HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - CC - 06/21/2021Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
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CALL TO ORDER
Mayor PT Jamison: Good evening. I would like to welcome Father Reggie from St.
Aidan's Episcopal Church, who will lead us in our invocation.
Father Reggie: Good evening, everyone. [Clears throat] The Lord be with you.
Tammy: And also with you.
Father Reggie: Heavenly Father, in your word you have given us a vision of that
holy city to which the nations of the world bring their glory.
Behold and visit we pray the cities of the earth, especially Milton.
Renew the ties of mutual regard which bind us in our civic life.
Send us honest and able leaders. Enable us to eliminate poverty,
prejudice, oppression that peace may prevail with righteousness
and justice, with order, and that men and women from different
cultures, races, and of differing talents may find with one another
the fulfillment of their humanity through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Tammy: Amen.
Mayor PT Jamison: Good evening. I would like to call the regular meeting of the
Milton City Council for Monday, June 21° 2021 to order. The city
strongly recommends that you review tonight's agenda carefully,
and if you wish to speak on any item on the agenda then please
bring your comment cards to the clerk as soon as possible. While
the Milton — while the Milton rules allow a speaker to turn in their
comment card up until the clerk calls the agenda item, once the
agenda item is — is called, no more comment cards can be
accepted. Will the city clerk please call the roll and make general
announcements?
Tammy: Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem and Council. I'll be happy to call roll
for the June 21, 2021 regular meeting. I would like to remind those
in attendance to please silence all cell phones at this time. Those
attending the meeting who would like to make a public comment,
you are required to complete a public comment card prior to
speaking on an item. Your comment card must be presented to the
city clerk prior to the agenda item being called.
All speakers, please identify yourself by name, address, and
organization before beginning your comment. If you are
representing an organization, an affidavit is required stating you
have the authority to speak on behalf of that organization. Please
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
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review tonight's agenda, and if you would like to make a
comment, please bring your comment card to me now.
Demonstration of any sort within the chamber is prohibited. Please
refrain from any applause, cheering, booing, outburst, or dialogue
with any person speaking. Anyone in violation will be asked to
leave.
As I call roll this evening, please confirm your attendance. Mayor
Pro Tem Peyton Jamison?
Mayor PT Jamison: Here.
Tammy: Council Member Paul Moore?
CM Moore: Here.
Tammy: Council Member Laura Bentley?
CM Bentley: Here.
Tammy: Council Member Joe Longoria?
CM Longoria: Here.
Tammy: And Council member Rick Mohrig?
CM Mohrig: Here.
Tammy: And Council member Carol Cookerly? [Pause] Is she — and for the
record, Mayor Joe Lockwood is absent. Would everyone please
rise for the Pledge of Allegiance?
Mayor: Mayor Joe Lockwood absent. Mayor Pro Tem Peyton Jamison
present.
Councilmembers Present: Councilmember Paul Moore, Councilmember
Laura Bentley, Councilmember Joe Longoria, and Councilmember Rick
Mohrig.
Councilmember(s) Absent: Councilmember Carol Cookerly.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE (Led by Mayor Joe Lockwood)
All: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and
to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, invisible,
with liberty and justice for all.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
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Mayor PT Jamison: Will the city clerk please sound the next item?
Tammy: That next item is Approval of Meeting Agenda, Agenda Item No.
21-182. Mayor Pro Tem?
Mayor PT Jamison: All right. Is there a motion?
CM Bentley: Mayor Pro Tem, I'd like to make a — a motion to approve the
meeting agenda.
CM Moore: Second.
Mayor PT Jamison: All right. I have a motion from Council Member Bentley and a
second from Council Member Moore. All in favor, please say
"aye."
All:
Aye.
Mayor PT Jamison: Opposed? [Pause] That's unanimous. All right. Tammy, is there
any public comment?
Motion and Vote: Councilmember Bentley moved to approve the
Meeting Agenda. Councilmember Moore seconded
the motion. The motion passed (5-0). Mayor Lockwood
and Councilmember Cookerly were absent from the
meeting.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Tammy: Yes, sir, Mayor Pro Tem. I do have one. It's Mr. John Prattis. I'd
like to invite you to the podium please.
Mayor PT Jamison: Okay. The next item is General Public Comment. Public Comment
is a time for citizens to share information with the Mayor and the
City Council, and to provide input and opinions on any matter that
is not scheduled for its own public hearing during today's meeting.
Each citizen who chooses to participate in Public Comment must
complete a comment card and submit it to the city clerk or raise
your hand if you are attending on a virtual basis prior to the agenda
item being called.
Please remember that this is not a time to engage the Mayor Pro
Tem or members of the City Council in conversation. When your
name is called, please come forward or unmute yourself and speak
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
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into the microphone stating your name and address for the record.
You will have five minutes for remarks. The city encourages you
to review the agenda, and if you wish to speak to bring your
comment cards to the clerk or raise your hand virtually right now.
Okay? Go ahead.
John: My name is John Prattis. I live at 100 Gladwyne Ridge Drive,
Milton. And, uh, the reason I'm here, I'm asking, uh, to have an
address change on a construction site in my neighborhood. Uh, I
called for Steven Krokoff, and he wasn't available, and I believe it
was Stacey that gave me a call back immediately. And everybody
said it looks like it's gonna be okay, because 100 yards from my
house they're building a new home, and it has the same address as
mine, and there's a lot of confusion. I'm getting a lot of items
delivered to my home that belongs to the construction site.
So, I went away for about a week or so and followed up, called
Planning. They said, uh, "Nope, it's gonna stay the way it is. It will
settle itself up over time." Well, I've been in my house 26 years,
and I — I don't see it changing. My yard's been getting marked up.
I've been getting deliveries. The other day some poor fella trudged
up my big driveway with a range and dropped it off. I have to send
it back to the new home.
So, fortunately, I called back, and I got Tammy. And Tammy ran
right upstairs, and apparently her twin sister's in Planning. And she
said, "John, it's underway. They're gonna make those changes."
And when I had called Planning prior to talking to Tammy they
said, "No, no. We're not gonna change anything. We've already
done all the permits. Everything's done. It'd be too big of a hassle
to change all that." So, I said, "Well, I been in my house 26 years.
It may be more of a hassle for me and my neighbor who doesn't
even have a mailbox to have the same address on the same road."
So, it looks like it's gonna be changed, but for the record I just
wanna state it.
Mayor PT Jamison: Thank you.
John: Thank you.
Mayor PT Jamison: I've heard the same, and I will be following up. Thank you.
John: Thank you.
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Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
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CONSENT AGENDA
Mayor Jamison: All right. I'll move on to Consent Agenda. Will the city clerk
please sound the items?
Tammy: Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem. The first item is Approval of the April
12, 2021 City Council Meeting Minutes, Agenda Item No. 21-183.
Our second item, Approval of the April 26, 2021 City Council
Meeting Minutes, Agenda Item No. 21-184.
Our third item, Approval
Investment Report for Period
185.
of the Financial Statements and
7, April 2021, Agenda Item No. 21 -
Our next item, Approval of an Athletic Association Facility Use
Agreement Between the City of Milton and the North Atlanta
Football League, Agenda Item No. 21-186.
Our fifth item, Approval of a Facility Use Agreement Between the
City of Milton and Love GOGA, LLC to Provide Goat Yoga and
Mindfulness Programming for Youth and Adults, Agenda Item No.
21-187.
Our sixth item, Approval of a Document of Understanding
Between the City of Milton and Happy Tails Pet Therapy, Inc. to
Provide Animal Assisted Therapy to Camp Joyful Soles, Agenda
Item No. 21-188.
Our next item, Approval of Subdivision Plats and Revisions. The
first development is the Gorko Trust - Olga Gluschak property. It's
3305 and 3307 Bethany Bend. It's Land Lot 900 and 901, District
2, Section 2. It is a minor plat subdividing one parcel into two
tracts. It's a total of 2.13 acres and a density of 0.94 lots per acre.
