HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - CC - 05/02/2022Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
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' CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Jamison: Good evening. I'd like to call the regular meeting of the Milton
City council for Monday, May 2, 2022, 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 rules allow the speaker to turn in their comment card up
until the clerk calls the agenda item, once the agenda item is called,
no more comment cards can be accepted. Will the city clerk to
please call the roll and make general announcements.
ROLL CALL
City Clerk: Good evening, Mayor and Council. I'll be happy to call roll for the
May 2, 2022, 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 the item. Your comment card must be presented to me
' 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 review tonight's agenda and if you would like to make a
comment, please bring your comment cards to me now.
Demonstration of any sort within the chamber is prohibited. Please
refrain from any applause, cheering, booing, or outbursts with any
person speaking. Anyone in violation will be asked to leave. As I
call roll this evening, please confirm your attendance. Mayor
Peyton Jamison.
Mayor: Here.
City Clerk: Councilmember Andrea Verhoff.
CM Verhoff: Here.
City Clerk: Councilmember Paul Moore.
I
CM Moore: Here.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday. May 2. 2022
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City Clerk: Councilmember Juliette Johnson. '
CM Johnson: Here.
City Clerk: Councilmember Carol Cookerly.
CM Cookerly: Here.
City Clerk: Councilmember Jan Jacobus.
CM Jacobus: Here.
Mayor: Mayor Peyton Jamison present.
Councilmembers Present: Councilmember Andrea Verhoff, Councilmember
Paul Moore, Councilmember Juliette Johnson, Councilmember Carol Cookerly,
Councilmember Jan C. Jacobus, and Councilmember Rick Mohrig.
(Councilmember Mohrig arrived approximately 15 mins late)
Councilmember(s) Absent:
City Clerk: And, Mayor, for the record, Councilmember Rick Mohrig is on his I
way. He's Homing a few minutes late.
Mayor Jamison: Thank you.
City Clerk: Would everyone please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance?
[Pledge of Allegiance]
APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA
Mayor Jamison: All right. Will the city clerk please sound the next item?
City Clerk: Mayor, that next item is approval of the meeting agenda, Agenda
Item No. 22-150.
Mayor Jamison: Council, I would like to make the following changes. I would like
to move the proclamation, which is under reports and
presentations, I'd like to move that up to the first reports and '
presentations. So, make that 7A. And then, immediately after that
move the new business item, Agenda Item No. 22-152
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Monday, May 2, 2022
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' immediately after that proclamation. Can I open up for a motion if
you all are okay with that?
CM Moore: Mr. Mayor, I make a motion that we amend the agenda as
suggested.
CM Jacobus: Second.
Mayor Jamison: Okay. I have a motion from Councilmember Moore and a second
from Councilmember Jacobus. All in favor, please say aye.
Councilmembers: Aye.
Motion and Vote: Councilmember Moore moved to approve the Meeting
Agenda with the following amendment:
• Move Reports and Presentation Item 7C up to the first item under R&P.
• Move New Business Item #22-152 to follow Reports & Presentation Item 7C.
Councilmember Jacobus seconded the motion. The motion passed (6-0).
Councilmember Mohrig was not in attendance for this vote.
' PUBLIC COMMENT
Mayor Jamison: Any opposed? All right. So, with that said, we will move on to
general public comment.
City Clerk: Mayor, we do have a general public comment.
Mayor Jamison: Okay. So, the next item is general public comment. Public
comment is the 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 prior to the agenda item being called. Please remember that
this is not a time to engage the mayor or members of the city
council in conversation.
When your name is called, please come forward and speak into the
microphone stating your name and your 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 city clerk now. So, city clerk, please call the
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Monday, May 2, 2022
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first item, our first card. I
City Clerk: Thank you, Mayor. I'd like to invite Ms. Alison Eckhardt to the
podium please.
Ms. Eckhardt: Is it okay if my buyer comes up as well? He's part of this. Thank
you so much. Hi. I'm Alison Eckhardt. My address is 4600
Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, Georgia 30342. Anything else I
need to say first?
Mayor Jamison: No, that's good.
Ms. Eckhardt: Hi, guys. I am here in representation of my family's land. I'm also
a realtor representing the sale of that land to Mr. Burt Blackburn.
We are under contract currently. This is a land parcel that's been in
my family for many years. I was born in the city of Milton. So, I
just wanted to address that. So, 1070 Lacky Road is the land
parcel. There is also a residence at this address. We are not
referring to that tonight. What we are asking the city council for is
a little bit of help. We have been trying to gain access to the rear of
this property for Mr. Blackburn to have a single residence building
site.
