Village council in stalemate over skate park locale

The Milford Village Council was deadlocked at its Tuesday, Sept. 6 meeting when it came to a decision on making a proposed location for the Milford skate park available to Milford Township.

Council Members Michael Glagola, Kevin Ziegler and Elizabeth Heer voted in favor of a motion to make the site available, but James Kovach, Jerry Aubry and Jennifer Frankford voted against it.

Council President Terri Rusas-George was absent from the meeting, leading to a 3-3 stalemate. The tie vote killed the motion.

Village Manager Arthur Shufflebarger said that the main objection from some on the council is a call for a township millage to fund a skate park project.

“Village residents shouldn’t be asked to support a skate park millage when our roads need fixing,” Milford Village Clerk Deborah Schwartz said.

The location of the proposed park would encompass 1.6 acres of land near the Milford Recreational Trail, west of Milford Road and south of General Motors Road, near the Pet Supplies Plus and CVS Pharmacy stores.

The push to build a skateboarding facility is being headed by Friends of Milford Skate Park, a non-profit, tax-exempt organization that raises money through fund-raisers and donations.

The group is headed by Chairman Ric Mueller, who also serves on the Milford Township Planning Commission.

Mueller has previously said he hopes the public can vote on a proposed millage to help fund the park during the 2012 general election.

A call to Mueller for a comment on the council’s deadlock was not returned prior to press time.

Friends of Milford Skate Park meets every second and fourth Monday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at South Hill Church on South Hill Road, and will meet again on Monday, Sept. 26.

For more information, contact Mueller at 248-318-9010 or visit www.skatemilford.com.