Our second development is Curry and Collis property at 375 and
385 Darby Road, and 15640 and 15650 Tullgean Drive, Land Lot
376, 416, 417, District 2, Section 2. It's a minor plat subdividing
one parcel into four tracts, a total of 33.973 acres with a density of
0.12 lots per acre.
Our third development is Brad Bolduc property at 14685 Wood
Road, Land Lot 630631, 666 and 667, District 2, Section 2. It's a
minor plat combining two parcels into one, a total of 10.930 acres.
It's Agenda Item No. 21-189.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
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Mayor PT Jamison: Thank you. Um, do I have a motion to approve the Consent
Agenda?
CM Mohrig: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, I make motion that we accept the Consent
Agenda as read.
CM Moore: Second.
Mayor PT Jamison: All right. I have a motion from Council Member Mohrig and a
second from Council Member Moore. All in favor please say
"aye."
All:
Aye.
Motion and Vote: Councilmember Mohrig moved to approve the
Consent Agenda as read. Councilmember Moore
seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0). Mayor
Lockwood and Councilmember Cookerly were absent
from the meeting.
Mayor PT Jamison: Opposed? [Pause] That's unanimous. Okay, we will move on to
Reports and Presentation. Will the city clerk sound the first item?
Tammy: The first item is a Proclamation Recognizing Ella Katekovich and
Jeslyn Guo for their Efforts to Create a Local Opportunity for
Glass Recycling in the City of Milton. Mayor Pro Tem?
Mayor PT Jamison: Thank you. Um, I'm actually kinda glad the mayor isn't here
tonight because, uh, Ella and Jeslyn reached out to me probably a
year and a half ago, maybe. Maybe it was a couple years ago. And
they, uh, were very adamant on getting a glass recycling program
in the City of Milton, and I find it fitting that I get to read the
proclamation tonight that y'all made that happen. I think
everybody in the city has been thrilled. Um, so, I will read this, and
we'll come down and we'll take a picture.
So, "This proclamation recognizes Ella and Jeslyn for their efforts
to create a local opportunity for glass recycling in the City of
Milton, whereas glass recycling — glass containers are 100%
recyclable and can be recycled endlessly with no loss of purity or
quality, and whereas it can take up to one million years for glass in
a landfill to break down, and whereas recycling glass requires 30%
less energy than making it from scratch, and whereas a used glass
bottle can go from a recycling plant to a store shelf in as little as 30
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Monday, June 21, 2021
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days, and whereas for years Milton residents have been unable to
recycle glass containers curbside despite a strong desire to do so
and better the environment.
"And whereas recognizing this need, Milton High School students
Ella and Jeslyn made it their mission to help address this need, and
whereas Ella and Jeslyn sought out companies that would accept
recycled glass and ultimately connecting the City of Milton with
strategic materials, and whereas these efforts are an important part
of the reason why a large container for glass recycling now sits in
Bell Memorial Park as a service to residents, and whereas these
two students have inspired their fellow citizens with their
enthusiasm, energy, ideas, and initiative to support our community,
and whereas city staff are incredibly grateful to Ella and Jeslyn for
being integral to our team committed to making Milton and our
world a better place.
"And now, therefore, we, the Mayor Pro Tem and City Council of
the City of Milton, hereby recognize and thank Ella and Jeslyn for
giving graciously of their time to facilitate a local option for
recycling glass in the city of Milton, This is given under our hand
and seal, the City of Milton, on this 211 day of June, 2021." So,
thank you both. [Applause]
[Clears throat] All right. Will the city clerk sound the next item?
Tammy: The next item is the North Fulton CID Presentation of Proposed
Blueprint 11I. It is presented by Miss Kristin Winzeler. She's the
Program Director at the North Fulton CID. Welcome.
Kristin: Good evening, everybody. Thank you so much for having us. Uh,
like y'all said, my name is Kristin Winzeler, the Program Director
for the North Fulton Community Improvement District. Um, I
know most of y'all know what the CID is, but just in case, a little
refresher. Uh, we are an organization of commercial property
owners who invest in infrastructure within the district. Um, and I
could talk your ear off about the CID for a really long time, so if
you do have questions or you wanna reach out individually, I'd be
happy to meet with you, uh, one-on-one to discuss that.
Um, but today I'm here to just, uh, give you all an update on our
Blueprint III Master Plan process. Uh, so, the North Fulton CID,
each year we update our Master Plan, and as part of that process
we like to come to all the City Councils within our district. We
have the city of Milton, the city of Alpharetta, and the City of
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Monday, June 21, 2021
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Roswell within our district. So, I like to come to y'all and just give
y'all a brief update on what we're doing and make sure, uh, there's
nothing on there that y'all hate, or if there is something that you
love, we wanna hear about it as well.
Um, I'm joined here today by my colleague, Alex Battle with the
CID, as well as our, uh, consulting team that is putting together the
Master Plan update. Uh, you'll hear from Eric Bosman in a minute.
Uh, he's pretty familiar around here, so you probably know who he
is. Um, but he actually did our original Master Plan, uh, which was
approved in 2007, and then we did our second update which we
call Blueprint 2.0, : uh, in 2014. And then, now we're doing
Blueprint III. As you can see, we're very creative with our naming
process. [Laughter]
But, um, we're very excited that we're going through this process
again. Uh, I will say it is quite a rigorous process. We do a lot of,
um, input from stakeholders. We meet with a lot of, uh, city staff.
We meet with a lot of property owners and, uh, property managers.
I will say a huge thank you to many of your staff members who we
have met with previously. Uh, Bob, who is on the back, as well as
Sarah LaDart and Sara Leaders have met with us a couple of times
actually, uh, to go through our — our list, and make sure, uh, that
we can bring it to y'all, and hopefully, uh, receive a favorable
response.
Again, we're not necessarily asking for approval, but we do want
to make sure that we're doing things that y'all want us to do. I'm
just gonna go to the next slide — nope, I messed it up. Oh, thanks,
Eric. Eric's gonna help me with the tech. Thank you. I almost
pressed the wrong button, y'all. Um, so, I do just — before I bring
Eric up to tell you about the plan, um, I do wanna just give y'all a
heads up.
Uh, so, we, uh, can only spend money within our district, so our
plan really represents that. And unfortunately, Milton only has a
few, uh, properties within the North Fulton CID right now. Um, I
will say we actually, uh, met with Bob and Sara today to talk about
how we can maybe help and — and expand that. Um, that would be
up to the property owners. Um, but again, um, I just wanna make
sure y'all are aware of that.
So, we do have some things that I think will really help and benefit
Milton on our list, um, and hopefully there will be more to come,
uh, once we expand a little bit further, uh, into the Milton area if
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Monday, June 21, 2021
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the property owners are amenable to that. Um, and then, I did
again put together — uh, we put together this little, uh — just this
little, uh, graphic to show where we could expand. Um, the
Deerfield area in particular, I know y'all have a lot going on there
right now. There's a lot of activity, a lot of interest. Um, so, we
think that might be the next really great, uh, area for us to include,
um, with the City of Milton. Um, and with that, I'm gonna bring
up Eric, who's gonna kinda give you the meat of the presentation.
Thank you.
Eric: Thank you, Kristin, and — and good evening, Council. You know,
the CIDs, typically what's in their wheelhouse are infrastructure
investments. And like most other community improvement
districts in the Atlanta region, the first two iterations of the North
Fulton CID's Blueprint focused very heavily on vehicular
connectivity, uh, improving congestion at intersections, uh,
improvements to the offramp from Georgia 400 at Windward
Parkway, new roadways like Westside Parkway and North Point
Parkway.