'
There is a creek with many different branches that runs across this
parcel. This is located in between Lacky Road and the rear where
we are trying to have the build site. We have gone to every
adjoining piece of property trying to gain access in another way
rather than to serve the wetlands on this property. We have found
that the most reasonable point of access we believe is going to be
through the Arden Wood Development that is coming in on the
rear of Ebenezer Road. I believe you all are familiar with this
development as I think plans have been pushed all the way
through.
So, what we are asking for is a little push to Brightwater Homes
from the city council to allow Mr. Blackburn access. He is willing
to pay for any change fees to their plans as well as the use of that
access so that we might gain entry to the rear of our property for
him. Brightwater, we have tried to reach out to them. They have
given us push back. And rather than disturb the wetlands on this
property, we really feel this would be the best use of the land.
Anything to add?
Mr. Blackburn: Yes. I guess the one thing I'd also - I
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Monday, May 2, 2022
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' Mayor Jamison: If you could just state your name and address.
Mr. Blackburn: Burt Blackburn, 121 Old Heritage Way, Woodstock, Georgia. And
I grew up down the road as well. So, there is Old Ebenezer Road
used to go right through the property. And the road is still there.
The important thing to point out is that the developer doesn't lose
any lots. So, it doesn't have an effect on the development. If
anything, it might drive down a little bit of their cost. And we
found inside, I guess, the city ordinance, there was an ordinance
that we emailed to you all, 2392, that just we felt like allowed for a
situation like this where it could be in the best interest of the city or
the land to allow access to another property owner's property.
So, that what was where we felt like but since there's as road bed
already in, there was access to this property originally, it just made
more sense if it's not going to take away from the development to
just come in off of a cul-de-sac.
Ms. Eckhardt: Yeah. It's the road that runs with the lay of the land. I think it
would be a great place for Mr. Blackburn to already put his
driveway. It just makes sense. It would be the least disturbance of
' the land to use this old road bed and old easement. And one other
point I would just like to make, I did send a copy of a letter I have
from my grandfather who is the owner of this land parcel stating
that he was not properly notified of the development of Arden
Wood. He's a resident of Florida. There was some kind of record
stating that a letter was sent.
He never received that letter. So, I've given Miss Tammy a copy of
this just to forward to all of you all showing that he officially did
not receive notice. And he's pretty upset because that development
does affect the value of our land. There are two lots that back
directly up to the rear property line. So, he cannot be here. He's
elderly. Otherwise, he would be here this evening. So, I am
representing him in that matter.
Mr. Blackburn: I guess, finally, if you all would like to see the Old Ebenezer Road
as well as the development plat, I've got it and where the driveway
would come in.
Mayor Jamison: If you could give that to our city manager over there, we'll get it
after the meeting. It's public comment. We really don't go back
' and forth on it. But we'll discuss with our legal counsel.
Ms. Eckhardt: Is there any questions though from anyone?
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Monday, May 2, 2022
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Mayor Jamison: On public comment, we don't do that. Sorry about that. '
Ms. Eckhardt: Okay. I understand.
Mayor Jamison: Sorry about that.
Ms. Eckhardt: No. worries. Thank you for Iistening. I appreciate you guys.
CONSENT AGENDA
Mayor Jamison: Appreciate it. Tammy, will you move on to the consent agenda?
Will the city clerk please sound the items?
City Clerk: Mayor, that item is approval of the April 25, 2022, regular city
council meeting minutes, Agenda Item No. 22-151. Mayor?
Mayor Jamison: Okay. I'd like to open up for a motion on the consent agenda.
CM Cookerly: Mr. Mayor, I make a motion we approve Agenda Item No. 22-151.
CM Moore: Second. '
Mayor Jamison: I have a motion from Councilmember Cookerly and a second from
Councilmember Moore to approve the consent agenda as read. All
in favor, please say aye.
Councilmembers: Aye.
Motion and Vote: Councilmember Cookerly moved to approve the Consent Agenda
as read. Councilmember Moore seconded the motion. The motion passed (7-0).
REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS
Mayor Jamison: Any opposed? That's unanimous. So, we will move on to reports
and presentations. And we moved the proclamation first.
City Clerk: Mayor, that is the proclamation recognizing World Press Freedom
Day. Mayor?
