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Milford DMV moving soon to Elm Street

MILFORD – The Department of Motor Vehicle substation in Milford will be moving soon from its offices at the old state police station-DMV office on Meadowbrook Drive and into temporary quarters on Elm Street, not much more than a stone’s throw away.

The move is part of a plan to demolish the Meadowbrook Drive building to make way for a new Milford courthouse.

There is no date set for the move, but Larry Crowe, the DMV’s public information officer, said there will be no interruption in service.

The Elm Street building, once the Milford police station, is being renovated by Jeff Odhner, owner of Odhner Holographics in Amherst, who plans to turn the eastern part of the renovated building into a technology center.

The temporary DMV offices will be in the building’s western section, the side that faces Wilton.

The Meadowbrook Drive building, long the home of the state police Troop B headquarters, will be torn down and a new courthouse, with DMV offices, built on the site.

The Milford court has never had dedicated state-owned space, and the courthouse is in rented offices next to Sal’s Pizza on Elm Street. Before that, it was in rented space at the Meeting Place in Amherst.

Executive Councilor David Wheeler of Milford said he has been told the move will happen around March 1.

“I have been waiting for 28 years for the court (to be built in Milford), he said, remembering when around 2010, the court lost its funding and was almost forced to move into the Merrimack courthouse.

Wheeler said he expects the Executive Council to vote soon to give the contract to build the new court and DMV office to Turnstone Corp. of Milford.

The Elm Street buiding, an old motel that became the the town’s police station years ago, has been empty since Milford police moved into their new Garden Street headquarters about 10 years ago.

The DMV office is only open two days a week, Wednesdays and Thursdays, which has meant lines and complaints about service. Milford state Sen. Gary Daniels, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has been trying to get funding for more hours, Wheeler said.

Crowe confirmed there will be more money in the DMV’s budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1, allowing it to add positions.

“We are hoping, starting in the fall,” the office will be open five days a week, he said.

Kathy Cleveland can be reached at 673-3100 or kcleveland@cabinet.com.