And what you will see in Blueprint III is that the CID really is at a
point of transition where there's only so much more we can in
terms of addressing vehicular congestion within the district. Now,
that's not to say it's not addressed. Under Access, the CID is still
very focused on maintaining access and mobility along Georgia
400, to and from Georgia 400, particularly looking at east/west
mobility throughout the district, but really focusing on emerging
technologies and how can we use technology, signal timing,
automated vehicle technology, and communications technology to
address and mitigate some of our congestion issues within the
district rather than road widening and adding additional lanes to
our roadways?
However, at this point in its evolution, the CID also is looking
beyond the automobile and really looking to invest in the character
of the district. How do we make sure that the investments and the
new development that we're seeing in and along the Georgia 400
corridor is adding to the sense of place and to the value of
investment within the districts? And again, how can we use
technology as a seed to do that?
The CID also is looking to strategically expand, as you heard
Kristin mention. The CID can only spend money within its
boundaries. So, as you think about some of the redevelopment
activity that's coming to Milton, while the district does have to
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Monday, June 21, 2021
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remain contiguous — it can't jump over parcels — it does provide an
opportunity for additional public/private partnerships, and you'll
notice a multimodal headline in Blueprint III where the CID is
much more invested now in trails, in sidewalk infrastructure,
anything we can do to provide folks an alternative to moving
throughout our district in the vehicle, whether that's walking,
bicycling, or other modes.
And with the prospect of transit services coming up Georgia 400 in
the future is part of GDOT's express lanes, the CID is looking to
take a leadership role and be an active partner in understanding the
impact to the district and the potential transit -oriented development
that could occur within close walkable proximity of those proposed
transit stations along Georgia 400.
Now, Kristin mentioned there are only a handful of properties in
Milton today, so our project list in Blueprint III is not long. But
one of the things we really talked about with your staff and with
other cities is the need for the Windward corridor to evolve over
the next generation of development. What's on Windward today
west of Georgia 400 over to Deerfield, and in fact all the way up to
Highway 9, is more of a very traditional development pattern that
by its very nature does create a lot of automobile trips and
congestions. So, that's an area of focus for the CID, but there's no
one transportation investment or project that will address that.
Really what we saw as the opportunity in Windward is you have
the Georgia 400/Highway 9/LCI area plan that was adopted in
2012 and will be due for a 10 -year update potentially next year. So,
all of the ideas that we talked about with local investors and with
staff really all starts with updating that LCI plan, because that's
where the great ideas come from for what the next wave of
investments need to be from the public sector. So, that's really the
major project that we put into the Blueprint because that's the
starting point. And the CID would, um, be open to having the
discussion with the city about how to partner on that effort from a
funding and implementation standpoint.
The two other projects that are right at your doorstep that are on
the map that may be on your screen — uh, you'll notice that there's
a red circle around the Georgia 400 interchange. That — that is an
indication that there is a proposed transit station at the Windward
Park & Ride. And thinking about how we can improve walkability
and bicycling to that station rather than everyone having to drive to
it in the future is something that's on our list.
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Monday, June 21, 2021
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And then, the green circle that is in 9, while it's within the city of
Alpharetta city limits, that's a greenway connection from the
interchange along the north side of Windward Parkway over to
Marconi Drive, and then down to the Big Creek Greenway. We
know that part of what's been in the City of Milton's thinking for
quite some time is how to connect your trail infrastructure to other
major regional trails. So, while that's in the City of Alpharetta, we
noted that that may be of interest to you. And in fact, that project,
the Greenway, um, is actually the No. 2 project in priority on our
implementation list.
So, while I know that you can't read all of the small text on this,
what this metric shows is these are all of our short-list Blueprint III
projects. Basically, our five-year action plan, those two yellow
projects are the greenway on Windward is Project No. 2, and then
updating the, uh, Windward LCI is actually Project No. 9 on our
list. So, while this shows all the projects that are in Alpharetta and
Roswell as well as Milton, this gives you an idea of where those
couple of projects that are most relevant to the City of Milton fall
within our order.
So, as Kristin noted, this is really a point of information. We don't
wanna ask our CID Board to adopt a five-year action plan, a
master plan that hasn't, um, at least been reviewed by the cities
which it potentially impacts, so we welcome any comments or
input. Um, as Kristin said, we certainly don't want to move
forward with projects that you don't support on our short list, but
we're also open if there are other things that you would like for us
to consider.
Mayor PT Jamison: Great. Um, Council have any questions? No? Go, go.
CM Moore: Um, I don't know if this is appropriate for where the CID comes
into play, but if I look at some of the new development that's
happening with the Georgia 400 expansion today, one of the
significant things that's happened across the entire Georgia 400
corridor is the extraction or changes in [inaudible] [00:23:15].
When they built it originally it was wooded, and there was no —
there's no median, etc. And that's — that's all changed today for
good future growth.
Uh, is that something the CID addresses in terms of the aesthetics?
You talked a little bit about that, um, I think in your presentation.
One of the things I'd love to not have happen up here is the, um,
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Monday, June 21, 2021
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containment of the work area by the large, um, I guess acoustic
walls and allow the trees to still do that. So, you — you put a higher
value on the trees to be the sound barrier rather than an artificial,
manmade wall. So, is that something that the CID can weigh in on?
Eric: Yeah. We don't — we don't have a lot of influence over the
Department of Transportation, but certainly that's a conversation
that I think we would be willing to incorporate into some of our
conversations. On the arterial routes, the CID does have a very
good history of working with both the DOT and with the local
jurisdictions that oftentimes those roadway improvements don't
include budget, um, or in some cases just forethought for trails, for
sidewalks, for landscaping. And the CID does have a really good
history.
Um, the CID actually did all of the — the landscaping of the four
interchanges along 400. Um, they've partnered with the
municipalities and DOT from time to time to make sure that those
amenities and the multimodal facilities are part of those larger
projects. So, I would expect that would be something they'd
continue to — to be willing to entertain.
CM Moore: And that work has been terrific. The aesthetics have really been
improved over the years, for those interchanges in particular are
outstanding. It really creates a difference sense of place. I just hate
the fact that it's encased as you get deeper, you know, towards the
city in this corridor — you know, this artificial corridor. Let's let the
look and feel of what has been a wooded area as you get up
further, uh, 400 to stay as best we can. Thanks.
Mayor PT Jamison: Thank you. And I will say I'm glad y'all are doing the priorities as
trails. I think our citizens really, really, um, enjoy that, so I
appreciate that. All right, thank you.
CM Moore: Thank you.
Eric: Thank you very much.
Mayor PT Jamison: All right. Will the city clerk sound the final Report and
Presentation item?
Tammy: That final item is presentation of Milton's 2040 Comprehensive
Plan Draft. Ms. Laura Richter?
Laura: All right. Good evening. Thank you all for having me here.
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Monday, June 21, 2021
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[Clears throat] All right. Uh, again, thank you, Mayor and
Council. Um, I appreciate your time tonight. And this is
Presentation of the Draft 2040 Comprehensive Plan. Uh, my name
is Laura Richter. I'm an associate with TSW. I'm a planner and
designer, and I've been working with your community for almost a
year now on this plan. Uh, Bob will chime in whenever he sees fit
tonight, so we'll be co -presenting.
Um, I wanna start off and talk a little bit about our project team.
Um, first and foremost, the City of Milton, the Milton residents —
there it goes — and the CPAC, uh, formed a foundation for our
project team, which is the Comprehensive Plan Advisory
Committee some of you are members of. And we have a few
members in our audience tonight. Um, this group — uh, local group
has guided our consultant team led by TSW, um, which also
includes Noell Consulting. Um, they have led the market study
effort. Um, the full market study is an appendix in the draft
document.
Uh, Gresham Smith led the transportation efforts, and Southface
led the sustainability components of this plan. Our agenda tonight,
uh, we are going to go over our planning process, the
recommendations to date, the short-term work program, next steps
in the adoption process, uh, we'll have a public comment period,
and then we'll have a discussion with you all.