Mayor Jamison: Great. Thank you. We have Rohan Mova in the audience today. He
emailed me. He's a junior at Milton High School on this '
proclamation recognizing World Press Freedom Day. And I'm
here to read it. So, whereas high schools in and around Milton
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Monday. May 2. 2022
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' boast excellent, award -winning journalism programs that are
valuable to those involved and those they serve. And whereas
through these programs, local students play vital roles in reporting,
analyzing, and sharing important news about their communities.
And whereas research shows that students that participate in
scholastic journalism, curriculums excel above the norm and
standardized tests, become better writers, and feel empowered to
tell important stories. And whereas the ability to understand
complex stories, explore unique perspectives, dive into pressing
issues, and clearly, artfully, and powerfully relate stories will serve
these young journalists well for years to come. And whereas the
free press and opportunity to share news about what is happening
in communities are valuable, foundational elements of a
democracy.
And whereas in recognition of this, the United Nations General
Assembly has declared May 3 as World Press Freedom Day. Now,
therefore, we, the Mayor, and the City Council of the city of
Milton recognize World Press Freedom Day as well as the value
and excellence of student journalism within our community given
under our hand and seal in the city of Milton Georgia on the 2rid
' day of May 2022. And Rohan if you want to come on up.
[Crosstalk, Photos Taken]
Mayor Jamison: Are you ready, Tammy?
City Clerk: I am.
Mayor Jamison: We switched things around. So, we will move on to new business
if you could please call that item?
City Clerk: Mayor, that item is approval of an agreement between the city of
Milton and White Columns Community Association for
installation of four radar feedback signs. It's Agenda Item No. 22-
152. Ms. Sara Leaders.
Ms. Leaders: Good evening, Mayor and Council. This is an agreement that we're
proposing between the city and White Columns related to a right of
' entry, an indemnity, a maintenance, and a cost share agreement for
radar feedback signs in the neighborhood. I wanted to start with
quickly going over the city's role in our traffic calming program.
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Monday. May 2. 2022
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The first thing we do is determine the eligibility for city funds and '
our ordinance that's established as if more than 50% of the
vehicles identified with traffic counts are going over the posted
speed limit, that's one of the eligibility requirements for traffic
calming funding.
We look at applications and process them on a first come, first
serve basis. And those can be prioritized if needed based on
available funding and the traffic calming program. We look and
develop and discuss concepts with the applicant, which is usually
the HOA of a neighborhood. We approve the plans for the final
measures, determine base cost using city procurement procedures.
And then, we either bid and construct or permit the installations.
This slide shows some of the historic traffic calming measures that
have been installed. The first category is where there was the city
cost sharing for those measures and they were installed by the city.
It's a 50150 cost share on what we consider a basic measure. So,
that's a list of the neighborhoods and the types of devices under the
first bullet. The next bullet is some neighborhoods that have both
funded and installed the measures with their own funds. And those
simply require a right of way permit to install those and then, an '
indemnity and maintenance agreement that was recorded between
the city and the HOA. And so, we've had two examples of
neighborhoods that have gone that route.
And then, what we're talking about tonight is the proposed White
Columns agreement, which is somewhat of a combination of these.
It would be a city cost share based on the bid amount for a basic
sign. But the HOA would pay for any upgrades. They would
install, indemnify, and maintain the measures. And these, again,
are related to four radar feedback signs.
These are the components of the agreement and I'll go through
each one of these. First of all, the right of entry. So, we issue a
right of way encroachment permit, which actually allows the
installation of the signs. And this is something that can be done
with or without the agreement. Our standard right of way permit
spells out these conditions that allows the work and installation in
the right of way.
It covers general safety requirements, utility coordination, and
restoring any damages. So, the right of way encroachment permit '
has been issued for these signs. Like I said, it can run separate than
the agreement. The right of entry terms in the agreement are
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Monday, May 2, 2022
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' related to the future maintenance and access to enter the right of
way to, again, keep up with the signs and maintain them.
These bullets cover the indemnification and maintenance
components of the agreement. So, first of all, it covers that the
private improvements will be installed in the city right of way and
that the city is indemnified and held harmless.
Related to public improvements, if there is any damage to
underground city infrastructure or curb, anything to that effect,
sidewalk, it would cover the repair and replacement of those public
improvements. It includes a maintenance obligation. And the HOA
would maintain these signs and be given access to the right of way
to enter to maintain them. And the duration is set that it will remain
in full force until the private improvements are removed.
