position recently vacated by Nina Kovesdi.  Todd's current term will end 12/31/2013.

EFFICIENCY SMART BRINGS SAVINGS $$$ TO ELECTRIC CUSTOMERS

October 31, 2011 – MILAN, OHIO –  Milan Electric Department & Efficiency Smart are helping residential and business electric utility customers to save money and energy this fall by mailing them valuable money saving coupons for energy efficient compact fluorescent lighting (CFL).These coupons will arrive in the mail in the early fall when efficient lighting is needed most.

We are getting into the season when lights need to be on longer due to days getting darker earlier, so we want to encourage utility customers to use CFLs instead of incandescent lighting. Lighting is 20 to 30% of a typical residential electric bill. You can save up to 67% of the cost to light your home by replacing all incandescent lights with CFLs.  It makes economic sense to switch out as many light bulbs that are less efficient as possible. The quality of CFLs has greatly improved over the past several years, and they can be used in a variety of places and ways, including indoor and outdoor flood lights, recessed cans and dimmable lighting locations.

Customers of the Village of Milan electric will receive $26 of coupons that may be redeemed for at least 14 CFLs. By replacing 14 incandescent lights, customers can save up to $518 over the life of the bulbs. The coupons will be accepted at any store that has GE brand CFLs in stock and that accepts manufacturer coupons. A list of participating stores can be found in the home lighting section of the http://WWW.EFFICIENCYSMART.ORG website. Utility customers can expect to receive the coupon mailing during the 3^rd or 4^th week of October. The offer will expire on December 31, 2011.

VILLAGE NATURAL GAS AGGREGATION PROGRAM PRICES SET

Customers of the natural gas aggregation program available for Village residents will see their price for natural gas drop from the previous $0.669 per CCF to $0.593 per Ccf for October followed by $0.613 for November through March.

NO RIGHT TURN ON RED IS BACK

During the US 250 replacement bridge project, Council approved removal of the NO TURN ON RED requirement in the SR 113 (Church Street) eastbound lane at the intersection with SR 601 (S. Main Street).  Council authorized placing this traffic control back soon after the current US 250 resurfacing project work is completed past the US 250/SR113 intersection.  The No Turn On Red signage was re-installed 9/12/2011.

APPLIANCE REBATES AVAILABLE NOW

The Village Electric Department has joined with other AMP communities to offer our residents participation with the Efficiency Smart program developed jointly between AMP and the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation.  More programs and communications will be coming in the followiing months.  Effective immediately, appliance rebates are available.  Milan electric utility customers can go to www.efficiencysmart.org for information and rebate forms.  $50 rebates for qualifying energy efficient refrigerators and clothes washers are some of the offers available.  List of rebates for over 75 energy efficient products (lighting, motors, HVAC, compressed air, and food processing)  for small to medium sized businesses.

VILLAGE RECEIVES ODNR GRANT FOR ASH TREE REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT

The Village was one of 12 northwest Ohio municipalities to receive a 2011 grant from the ODNR to cover half the cost for removing and replacing ash trees during 2011. The work included inventorying all existing ash trees, contracting removal of six larger trees and all stumps by a commercial tree service, removal of twenty ash trees by Village employees followed by purchase and planting of 26 replacement trees by our employees.  During this time, two residents donated additional funds used to purchase six additional trees.  The ODNR then inspected each replacment tree to ensure Village employees followed ODNR recommended tree planting guidelines.  With the successful inspection completed 11/29 and all grant paperwork turned in to the ODNR, the Village expects to receive the maximum grant refund in the amount of $6,400.