Planning Process, the overall process is divided into four different
phases: Research and Analysis, Visioning, the Draft Plan, and
Final Plan. I will go into each of these in a little bit more detail,
um, as we go along in the presentation. Right now we're in the
Draft Plan phase. Um, we have completed our public engagement
process, and we are moving towards the third -to -date public
comment period starting Friday required by the state. Um, and we
are looking towards an anticipated adoption in October of this
year.
Our first phase began, um, late summer 2020, um, with Research
and Analysis. We reviewed your 2016 Comprehensive Plan, your
Parks Master Plan, your Trail Plan, um, among many others. Um,
we facilitated meetings with city staff in the Steering Committee,
which has met almost every week for — for six, seven months at
least. Um, we mapped all of our existing conditions, greenspaces,
zoning future land use.
Um, we also conducted a market demand study led by Noell. They
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Monday, June 21, 2021
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were here and presented at the CPAC on January 28th. Um, and do
keep in mind that below are our demand findings from the market
study, and they do not necessarily indicate what the city will take
on or develop in the future. So, these are just forecasts. Milton
could develop 30 to 40 single-family home units per year. Milton
could add up to 200 rental apartments every four to five years, and
so on. And again, you can read the market study, um, as an
appendix to the document, um, with all different types of data
analysis for your municipality.
And one of the most integral parts of this process is the CPAC,
which is the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee. Um, all of
these people have been appointed to these positions and volunteer
many hours, um, out of their busy days and lives to be present and
represent all of the different character areas in Milton. Um, I really
do wanna thank them for their service. They have, um, invaluable
local knowledge, um, and really represent the community so well
and help guiding this plan.
We had four different types of public meetings, uh, throughout the
process. We had some traditional public meetings, um, which
were, uh, a little bit more creative because of the pandemic. Uh,
our first kickoff meeting, which was in December, was hosted
completely virtually on Zoom and Facebook Live. Uh, we were
fortunate enough to have our Draft Plan Open House outside here
in the plaza in Community Place, um, last month. Uh, we had a
great turnout with people from the cycling community and also
the, um, Parks Committee, um, as well as CPAC and other
community members.
Uh, we held three online education sessions focusing on
placemaking, branding, sustainability, and smart cities, to mention
a few topics. We had five online forums which include community
surveys, hot topic surveys related to rural character, land use,
among others, um, as well as an online option for our Draft Plan
Open House. Uh, we held two Pop -ups, which you see in these
pictures, uh, one at Bell Memorial Park and one at the new
Crabapple Starbucks just down the street.
Um, we did a great activity that discussed rural heritage and
preservation in Milton which was very warmly received by
everyone that we spoke to. Um, and here's an image of the Draft
Plan Open House which was held just at Community Place. Uh,
and through our public engagement, um, a lot of themes emerged
which you'll see on your screen, including, um, what Milton
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
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residents like large lot development, greenspace, trails and parks,
um, the arts and public art, as well as rural and equestrian heritage,
among others. And so, these really influenced and drove our public
engagement process, um, and led to many, uh, thoughtful
recommendations.
So, if you go through the document, um, we have it built off of
policies and projects, um, addressing major issues and topics
throughout Milton, and we took the 2016 plan as our basis. We
made some tweaks, we made some edits, and we made some new
additions, um, looking for the — towards the future vision of
Milton. Um, and these all lead to your Short Term Work Program,
which shows all the initiatives the city will undertake in the next
five years, um, as well as some priority projects that have been
identified.
Uh, additionally, we affirmed the vision and mission from the 2016
plan with CPAC and the general public. The vision reads: "Milton
is a premier city where we strive to promote a high quality of life,
create a strong sense of community and place, respect our rural
heritage while guiding our future to be the best place to call
home." The mission reads: "We take responsibility together to
provide the best quality of life to those who serve through
excellent service to our neighbors. We strengthen our cherished
sense of community."
Another large part of our public engagement was discussing rural
placemaking and smart growth which, um, you can see here in
Crabapple through your form -based code, mix of uses, um, and
walkable areas throughout the city. Um, and we really wanted to
take that conversation, and also speak to rural character and
heritage, and intertwine the two through the process.
Um, and based off of that, we came up with the Key Findings
Toolbox. This came out of the April IO CPAC meeting where we,
uh, specifically discussed rural character, um, and also did a
comparable cities, uh, research, um, presentation. We looked at
places like Aiken, South Carolina; Wilmington, Florida; and
Lexington, Kentucky, among other communities for their, uh,
relationships in terms of, um, agritourism, equestrian, um, heritage,
and land uses, etc.
Um, and so, these are the five components to the Key Findings
Toolbox: land use and ordinances, zoning that supports rural
lifestyles, um, growth and service boundaries which I'll talk about
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
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in a couple slides in more detail; parks, trails, and greenspace; um,
commercial nodes specifically in designated areas; agritourism as
it relates to parks, trails; um, and partnerships and funding. So, we
can look to the future partnering with nonprofits, um, educational
institutions, taking advantage of grants and tax credits.
Through this process we also reviewed the eight different character
areas throughout the city. Um, the boundaries of the character
areas have not changed, uh, through this process from the 2016
plan, but there was a thorough vetting by the public in CPAC of
the descriptions and an update to reflect the future vision for each
of these unique areas'. Future land use was also discussed in detail,
specifically at the May 6th CPAC meeting. Um, we discussed, uh,
specific parcels including areas such as Cogburn Road, Bethany
Bend, and Green Road. Um, we are continuously working to
update this future land use map, um, for this plan.
Urban growth boundaries, this concept again came out of the April
14th CPAC meeting. Um, an urban growth boundary can serve as a
regional boundary, establish and attempt to control development
within a community: Um, this resonated with the CPAC as a
potential tool to add a additional layer of protection, um, to help
balance growth and, uh, rural heritage and preservation. Uh, with
that said, uh, it was added to the Short Term Work Program, um, is
— in order for the staff to do a due diligence period where they will
research urban growth boundaries and really understand how it
will function in Milton and how it can benefit it.
With that said, the map on your screen is a conceptual map, uh,
which is currently the — the red outlines are currently showing the
sewer extents that exist in the city of Milton, as well as the 27.1
acres of the Birmingham, uh, Master Plan area, which you can see
just south of Birmingham Park on the map. Um, and so, this map
will be vetted, researched, and go through an entire due diligence
process with the city staff. Um, they will obviously review any
kinds of pros and cons that relate to the city such as, um, it could
ensure more compact development within those boundaries. Um, it
could protect agricultural and rural land from conflicts with more
urban uses, etc.
Short Term Work Program, um, so, some near-term priorities were
identified, um, with CPAC, city staff, and the project team. Um,
and these are some initiatives that are low -hanging fruit that can be
accomplished rather quickly, and I'll just read through these. Um,
LU.7 is: "Perform due diligence to implement restrictions to flag
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
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lots," and I believe some work has already begun on this initiative.
LU.5: "Perform due diligence to define projects and identify land
and costs for another bond specific to active parks, trails, public
venues, and greenspaces' So, we're now expanding on the different
initiatives, um, from the previous bond. LU.8: "Perform due
diligence to update AG -1 zoning to increase minimum lot widths
from 100 to 150.
LU.9: "Perform due diligence in planning to implement urban
growth boundaries." LU.13: "Identify appropriate areas and
districts for current and future uses and determine conditions and
permitting for such uses, such as, um, applying potentially form -
based code updates in the Bethany Bend area."
The following slides show the full, uh, Short Term Work Program.
Um, we have Land Use, Sustainability, Transportation, um,
Economic Development, and a new category which is Placemaking
& Branding, which emerged as a, uh, very exciting, um, and
supported, uh, initiative for the city, um, especially when it comes
to character areas and really defining those — those unique, uh,
properties of those areas.