So, a little bit of information about the signs. The picture on the
top right is our standard what we're calling our base radar sign.
We've recently installed, I believe, 10 of these throughout the city.
So, that's where we got the cost for the base sign. And then, the
sign more in the middle is the example of what's being proposed in
' White Columns. So, this shows, again, the cost for that was bid as
we purchased those 10 signs. And then, the eligible 50% of, again,
the space installation comes to a total for the 4 signs of $6,853.00.
There is also a data sharing component of the agreement that
allows within 30 days' notice that the HOA would make any speed
or date/time information collected by the sign available to the city.
This just shows that the agreement is governed by these laws that
spell out the information on signage as well as our code related to
traffic calming.
And so in conclusion, the future considerations based on the
ordinance, the White Columns HOA does comply with Section 48
263A, which again, like I said, it requires that half of the vehicles
are exceeding the speed limit to qualify for funding under the
traffic calming program. Legal has performed a review of the
covenants and has determined that the HOA complies with Section
48 258A of the code that they may act on behalf of the
neighborhood and that installation may proceed without a petition
of all of the homeowners.
' And lastly, that they could consider future traffic calming in the
future. This agreement is only related to the radar signs. They
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Monday. May 2, 2022
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could choose to go the route of a bid and installation by the city. '
So, if they were considering speed tables, that could be something
that the city would bid and get cost on. And then, there could be a
similar agreement if there was another HOA proposed installation
of traffic calming. And that's the presentation.
Mayor Jamison: Thank you. Before we ask questions, are you all okay with public
comment now?
City Clerk: Mayor, thank you. We do have public comment. And I will have a
section that I will read into the — they're here in attendance but the
would like their comments read. So, I'll first start with support
then, opposition and then, I have a public comment who will come
to the podium and the same, support and then, opposition.
Our first commenter is Mel Levine at 890 Hampton Bluff Drive,
Milton. And that it is he does want to state that he is in support of
this item.
Our next is Mary Leveille. She is in opposition. She is at 15400
White Columns Drive. I do not think the board represented the
neighborhood as a whole by proper communication and resolution. '
It does not complement our investment as homeowners. And
nobody wants to see anyone hurt, but I do not think the ridiculous
scale of speed monitor is going to ensure that either.
Peter Guion at 15420 — Gallian, I believe, is his last name at 15420
White Columns Drive in opposition. Signs do not fit well with the
neighborhood. Other signs should be removed.
Jim Howard at 420 Highlands Manor is in opposition. White
Columns speed signs are not in keeping with the standards of the
neighborhood. All posted signs are black, not polished steel and
should be removed. They are an eye sore and should not have been
installed in the first place.
Denise Upton is in opposition. These large, permanent, obtrusive
speed meters are 1) not wanted by every neighbor I've spoken to,
2) were installed without informing or getting consent of the
affected homeowners. Two of the four are between houses. And 3)
are not in keeping with the neighborhood's aesthetics.
Aimee Dmeza I believe is the last name, 15305 White Columns '
Drive in opposition. Question data collected speeding beyond club
entrance and placement of signs and nondecorative appearance are
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Monday, May 2, 2022
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the same as used on highways observed in I85 South and Georgia's
316. Let me just make sure. On White Columns Drive. And after
discussion with long time residents who reside around and beyond
— four sign and rear section and sound placement of all
unnecessary, especially based on large price tag without
homeowner vote, appearance, and blessing, and belief of necessity.
And the final one that I will read is from Kelley Macaluso at 15410
White Columns Drive in opposition. We have lived in White
Columns since 2012 and we are extremely upset that White
Columns HOA has chosen to add these bulky, unsightly speeding
signs in our neighborhood, in particular in immediate site from the
front of our home.
I would like to call Tony Palazzo to the podium please.
Mr. Palazzo: Good evening. City Council, I know many of you. Some I haven't
met. I appreciate you having me here today. I'm here to speak on
behalf of the White Columns Community Association. One, I want
to thank everyone here for everything you've done for the city and
very, very appreciative of—
Mayor Jamison: Real quick, Tony, can you say your address please?
Mr. Palazzo: Sorry. 1505 Muirfeld Cove, Milton, 30004. So, very appreciative
of everything the city council has done. I'm convinced the city of
Milton wouldn't be where it is today without a lot of the difficult
decisions that happen here. So, very, very grateful for everybody's
service.
