Four non-profit organizations who receive funding from the city provided Milford City Council with an update regarding projects and events held over the past year. The presentations are required as a way to demonstrate to the public how city grant funds are used. Angela Dorey, Chairperson of the Riverwalk Freedom Festival, accompanied by Jo Schmeiser, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Milford, spoke first, thanking council for supporting their support.
“This festival is very near and dear to my heart, and it is my 14th year chairing the festival,” Dorey said. “Not only are we grateful for the monetary support provided by the city, but we also thank Milford Parks and Recreation and the police department for their support. We also could not do it without support from the fire department.”
Dorey showed slides of last year’s festival which is the largest in Milford. One slide explained that $10,000 of the funding was used to cover the cost of fireworks, just over $7,800 was used for advertising while the remaining funds were used to pay entertainment, rent a stage and cover other event costs like portable toilets and tents.
“It’s really heartwarming to see everything that Milford pulls together,” Dorey said. “I also wanted to explain where the funding we receive for the city went. We respectfully request $35,000 for next year’s festival.”
Councilman Dan Marabello pointed out that council was appreciative of the work Dorey and the chamber did to put on such a great festival. He also thanked her for providing itemized spending.
Tom Summers, Executive Director of the Milford Museum presented next, starting his presentation with a photo of the current museum building, the original town post office and following it up with a photo of President Charles Hammond standing on the steps of what will be their new facility, the former police station.
“I spoke to Dean Johnson the other day and he says we are on the one-yard line,” Summers said about renovations to the building. “Most of the renovations will be funded by money we already received through the Community Investment Funds.”
Summers talked about the American History Series the museum held every month at the library, showing photos of Andre Swigert doing a program on the Tuskegee Airmen. He also stated that the museum has a “traveling trunk” that a volunteer takes into schools to provide details on historic items.
“We are working on a film about the colored balcony at the Schine Theater,” Summers said. “It is a huge project, but it’s almost done. We have done a few “man on the street” interviews like one where we talked to Harry Humes and his wife in front of the old fire hall that, even I did not know, was originally a community center.”
Each month, the museum does a “This Month in Milford History” video, pulling information from the Milford Chronicle. Those videos are available on YouTube and Facebook. They are also working on a podcast that will focus on southern Delaware history. Summers explained that 160 new items had been donated and one was a sword that her grandfather, who was at the Appomattox surrender, used during the Civil War. The museum is requesting $40,000 this year, up slightly from the year before.
Marabello asked who was moving into the old police station with the museum and Summers stated that they hoped the chamber would, but they still needed to run numbers for electricity and other expenses.
“We exceeded the amount of donations we received last year and grown our membership,” Summers said. “We even received an anonymous $20,000 donation this year.”
Lea Rosell, Executive Director of the Milford Public Library provided an overview of the library operations for the year. She pointed out that the library was run by a board of trustees who were appointed by Superior Court. There are five trustees and, because the library is split between Kent and Sussex, sometimes the number of trustees from each county varies.
“Milford is growing at a rate that is higher than the national average and I think there are probably a couple of reasons for that,” Rosell said. “Among retirees moving here, Milford presents a pretty affordable option when you want to move closer to the beaches. Delaware, as a whole, has a literacy challenge and, unfortunately, that correlates to other issues.”
Rosell pointed out that the National Assessment of Adult Literacy states that two-thirds of students who cannot read proficiently at the end of third grade end up in jail or on welfare. This indicates that reading proficiency is critical. She also explained that fines and fee structures were not under the local library control but controlled by the Delaware Library Consortium.
“You may recall that we were in the middle of doing a needs assessment the last time we spoke,” Rosell said. “Some of the deficiencies we found were a lack of electrical outlets for staff and patrons, structural damage caused by poor HVAC systems. Our bathrooms are ADA compliant but just barely and the configuration causes a security concern. Since I have been there, I have administered NARCAN twice in the bathroom.”
Other areas that need improvement are HVAC upgrades, aging furniture and fixtures as well as air and water seepage causing temperature problems.
“We love our location, we don’t want to rebuild or move, but we do want to sort of redesign this building,” Rosell said. “Our first estimate for doing everything we need was $11 million and I said “yeah, right.” So, we are going to try to do it in steps. We have secured almost $700,000 in funding and I have applications in for $600,000 more which will bring us to over $1.2 million.”
Rosell highlighted other programs at the library including the ability to rent “things,” like electronic drum kits, telescopes, drills, tools and sewing machines. Mayor Todd Culotta asked her what funding the library needed this year, and she stated she was not sure as they were still gathering financial data and she would provide that at a later date.
Downtown Milford Inc. also provided details on what they had done this year, pointing out that the organization sponsored several large events, bringing over 15,000 people to downtown. According to the Small Business Association, one visitor to a festival brings an estimated $150 to $200 in economic benefit to the area. This indicates that Downtown Milford Inc. events may have brought in as much as $2.25 million in spending. Downtown Milford Inc. asked for $50,000, the same funding they received last year.
The decision regarding funding to non-profit organizations will be decided in May during budget hearings.