Um, so, the projects that are bolded and starred on each of these
pages are — have been identified by the community and by CPAC,
um, as additional priorities that they would like the city — uh, to see
the city tackle in the next year or two. Um, some of these I already
spoke to. LUA, um, also LU.5, um, again, is in support of another
bond expanding to active parks, trails, public venues, and
greenspaces. Um, let's see. What else? LU.9a: "Seek funding
opportunities to seed -fund a revolving TDR Bank." LU. 13, which
was actually added in the last couple of weeks, is to identify
appropriate areas and districts for current and future uses, again, to
look at expanding their form -based code in certain areas.
Uh, Economic Development, ED.2: "Develop a marketing plan for
Milton which reflects our branding and to include digital visitors'
information, agribusiness promotion, and event marketing." Uh,
ED.3: "Pursue a greater emphasis on economic development using
a diverse toolbox such as establishing a citywide Milton
Development Authority, pursuing a study on tax incentives that
may be part of the economic development marketing plan,
collaborating with state organizations for tourism and agritourism,"
to name a few.
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Monday, June 21, 2021
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Uh, Transportation, T.2: "Collaborate with the bicycling
community to create bike routes, signage, infrastructure, education,
and promotion." This is something that we heard over and over
again from the public and also at the draft plan open house when
we had a large group of cyclists, uh, come and give us some input.
Uh, T.3: "Consider `Smart' features to improve transportation
infrastructure and safety in Milton." Uh, T.5: "Increase community
access and use of trails by implementing the 2020 Milton
Community Trail Prioritization Plan."
Under Sustainability, "Develop a citywide solid waste strategy as
well as a citywide recycling strategy including but not limited to a
plan for glass, bulky items, paints, chemicals, and electronics,"
which you are already starting to implement, um, as seen earlier.
Uh, S.4: "Consider making green infrastructure a policy citywide
and to also set green infrastructure goals.
And your new category, which is Placemaking & Branding,
includes projects such as conducting a branding study for Milton to
include character areas specific recommendations, implementing
way -finding, gateways, and district signage reflective of our
Milton brand and to be incorporated with the overall branding
strategy for the city. Uh, PB.5: "Incorporate public art throughout
Milton appropriate to branding and character areas which includes
public venue locations, roundabouts, active parks, and mixed-use
development.
All right. So, next steps. Today in June we are finalizing our Draft
Plan, uh, based off some of the feedback we get tonight. Uh, I can
implement that, and we will have a copy posted online on Friday to
start our state -required 30 -day public comment period. We will
also have copies here at City Hall in the new, uh, public safety
facility, uh, for those that may not have access to a computer.
Uh, in July when that, uh, public comment period concludes, we
will review those comments, incorporate them into the document,
and we will come back here in the beginning of August, um, and
give you an update on our progress. Um, and we will ask you to,
you know, vote for a motion to transmit the document to the
Atlanta Regional Commission and to DCA. Um, they will do their
review period in September, um, and we will move towards
potential adoption in October.
And thank y'all so much for having me tonight. Um, I do have
some slides for public comment. I didn't know if there was anyone
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
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online or in the audience that would like to say anything?
Mayor PT Jamison: Ms. Lowit, we don't have a public comment on this, do we?
Tammy: I don't, no.
Mayor PT Jamison: Okay. Anyone on Council have any questions?
Laura: I have a comment. Um, so, thank you very much. A lot of the team
is here tonight, and this has been like childbirth almost, right?
[Laughter] And — and honestly, we struggled in the beginning
because, um, the market study for our — our town is a little bit
scary. Um, you know, there's a lot of people that wanna live here.
Um, and so, what we really struggled with was, you know, where
do we start? And we circled around to we have a great thing going
in the city due to, um, people on both sides of me and — and the
Council — former Council of Land Use, and really sticking to what
makes a city special.
And, um, so, we — we have some great things already in place, so
we decided to build on the previous Comp Plans and, um — and
enhance the — the things, um, that can further protect Milton. Um,
we're really excited about the urban services boundary because
long after we're gone, you're gone, it's another layer of protection
outside of the sewer map. Um, and the Comp Plan, it's just one
more gate to get through to change things here that make it so
special and the reason that our market demand is so high.
Um, everyone worked so hard on this. One of the things that I'd
like to just, um, go back over because, um, we have the Comp
Plan, we just finished our Strategic Plan, and, um, everyone's
excited that worked on the team about when are we gonna do all
this stuff? Um, but we do have to be — we — we are working on
merging these things, and I wanna just — Steve, if you could just
point out how, um, the — the two will work together this year and
how they will complement each other in the future?
Steve: So, generally you would do your Comp Plan, um, and end up with
your Short -Term Work Plan, which would inform your Strategic
Plan. Um, we've been on a cycle here in the city that's been
happening contemporaneously. It makes it a little awkward. This'll
be the last time that — that it happens this way. It will, uh — will be
off -cycle now.
And going forward, we'll do the — you'll go through the Comp
Planning process, have the next one — we'll do a five-year update.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
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We'll take a Short Term Work Program from that, and that'll
inform the Strategic Plan work. Um, this time around what I
envision, because we have an adopted strategic plan, I'll be coming
before the Council as part of that every quarter, um, to update you
all on progress and to add new elements to that living document.
Um, how this would probably work best is to start funneling Short
Term Work, uh, Programs from the Comp Plan into our — our
Strategic Plan based on your priorities as a Council.
Laura: Thank you. There's a lot. [Laughs] There's a lot, so we're excited
to get started. Thank you very much. And I just want to thank
again the team. I don't know what we're gonna be doing on
Fridays anymore. [Laughter] I'm gonna miss everyone. Thank
you for all your hard work.
Mayor PT Jamison: Any other questions? Paul?
CM Moore: Just to echo, um, what Laura has said, it's been a tremendous effort
to, uh, get us to this point. And Steve, your leadership in — in this
has really been remarkable. We — we could not have achieved this
without you. Uh, the members of our, uh, leadership teams from
the consultants and staff have just done a tremendous amount of
heavy lifting to make this work.
I've said this in one Council meeting before, but I just wanna echo
it again because I think it's an interesting place where we are as a
city, and it bears repeating. And that is this is the first time that —
I've participated in — in all of the — the, uh, Comprehensive Plans
to date, um, in one faction or another either on the Planning
Commission or — or now in Council. We created this tremendous
place to live, and it's gaining a lot of popularity and — and getting
recognized for it. And that's, um — as Laura recognized, previous
Councils, um, as well as the work being done by current — current
staff to get us there.
It's a great place to be also at this point in our livelihood where we
can begin to look at some of the nice -to -haves rather than the
infrastructure things that were the have -to -haves. This is the first
time I can remember that we can begin to look deeper at amenities
for this quality of life and not just worry about, um, traffic flow,
and turn signals, extra turn lanes, the infrastructure things that are
still there and still addressed in this. There are transportation plans
that are being brought forward in this, um, ideas as well that will
serve us well.
But it's been very rewarding to be able to focus on the leadership
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
Page 21 of 34
of those two young ladies that we saw this evening, Marc
Arrington on our recycling program, Tracy Stickels — or Teresa
Stickels — on some of the, uh, work that we've done with the, um,
green programs. It's — it's just a refreshing place to be at this point.
And, uh, I feel very fortunate to be a part of it.
Mayor PT Jamison: All right. Anything else?
Laura: And just one last word. On the Comp Plan, it's very colorful, and
we blew our printing budget because [laughter] of all the green
there. It's so — it's gonna be so bad. Thanks. [Laughter]
Mayor PT Jamison: We're looking forward to voting on it in the fall.
Laura: All right. Well, thank you so much.
Mayor PT Jamison: Thank you. Appreciate it. Okay. Uh, there are no items on the first
presentation. We will now move on to Public Hearing. Will the
city clerk sound the item?
PUBLIC HEARING
Tammy: That item is Public Hearing Regarding a Resolution to Enact
and/or Extend a Moratorium for 120 Days on the Acceptance of
Alcohol Applications, Building Permit Applications, and Land
Disturbance Permit Applications for Farm Wineries in the City of
Milton, Agenda Item No. 21-190. Mr. Paul Frickey?