I shot an email over to the city council today. The board of White
Columns Community Association has a fiduciary duty and we
wanted to focus on some very important things. And one of the
most important things to us is safety. And I think as the city has
focused on relative to speeding and safety, we wanted to focus on
that because that's what we were told was a very, very important
issue within the neighborhood. And it's something that we strongly
believe in.
So, what we have in White Columns is four separate
neighborhoods for those of you who don't know, 434 houses.
There's two neighborhoods with approximately 40 homes. The
' golf section, which is why we're here today is 220 houses and
gated White Columns is about 130. So, we're here really
addressing the golf section of White Columns. So, there has been a
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Monday. May 2, 2022
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significant speeding problem in White Columns for a very long '
time. I would argue it's one of the most sped on residential streets
in the city of Milton.
So, I think the first question the councilmember may ask
themselves is why that is. And it's my opinion that's driven by the
fact that there is a very large for -profit business in the center of the
neighborhood that serves a significant number of people, which is
the club core of White Columns golf club. It has over 1,000
members. A typical day, there is a significant amount of coming
and going from the club. So, that alone makes the White Columns
situation unique to any other neighborhood within Milton.
The other things that have happened over a very long period of
time is speeding is sort of addressed within the community, but
nothing ever really seemed to happen. And so, what we decided as
an association and as a board was safety of children, safety of
residents, addressing an issue that seems to be getting worse and
based on the data the city provided has gotten significantly worse.
We wanted to take steps to address it. And so, I think I heard Sara
say that neighborhoods qualify for financial support if 50% or
more of the readings in a speed study are speeding. Well, the good '
news in White Columns, the number is 98%. So, White Columns
Drive east bound off of Freemanville Road, 98% of the readings in
the last speed study exceeded the speed limit.
The 85`s percentile speed, which for those that aren't traffic
experts, which I'm not, I had to figure out what that meant, means
15% of the readings are above that number. The other thing the
85`I' percentile speed is is where a city normally sets the speed
limit. So, for White Columns, depending on which traffic measure
you look at, the numbers are alarming. The 85a' percentile, White
Columns Drive westbound so going to the clubs 44 miles an hour.
So, if you think about that for a second, 44 miles an hour, 85'
percentile, that means 15% of the readings on the day they did the
speed study were higher than 44 miles an hour, which is extremely
scary.
Second, something that was very eye opening to me is why do we
want to reduce speeds in the neighborhood? Safety, all of these
large, different things we can focus on. But something that came to
mind is if —
City Clerk: One minute remains. I
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Monday. May 2. 2022
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' Mr. Palazzo: Thank you. Is child fatalities. So, there is a ton of research
available online about the speed at which a youth or child is struck
by a car and their probability of surviving. So, those numbers are
fairly dramatic and change very quickly with the speed at which
the car is traveling. So, under 25 miles an hour, child has 5%
chance of dying. Over 35 miles an hour, that probability goes to
15. And once you get into the mid-40's, it's over 50%. So, our
main focus as a neighborhood, as a board is to try to bring down
these speeds, which are extremely alarming. And this was the first
step, hopefully of many, in order to do that.
So, I'm here to answer any questions the council may have. And
I'm just very grateful and appreciative for your time and the
thought you put into this matter.
Mayor Jamison: Thank you. Can you please call the next speaker?
City Clerk: Mayor, I'd like to invite Dana Dudley to the podium please. Mike
Upton, would you like to come to the podium please?
Mr. Upton: Mike Upton, 15370 White Columns Drive, Milton, Georgia. Just a
' little bit of background. I'm not going to argue about the cost. It
works out to be $30.00 per family, which is no big deal even if you
don't do it. I do appreciate it but it's not going to make or break
anybody. I just want to give you a little bit of background. I was on
the board for seven and a half years, six and a half I was president.
We have always had a speeding problem. 1) Our speed limits are
25 miles an hour. I defy you to find any place in Atlanta where
people generally drive 25 miles an hour or less. As a matter of fact,
your own Police Department informed me on more than one
occasion that they won't even cite anybody unless they're doing
over 35.
They're your streets. They're your speed limit. I occasionally but
seldom see police officers out there. As a matter of fact, the biggest
offender — I live in White Columns. I have for 21 years. The
biggest offenders by far are the Fed Ex trucks, UPS, and most
importantly, the school buses. They're the worst speeders out
there. I think the signs are hideous. I don't think they fit our
neighborhood. I would take exception to where they're placed. We
went through this twice, by the way. We did surveys and all of that
stuff. Nobody likes any of the measures. And what I was going to
' say, I lost my train of thought, our biggest problem from my
perspective is the club that was referenced is White Columns
Country Club.
