Milford Trustees accept ARPA grant, discuss cemeteries
The Milford Township Trustees accepted a $150,000 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant at their July 2 meeting, opening up funding for a variety of projects.
The Butler County Board of Commissioners previously approved the allocation of ARPA funds to Milford Township at a June 10 meeting.
The township is replacing a fence at Edot Park in Darrtown, constructing a shelter at Somerville Park and donating the remaining funds to the Talawanda Oxford Pantry and Social Services.
During public participation, four community members criticized a new dog ban in the three cemeteries in the township. The ban passed at a previous trustees meeting.
Cam Houston, a Somerville resident who's husband is buried in Darrtown Cemetery, said pets bring comfort when visiting loved ones. Rebecca Evans, a Milford Township resident, stressed the importance of keeping public places family friendly.
Evans said the main reason dogs were banned was because the owners weren't cleaning up after them. However, Evans says cemetery staff told her that raccoons do most of the damage.
"One thing I saw as a mother and two daughters and two dogs that regularly walk to the cemetery, I don't know if mothers taught them to clean up," Evans said, "but what I do know [is] the value of being a family friendly venue outweighs whether they clean up poo or not. You know, we have so few family nice places."
Mary O'Leary, the lead dog handler at Miami University, said dogs were very important to her husband because of his history with dog therapy. Before death, he requested the dogs be brought to visit him with her.
Trustee President Mike Green defended the trustees' decision but said they would take their comments into consideration during their next discussion.
"Walking pets in a cemetery can be seen as disrespectful and insensitive to solemnity of the of the place, cemeteries or places where people come to mourn and remember their loved ones," Green said, "and bringing pets into such a sacred space can disturb the peace and tranquility the visitors seek."
He added that pets can inadvertently destroy gravestones and disturb wildlife in the area, and not all pet owners are responsible.
The meeting ended with the trustees passing a motion stopping air brakes on Oxford-Middletown Road. The resolution will go to the Butler County Commissioners and the Ohio Department of Transportation for approval.
The next meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 6 in the Milford Township Community Center building at 5113 Huston Road.