Paul: The item before Council this evening is essentially an extension of
a moratorium that was imposed, uh, May 24h, a 35 -day emergency
moratorium in order to comply with the state's procedures law to
enact a longer-term, uh, moratorium. A public hearing is required.
Uh, the purpose of this is to allow staff time to address, uh, farm
wineries in the zoning ordinance, and it's a moratorium on, um,
alcohol applications, building permit applications, and LDP
applications related to farm wineries, the extent of what we have
this evening.
Mayor PT Jamison: All right. Thank you. Um, are there any public comments on this?
Tammy: There are none.
Mayor PT Jamison: So, I'll close the public hearing. Is there any, uh, discussion on
this, Council? [Pause] All right. We will move on to vote on that
later, uh, in New Business. Um, there are no items under the
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
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Zoning Agenda or Unfinished Business, so moving on to New
Business. Will our clerk please sound the item?
NEW BUSINESS
Tammy: Consideration of a Resolution to Enact or Extend a Moratorium for
120 Days on the Acceptance of Alcohol Applications, Building
Permit Applications, and Land Disturbance Permit Applications
for Farm Wineries in the City of Milton, Agenda Item No. 21-190.
Mayor Pro Tem?
Mayor PT Jamison: Yes. Uh, do I have a motion?
CM Longoria: Yes. Uh, Mayor Pro Tem, I move that we approve Agenda Item
No. 21-190.
CM Mohrig: Second.
Mayor PT Jamison: Okay. I have a motion from Council Member Longoria and a
second from Council Member Mohrig. Is there any discussion on
this? [Pause] Okay. All in favor, please say "aye."
All: Aye.
Motion and Vote: Councilmember Longoria moved to approve Agenda
Item No. 21-190. Councilmember Mohrig seconded the
motion. The motion passed (5-0). Mayor Lockwood
and Councilmember Cookerly were absent from the
meeting.
Mayor PT Jamison: Opposed? [Pause] All right, it's unanimous. All right. Will the city
clerk please sound the next item?
Tammy: That next item is Consideration of an Intragovernmental
Agreement for Use and Distribution of Proceeds Generated by the
2021 Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax
Referendum. It's Agenda Item No. 21-191. Ms. Stacey Inglis?
Stacey: I am sitting in for Sara Leaders today. She is on a well-deserved
vacation. So, the IGA before you is between Fulton County and the
13 cities that are within Fulton County, and this will allow the, um,
referendum on the ballot for the — the second TSPLOST,
TSPLOST II, um, to be voted on by the voters. And what this
1
1
1
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
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means over three to five years is about 36 million dollars for the
City of Milton. Um, you have already approved the project list
back a few meetings ago, um, in May. Um, and so, we ask that you
approve the IGA for tonight.
Mayor PT Jamison: All right. Thank you. Um, is there any public comment?
Tammy: There are none.
Mayor PT Jamison: All right. So, I will close the public comments. Uh, any discussion
or questions? I'll open up for a motion.
CM Bentley: Mayor Pro Tem, I'd like to make a motion to approve Agenda Item
No. 21-191.
CM Moore: Second.
Mayor PT Jamison: All right. I have a motion from Council Member Bentley and a
second from Council Member Moore, um, to approve Agenda Item
No. 21-191. All in favor please say "aye."
MR
Aye.
Mayor PT Jamison: Opposed? That's unanimous.
Motion and Vote: Councilmember Bentley moved to approve Agenda
Item No. 21-191. Councilmember Moore seconded the
motion. The motion passed (5-0). Mayor Lockwood
and Councilmember Cookerly were absent from the
meeting.
Stacey: Thank you. And thank you for not asking questions. [Laughter]
MAYOR AND COUNCIL REPORTS
Mayor PT Jamison: Okay. We will move on to Council Reports. You all want me to
report on anything?
CM Bentley: I wanna say one thing. I noticed on our consent agenda with all the
subdivisions that come through there was one combination on
Wood Road, so that was exciting to see. There are some people
moving here and combining plots, so it does happen.
Mayor PT Jamison: Larger lots.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
Page 24 of 34
CM Bentley: Yeah, large lot incentives. There you go.
STAFF REPORTS
Mayor PT Jamison: All right. Well, we will move on to staff reports and, uh, Sam
Trager with Human Resources.
Sam: Good evening. Um, just wanna report on a few things that were
going on in HR over the last couple months. Um, one of the things
that's concerning us is — a little bit at this time is, um, retention of
employees. Last time we met we had a retention rate in 2020 about
87%. We lost 20 employees. So far this year we've lost — already
lost 10, couple more. This is to be expected as the job market's
picking back up and people are having other opportunities, but we
have to be able to continue to retain employees and end up about
the same place we were in 2020 with our retention rate.
Um, speaking of employee retention, one of the people that we lost
this year was, um, Alexandra Gebhardt. Um, she was our HR
manager. Um, she'll be missed, but we were lucky enough to
replace her with a young lady named Maya Bannantine, who
started today as our new HR manager. So, we'll have new staff in
HR if you're — if you're wandering through city hall over on that
side.
Um, recruitment over the last three months, we've placed — we've
done a lot of recruitment of new employees. We've, um, filled all
of our positions at Camp Joyful Soles. Um, some were interim
positions. We filled also 1I additional positions that include, as I
mentioned, HR manager. Our new financial services manager will
be starting in July, and we also filled our chief building official
position. Um, and that person starts at the end of this week. So,
um, a lot of recruiting.
Um, ongoing training program with our employees is doing really
well. We have several programs, one for our management team,
and we've been going through some of the things like programs
delegation, building trust, and organizational performance
management. And in April the rest of our employees started in
with leadership doing training. Also, we started out with some
personality profiling stuff, and the most recent training, um, this
past month has been on time management, um, which was very
beneficial.
Last thing I wanted to bring up, um, our Juneteenth luncheon. We
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
Page 25 of 34
had a luncheon here on Friday with Greg and his group. Um, we
brought in four speakers who talked with us about, um, what
Juneteenth means to them. Um, it was really informative. We had a
really good turnout, and I think it was an overall great program,
one of the best luncheon ones we've probably thrown here. So,
that's all I have. Thank you very much.
Mayor PT Jamison: Great. Any questions for Sam? [Pause] All right. Thank you.
Sam: Thank you.
Mayor PT Jamison: All right, Bob — Tracy. Start over. Tracy. [Laughter]
Bob: It takes a village. She keeps me in line. I just wanna — before I
start, I just wanna quickly echo the, uh — the CPAC. I — I wanna
tell everybody it was really a tremendous effort to get it going, but
I do wanna credit Steve because he really reached out and said,
"Bob, you could have all the resources, any staff you needed to get
this to the — to the finish line." And we took full advantage.
[Laughter] We had everybody helping us, and it just shows that
when you really have a great team and support from leadership,
you can conquer anything.
And — and I really wanna thank the team. I wanna thank Tom, I
wanna thank Ron, I wanna thank — especially wanna thank Steve
because he gave us the resources we needed to really, really
achieve a great Comp Plan. And I really think it's a great Comp
Plan. Everybody I talked to said, "Bob, this is one of the best."
And I think it will totally, um, complement everything that's in the
Strategic Plan.
And the one thing I like is that Steve said — when I first looked at it
I said, "Steve, you know, strategic plans usually get down and get
on the shelf." He said, "Not this one. Every quarter we're gonna be
there making sure we — we hit the marks." And that's just great. I
mean, really. It's — so, I just do wanna thank him because it's super
leadership, and without that support I don't think we'd be where
we are.