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Monday, May 2, 2022
Paae 14 of 83
And it's no secret. Your Police Department knows where it is. '
When you exit the club to go back out on Freemanville Road,
you're facing the back of the signs. My biggest safety problem is
people leaving the club half drunk. You could probably make your
monthly budget by just staking that out on a Saturday or Sunday
afternoon. Plus when the pool opens, people are out there drinking
,all, day long. So, I personally am all for safety. We've tried it
before. Education doesn't work. It's a joke. A lot of people in and
out of that community, lawn services, UPS drivers, what have you,
everybody seems to use a different pest control service.
The school buses are the worst offenders. We tried that, more than
once. We debated endlessly about what we could do. The most
effective and cost-effective approach is speed bumps. Sara calls
them something different, but they're speed bumps. They work.
Everybody hates them. My question that I'd like clarification on is
when I was on the board, my understanding that communities that
have mandatory HOAs, the board is the ultimate authority can do
whatever it wants to and have a calming standpoint as long as it's
in accordance with city rules and whatever.
It's not mandatory. And 67% of the affected homeowners need to '
approve it. I'd like to know what the current rule is because I'm
not sure if 67% of the homeowners in the golf community based on
my prior experience, I haven't seen any recent surveys, I wasn't
surveyed personally and neither was my wife, I'd just like to know
what the rules are going forward. They're your ordinances. So, the
question is do the homeowners have any input other than to elect
board members who served for two years. That's my question.
This is not a new issue. Everybody is for safety. I think they started
selling houses, Paul you might remember, like 1993 or something
like that.
We've never had an accident or anything. I have homeowner's
insurance on my home, I've never had a fire. But it's not like this
has gotten dramatically worse. I moved into White Columns and I
realized in two or three weeks that people don't drive 25 miles an
hour. It's also a [inaudible] community, it's not easy always to
stay under 25. I just wanted to make sure you understand it's not a
new deal. And I'd like to hear what the Hiles are to put this stuff in.
Thank you.
Mayor Jamison: Thank you. '
City Clerk: Dana Dudley, I invite you to the podium.
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Monday. May 2, 2022
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' Ms. Dudley: Thank you. Good evening, everyone. My name is Dana Williams
Dudley. I live at 590 Glen Hampton Drive, Milton, 30004. I've
lived in the golf section of White Columns for 14 years. I served
on the White Columns Board of Directors from 2014 through 2020
and also served as president from mid-2016 to August 2020. Since
my time on the board and prior to this time, traffic calming
measures have been discussed with the city of Milton. I'm grateful
for the time that many city representatives have spent with us over
the years to discuss the speeding in White Columns and also to
address possible measures that could be taken. And Sara, thank
you so much for your time over the years.
There were two traffic studies conducted during my time on the
board. In 2016 and again in 2019. Based on the results of the 2016
study, in August of 2017, I submitted an application for the
community to be considered for the city's traffic calming program.
We were approved to participate. At the time and as recently as
2019, we discussed the addition of speed tables and the possible
placement of additional stop signs if warranted. The city developed
aerial maps, which showed potential locations of speed tables.
' In response to a question from the city about whether the board of
directors has authority to make decisions on behalf of the members
of the association, in February of 2019, I sent White Columns'
governing documents over to the city to show that the board did, in
fact, have authority. Despite alerting White Columns' residents
about plans via email, via hard copy letters, annual reports and
email messages, many residents still complained that they were
unaware of the proposed traffic calming options. Because of
residents' concerns raised to the city and to the board, in March
2019, we were told by the city that we may want to proceed with a
vote to ensure that there were 67% approval from impacted
residents.
At the time, the city did not want to proceed because of perceived
unrest within the community. In a White Columns meeting held in
April of 2019, residents were very outspoken and demanded that
they have the right to vote on what they considered to be extreme
measures that would alter the appearance of the neighborhood and
potentially adversely impact home values. Based upon the extent
of the complaints and past outcome of voting on the same issue,
the board opted not to proceed with a vote because we felt that it
' would not pass at that time.
Instead, we continued with messaging about adhering to posted
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2.. 2022
Page 16 of 83
speed limits throughout the community. The boards of directors in '
White Columns have always had the same level of authority
regarding decision making on behalf of the residents. And while
this is a mandatory HOA, based on prior communications and
guidance from the city, even in instances where HOA boards of
directors may act on behalf of residents, the city also has a policy
of taking into account wide community support for these types of
projects. In their February 18, 2020, minutes under the category of
ad hoc speeding committee, the current board of directors included
the following excerpt.
