Milford City Council

CCGM, outlined that the debates will follow a standard format, with a moderator presenting the same set of questions to all candidates. According to CCGM, the focus will be solely on local issues pertinent to Milford.

MILFORD, Del.- The controversial pallet village proposal in Milford took center stage at a workshop meeting Wednesday night.

City Council discussed different ideas of how to move forward with the idea, including a possible task force to work out details or even putting the village up to a vote in the city. 

However, according to city manager Mark Whitfield, the biggest obstacle currently facing the housing option for the homeless is a lack of operational funding- and without that funding, there can be no pallet village.

The pallet village is a program ran by the non-profit organization Springboard Collaborative, and aims to give the homeless temporary housing- so long as they are actively looking for permanent housing and follow basic rules.

The organization already has a location open in Georgetown, which has been operational for a little over a year. 

Judson Malone with Springboard Collaborative said that the lack of affordable housing is a massive challenge for those without a place to call home.

"Our program is is doing something rapidly at a fraction of the cost while we work on more affordable housing," he said. "The other option is just let them stay in the woods."

Milford mayor Archie Campbell made it clear that the funding for this proposal will not come from the wallets of taxpayers- and that the Springboard Collaborative will need to find the money elsewhere.

Not everyone is on board with the proposal, however.

"The majority of the people do not want this," said Milford neighbor Kim Wills. "We are not happy with the amount of litter or the extra homeless people on the street, the loss of business, the lack of safety."

It is important to note that there is no final location for this village that has been approved, and that the village itself has also not been given the green light by the council. This idea was shared numerous times by numerous council members.

"Stop the rumors," said Campbell.

Nothing was voted on at the workshop and nothing has been approved in relation to the Milford pallet village.