We're — Laura didn't tell you, but we're actually running ahead of
schedule. So, we'll actually be finishing this thing up ahead of
schedule, which is from coming from behind. [Laughter] Council
apparently said we're going to end up ahead of schedule. It shows
that we really pushed hard, extra hard, to get to where we needed
to be. So, I do wanna thank everybody. Um, that was really great.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
Page 26 of 34
Um, okay. A couple of things. Uh, No. 1, uh, the Council recently,
uh, elected to, um, bring Building Department staff in-house. Um,
so, uh, I will say in the interim, staff has been bridging the gap.
Uh, we have some good news on that front. Um, we — we have a
new employee, Emily, who's joining the team in July — uh, June
1St. Excuse me, June 1St. And she's working as a permit taker up
front with Megan. And they've both, uh, been working real hard.
They're answering calls for a staff of four, so everything is flowing
through them right now. So, it's a little crazy, but they've really
been stepping up and — and taking it on.
Um, I wanna thank the, uh, Fire Chief because he allowed us to
utilize, um, Alex Fortner and Matt Marietta. And, uh, between
those and myself and Josh Rogers, we all ran around, and we have
hit every single inspection. We're doing 45 a day. Uh, we haven't
missed a beat. Everything is on time, moving along, and, uh, the
industry and the contractors are all very happy so far with, uh, our
turnaround and what we've been doing, so, uh, we really haven't
missed anything.
But the next person that we — we, um, did hire is the Chief
Building Official, which is Joe Alexander. And he's starting on
Friday, and he's been dropping by all this week to kinda get to see
the city, and we're driving him around, getting him to know the
area. Uh, he comes from the city of Sweeney, so, uh, he's familiar
with Georgia law. Already met with Georgia law. He's done a lot
of work. He's worked with our previous staff members as well in
the other cities, so it's a really great team approach there. I had a
meeting today, and it's just phenomenal.
So, we're really, uh — we're really moving along, and we're
looking now at plan examiners and inspectors. We've been
interviewing them to see what we can do with them. But, um, I
think the team is assembling, and we're happy with it, and it's
really working. We haven't dropped the ball at all on it, so that —
that's all really good news.
Um, one of the big initiatives that we'd like to start, uh, possibly
initiating now is that — to resurrect the — the UDC. Uh, we had
started it. We had stopped it for a little while as a section, and I
think, uh, the next big stride now that CPAC is done, and looking
at the Building Department in the next couple weeks up and
running, um, so maybe mid to late summer I'd like to really
resurrect that UDC. And I think a lot of the priority initiatives that
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
Page 27 of 34
we looked at in CPAC we could probably start addressing as part
of that initiative. Some of those items I think would fall right into
that. We can start looking at that.
So, it's — it's — I think it's a good, uh, segue right from where we
are to leap into that, um, and — and try to get that done. All right.
So, what's happening around Milton. And so, the amphitheater on
the green, uh, they started. They've hit a Georgia power line right
underneath the amphitheater. It's construction. Uh, at least it
wasn't a buried car or something like that. [Laughs]
So, as everybody came in I says, "Did you hear the buried car?"
It's like, "No, it's a high power line." But that's worse. [Laughter]
The car we'd pull out. The high power line, it'll take forever for
Georgia Power to move. And it's taking forever for Georgia Power
to move, um, but we're working on that. So, hopefully we can get
that relocated, and you'll see that development much more rapidly.
Former Milton Country Club, uh, the — the building portion, uh,
the interior and exterior renovation is out to bid. Uh, those bids are
expected for, uh — to be received next week. So, hopefully we'll
get some good pricing on that. Uh, the market's been tough.
Inflation pressure has been pushing, and people got scared. Things
are starting though to come down, but — I don't know if they'll go
back to normal, but they are trending downward.
So, we're not seeing the upward trend on that anymore. That's
peaked, and now people are telling me they're starting get
availability on lumber. Price of lumber's dropping, so it's — it's
looking better. Um, it was worrying me a little bit. Um, so, we —
we've received a lot of questions from bidders, so we — we're
getting a lot of bidders I guess. I'm hoping. We're seeing a lot of
questions. Um, we're responding to those.
Uh, Providence Park, we worked hard to get that started as well.
And, um, thanks to Stacey and Tom from Parks. Again, it's a team
effort. Um, Matt Fallstrom from Public Works, uh, Sara Leaders,
uh, everybody. Everything's a team, and they're really taking it out
of the park, and it's just great. You've got a lot of resources when
you have a team. Um, but they started work today. Uh, this week
they'll be out there. They're actually physically starting field work,
so that's — that's a good sign. And, um, it was really nice.
Stacey and Steve put together a nice, uh, little project management
plan, and it kinda tracks communications, and, uh, deadlines, and,
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
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uh, priorities, and, uh, risk management levels, you know, like
things that might become impediments to the project. So, it's — it's
kind of a nice roadmap for staff to see. We think it's been very
successful. Um, it's certainly been helping us out.
Um, the next one is, uh, building permits and land disturbance.
Um, so, I wanna talk about this for just a little while. Uh, I wanna
kinda — there's been some trees that have come down and some,
um — some questions about trees, and a lot of staff and Council
members have been getting phone calls and all. So, they kinda
stopped for a moment, retreated, looked at it, and said, you know,
"What can we do better? How do we look at this? How should we
approach trees and — and, um, you know, removal of trees in the
city?"
So, we — we're sorta looking at that, and one of the things we're
implementing now is a much stronger preconstruction union where
the arborist will be at the job, um, before they start to ensure that
tree -safe fence is up where it should be, that, uh, the contractors
know that they can't take trees down on their own, things like that.
So, we're really doing more and I think by emphasizing more field
involvement, um, from the arborists — and Sandra, it should be
you. You want to get up and just talk a little bit? [Laughter] Sorry,
I didn't mean to steal your lines. Sorry.- Oh well, I stole it.
[Laughter] You can repeat it all up here.
Sandra: Good evening, everyone. So, Bob did ask me to come and speak
on this, and then he spoke on it. [Laughter] But I just wanted to
kind of let everybody know that we have identified in our
department the concern about tree safety and installation of tree
safe fence prior to work beginning, specifically on grading permits
and land disturbance permits. It seems to have been an issue lately.
So, one of the solutions we came up with was getting involved
with the preconstruction meetings before work begins, so I will be
meeting with the site inspector and with the applicants and
contractors before work begins. We will have a preconstruction
meeting, and I will set up our expectations and our requirements,
and also let them know what will happen when they do something
wrong. [Laughs] So, we'll get that set up at the beginning so that
way everybody knows, and then they can't say they didn't know.
There'll be no more excuses.
Um, and I'll talk about — once I know a project has started and we
have the preconstruction meeting I will know it's going on, and I
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
Page 29 of 34
will be able to start doing spot checks after that. So, we're excited
about doing that. I'm excited to get involved with the
preconstruction ahead of time, and I think that'll make a big
difference.
CM Bentley: Sandra and Bob, I just wanna comment on, um — thank you for
that, um, because, you know, once — once those trees are gone,
they're gone. And it's — it's almost like people mourn them, right?
Because it was part of their route. And I would just ask for, um,
you know — I — I know that sometimes diseased trees, it makes
sense to, you know, take them down while the land is being
cleared, but we seem to be a city that can deal with a little bit of a
sad tree for a while if it's gonna pick back up.
Um, but — and then, also I just wanted to — you know, appreciate
the landscape going in at the southeast corner, but it's — you know,
it looks sad. There's some trees that are not gonna make it this
summer, so I hope that we can, um, make sure that those trees that
don't make it — because I don't know if they went in at the right
time. You know, I'm not an expert like you are, but, um, there's
several dead trees there that are part of the landscape in —
Sandra: Birmingham?
CM Bentley: Yeah, southeast corner.
Sandra: We do have a bond for those, so —
CM Bentley: Okay.
Sandra: We'll be checking those before they're done.
CM Bentley: Wonderful. Sorry to get into that detail.