City Clerk: One minute.
Ms. Dudley: Mr. Barns reported that the ad hoc speeding committee was
successful in conducting meetings with the city of Milton about
speeding remediation measures in the golf section and that all
available initiatives were being discussed with the committee
members and golf residents at large. Please be aware that to date,
these measures have not been presented to golf residents at large.
While there is information about the proposed radar signs and a
couple of email communications and in documents posted to our
property management company's website, there have been no '
meetings to discuss options with residents.
I'm aware that the current board conducted two opinion surveys.
But the results have not been presented to residents either. In fact,
I've spoken with residents who have never received a hard copy. I
am in favor of traffic calming but please, I ask that you listen to the
community members and seek their opinion about this subject.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Mayor Jamison: Thank you.
City Clerk: I'd like to invite Karin Kemper to the podium please.
Ms. Kemper: Good evening. My name is Karin Kemper. And I have lived at
15315 White Columns Drive in Milton, Georgia for 21 years. I
would like to express my concerns related to the proposed
reimbursement of costs for the four radar signs that the HOA
already purchased and installed. It is my understanding that the
city told prior HOA boards that they would need approval by 67%
of the residents to indicate wide community support. There has
never been a community vote on traffic calming solutions. '
This past December, the HOA sent a letter to the city, which
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
Page 17 of 83
' requested a meeting with the city and White Columns residents
where neighbors' concerns could be heard and solutions presented
to improve traffic conditions in our neighborhood. When this
meeting was requested, the HOA had already purchased four radar
signs without gaining neighborhood consensus. The HOA then
installed these signs without any neighborhood consensus and
without a town hall meeting between residents and the city. The
HOA purchased these four signs with the original planned location
for the fourth sign on Treyburn Manor View based on traffic
studies.
The fourth sign has actually been installed in front of my house.
This is approximately three-quarters of a mile in the back of the
neighborhood and about a quarter mile past the club entrance.
Traffic for only 28 homes passes this traffic calming sign. I'm not
aware of any notification by the HOA to the community about this
change in placement prior to the initial installation on March 17.
On March 18, I spoke to Roddy Motes of the Public Works
Department because the installer did not have the permit with
them. During our conversation, he mentioned that White Columns
streets only accommodated three radar signs.
'
But since the HOA already had purchased four, this 12 foot high,
unnecessary radar sign with a solar panel on top wound up in a
default location in front of our house. Again, the community was
not made aware of the location of this extra sign until installation
began. Is the city aware that this fourth sign was placed on the far
side of the sidewalk instead of in the right of way strip like the
other three signs? For whatever reason, this sign is the only radar
sign that I have ever seen on a city street that is on the far side of
the sidewalk. Does setting the sign so far from the curb create a
potential safety hazard for drivers and families?
Not only is this particular sign approximately 8.5 feet from the
curb, it is one of two signs in White Columns placed on the left
hand side of the street. This sign in front of our house draws the
drivers' eyes away from the road to the left past any oncoming
traffic. Then, an additional 8.5 feet past the curb, past the sidewalk
and any walkers, runners, etc., and then, up 12 feet all while
navigating a curve. I have not seen any traffic calming signs
around Milton or anywhere else that are placed on the left-hand
side of the street let alone in this manner.
' Does placing the sign on the left-hand side of a city street plus
another 8.5 feet past the curb create a potential safety hazard for
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2. 2022
Page 18 of 83
drivers and their families? It is my understanding that the City '
Ordinance Section 48-237 states that traffic calming devices can
only he supported on residential streets with a minimum average
daily traffic count of 400.
City Clerk: One minute.
Ms. Kemper: A 2016 traffic study indicates an average daily count of 277
vehicles in a location on White Columns Drive past the club and
before the intersection of Treyburn Manor Drive, which was
shown on the slide presented by Ms. Leaders. The fourth sign is
located behind this intersection where there is presumably even
less traffic. An updated traffic study in 2019 does not even appear
to address this location. The radar sign on Treybum Manor View is
near a 2019 traffic study location that had an average daily count
of 396, which barely meets criteria established by the city.
Lastly, is the city aware that none of the four radar signs are in
locations, which address and alert drivers leaving the club along
White Columns Drive where there is substantially more traffic. I
am in favor of traffic calming in White Columns. But any proposed
plans need community wide support. Thank you for your time this I
evening.