Bob: Tim has gone through — this is I think his second landscape. First
one he did he put it in, they weren't happy with it, uh, then he hired
another firm. They came in, they tried to change the plan, they told
them they can't change the plan, so they went back and redesigned
everything, and you have to restore it back to what Council had
approved. And then —
Sandra: So, they got a late start.
Bob: So, they got kind of a late start.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
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CM Bentley: So, now the trees are very sad out there.
Bob: We'll make sure that they — yeah, that they look at that.
Sandra: Yup.
Bob: Okay [Laughs]
CM Bentley: Thank you.
Bob: We'll stay on that for sure. Okay. So, um, Teresa, you wanna talk
for a little bit? We're happy with, um, the things that Teresa has
been doing here with her glass recycling. We'll share some
pictures.
Teresa: I'm gonna get up here before you do my presentation. [Laughter]
So, um, Bob had asked me to give you a few sustainability updates
— good evening, by the way — um, the first one related to the land
trust. And I know you're aware that we've been having
conversations with Southern Conservation Trust to help, um, with
regard to, uh, the — uh, some features out at the former Milton
Country Club.
Uh, we're working on an agreement with them that's going to do a
baseline flora and fauna, um, survey out there. That'll be very
useful over time to see how successful the habitat restoration has
been. Ideally, we want to see some increase in flora and fauna —
native flora and fauna, um, habitat restoration as far as invasive
plant removal and native plant plantings, um, some hydrology -
feature plantings and erosion control plantings.
So, there are going — their expertise will — they'll be bringing to the
table, um, how we restore the natural environment out there, and
it'll be both for the benefit of wildlife, which, um, is very dear, um,
to my heart; it'll be to the benefit of erosion control, which is
tremendously important; and, um, uh, also the hydrology features
that will be, uh, coming out of the hydrology study that's being
done right now.
Um, the next thing is green communities. Uh, the application — um,
this year's application went in — which we do that every four years
— uh, went in, um, at the end of May. Uh, ARC will have, um, until
August to review it, and then they'll come back for, uh, perhaps
clarification or additional documentation. Then they'll come out in
October and audit us, and they won't actually make the
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
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announcements, uh, until January of 2022. But, um, the heaviest
lift of that has hopefully — is hopefully behind us, uh, for this
round.
And actually, I meant to start this off by talking about, uh — Bob
was saying how it takes a village and there's been all this
cooperation across departments. That, um, has never been more
true than the green community's application. Um, I was primarily
responsible for it, but it would not have been possible without
work from, um — I got help from Finance, and Public Works, and
IT, and Communications, Community Engagement, uh, Parks, um,
everybody has a piece of that. It's amazing how sustainability sits
— and it should sit across all — all the different, um, departments.
Um, so, that's been a really wonderful collaboration.
And then, the last thing is the, uh, glass. As you know, we honored
the students, uh, this evening with the proclamation. Uh, so, that —
their — their collection bin — the collection box is in place at, uh,
Bell Memorial. I'm not sure if any of you have been out there to
see it or perhaps, um, deposit anything there, but I checked it this
afternoon, and it's — looks like it's approximately half full.
And, um, this is with — we've done rollout on our social media, but
I think, um, there's probably gonna be an article in the Milton
Herald, and the HEC has interviewed us about it. So, I think that's
gonna be, um, a — another surge of glass. So, I think we're gonna
have to empty it pretty soon, which is really exciting.
Bob: Just one — one quick comment. Uh, I think people are really
excited by what you said by actually the use, but I know in our
subdivision it went out to all the HOA. They're trying to promote
it and get it out, so people are excited about that.
Teresa: Wonderful. I'm glad to hear that.
Bob: I didn't initiate that. They did that on their own.
Teresa: Well, I think people are so thirsty for it, and they've heard other
people, you know, complaining about what to do with glass that
when one person heard that there was a solution, I think it spread
like wildfire.
I was — I was literally afraid that the bin was gonna fill up in the
first day or two, then we were gonna have to close it, and people
were gonna be angry. And the glass recycler said, "Well,
historically that doesn't happen [laughs] even in communities
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Monday, June 21, 2021
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where people are really excited about it." But, um — but I'm — I'm
so glad to hear that.
Bob: Yeah, all appreciate it. And also, like I said earlier, I appreciate
Marc, and you've been involved in this for years, too. So —
Teresa: That's the heavy lifter right there. That's the man from the very
beginning.
Bob: It's not a small container. [Laughs]
Male Speaker: You won't miss it.
Bob: You won't miss it. That's right. Okay. Uh, I always like to end
with a project just to kinda give you a glimpse of what's going on
around Milton. So, tonight we are featuring the, uh — the medical
offices right here in Crabapple on, uh, Mayfield Road and
Charlotte. And, uh, we work really closely with, uh — with this
developer.
We ended up, um, achieving two medical buildings that meet basic
criteria. We created a plaza in between the two buildings, which I
think will be very enhancing for the roundabout and the
intersection, and you kinda keep that open and visible, um, which
really works. Um, up on that upper left is the existing stone house,
and there's a lot of people that are interested in that.
So, what we did was, um, as part of the demolition, um, what we
put together through, um, Design Review Board. We required that
they reuse the stone in the new — in the, uh, new architecture. So,
there's quite a bit of that stone that's gonna be very visible and
reused. And we met with them out there and told them that we
wanted to store it all in the same spot and take it. And what we did
was as part of the approval process, we told them that we want the
drawings of the existing buildings, architectural drawings to, uh,
keep that as a historical, um, fact that's showing exactly what it is.
So, when we're — any time we're taking down one of these
buildings now we're trying to ask for some real design — show us
what it was so we can kinda keep a little archive of really what it
was, what it looked like, and what the significance of the buildings
were, um, in some of these demolitions.
I think that the site plan really worked out very nicely, you know,
lining the driveway with the library, and it worked out real nice in
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
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there. They kept all the parking in the rear. Uh, we also — this lot
also ties in with the lake as far as the tension. So, this is part of the
regional lake area, and we tied that all in too, which was really, uh,
I think a great achievement.
Uh, let me just show this. So, this is what some of the architecture
is starting to look like. Uh, it's been approved by DRB. Like I said,
they're medical, but we kept them in the — in the tone of the
character of that area. Uh, it's on the historic corridor, um, that
runs down. Um, the old white house there that — that's still there,
the flower shop, and, um, the other historical building that, um, is
along that corridor.
So, I really think that this really kinda takes shape. You can see the
stone is integrated into it, and I think it really looks good. Uh, DRB
worked real hard, uh, with the applicant to really enhance it and
kinda make the way they wanted it. So, I thought it came out nice,
and I think it's gonna be a nice asset.
So, this corner's — the LDP is issued, so you're gonna start to see
activity out there. They're moving dirt and keeping that going, so
you'll see that. And then, the opposite corner is Dennis Powers,
which I showed last month. He's coming in and he's starting to
work on his LDP, so we'll see that whole intersection get built.
Um, lakeside of Crabapple's going like crazy. I've been over there
inspecting every day just about. So, that's looking real nice, too.
They're really coming along and building out that whole
intersection. And that's it. Any questions?
Mayor PT Jamison: Any questions for Bob? Thank you.
Bob: Thank you.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor PT Jamison: Appreciate it. All right. Well, that will do it. I'll open it for a
motion for adjournment.
CM Mohrig: Motion to adjourn.
CM Moore: Second.
Mayor PT Jamison: All right. I have a motion from Counsel Member Mohrig, second
from Moore. All in favor, please say "aye."
All: Aye.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, June 21, 2021
Page 34 of 34
Mayor Jamison: All right.
Motion and Vote: Councilmember Mohrig moved to adjourn the Regular
Meeting at 7:17 p.m. Councilmember Moore
seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0). Mayor
Lockwood and Councilmember Cookerly were absent
from the meeting.
Date Approved: June 21, 2021
my L.
Joe tocOxl
Mayor
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