Mayor Jamison: Thank you.
City Clerk: I'd like to invite Courtney Hensley to the podium please.
Ms. Hensley: Good evening. My name is Courtney Hensley and I live at 15340
White Columns Drive. I have been a resident of White Columns
for 22 years, maybe longer than most people in this room. And the
interesting thing is in the 22 years, I've never been here before.
I've never felt the need to be here but I am here tonight. So, I hope
that you can see that and the support behind me that there is a
reason that we are all here. For 20 years, the HOA board did an
amazing job. There were never any issues. It's a job that many
people don't get a lot of praise for. But they did a great job because
nobody was unsettled by it.
When the current board took over in 2020, there was,
unfortunately, a lot of unrest. I am not against traffic calming
measures. The police presence, for example, has been wonderful.
And from what I've heard, it has made a very big impact and has '
been very successful in the neighborhood. However, I do oppose
the current speed signs and any further measures without
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
Page 19 of 83
' community wide awareness. There also needs to be full disclosure
of information along with resident approval. The recent speed
signs look like they belong in an industrial zone. Our beautiful
community is becoming an eye sore.
Even if the current HOA is allowed to make those types of
decisions without input, why would they? Aren't they supposed to
be stewards of the majority? I'm curious how an HOA board
would not want to fully hear all sides from all residents. The signs
are 12 feet tall, twice as large as those on Freemanville. Two are
on the opposite side of the road and one is placed at the back of the
neighborhood toward a dead end with only 28 homes behind it.
Additionally, not one of the four signs installed addresses the
biggest speeding issue in our community, which are drivers leaving
the club towards Freemanville Road.
And while the signs had a data share component, it won't
necessarily be valid. There are teams trying to beat their daily
numbers as I've already heard this is happening, which I believe
why police presence is so important. The current board did not
engage the community in a true conversation about this subject.
The only in -person meeting the HOA has allowed since they took
over was an 11/17/2021 annual meeting. In that meeting, speeding
was discussed. And it was stated that more information would be
gathered and that residents would be kept informed before any
decisions were made.
That didn't happen. There was no meeting to discuss options.
There was, obviously, no vote. There was nothing. During the most
recent HOA call -in board meeting, which for the record, they only
allow residents on listen only mode, a member of the board stated
they received an approximate 30% response rate on a recent
survey. And I use that very loosely. If you divide that total by the
number of homes in all four sections, which is 434, that is 134
responses from all of White Columns. So, if you do average math,
it's a very small percentage from the golf section who answered.
And of that small number, an even smaller number who stated that
traffic was the No. 1 issue.
No results were provided or shared with residents. I've heard from
many neighbors who never even received a survey. How can
something so casually distributed be used for making such
' important decisions on behalf of 227 golf section residents? Our
community needs to be brought together to discuss what, if any,
options are being considered and proper, fair decisions need to be
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
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taking place before anything is done. Even if a vote isn't required, I
it's the right thing to do. Thank you for your time.
Mayor Jamison: Thank you.
City Clerk: I'd like to invite Suzanne Gaines to the podium please.
Ms. Gaines: Good evening. I am Suzanne Gaines. And I live at 540 Treybum
View, Milton, Georgia 30004. I am a resident of White Columns
Golf. I have lived here for nine years. We bought our home in
White Columns for its bucolic setting. I now feel that our
neighborhood has an industrial edge to it with the newly installed
speed signs. I understand the concern to address speeding in our
neighborhood. However, I disagree with the process the HOA
board decided to follow through with. We now have four 12 foot
silver poles with flashing lights and solar panels installed. This
decision was from results of a survey that less than 30% of the
residents of 434 homes completed showing speed as a concern.
We were told at the November 2021 homeowners' meeting that a
committee would be formed to address the speeding in the
neighborhood. In February 18, 2022, the HOA meetings show that '
Mr. Barnes reported that the ad hoc speeding committee was
successfully conducting meetings with the city of Milton about
speeding remediation measures in the golf section and that all
available initiatives were being discussed with the committee
members and golf residents at large. It never was done. As a golf
resident, I have never been notified of the initiatives that the
committee was discussing.
We are all here as concerned homeowners. I'm asking the city to
allow the residents to have a voice in the measures that are being
taken to keep our neighborhoods safe. Thank you.
Mayor Jamison: Thank you.
City Clerk: A final comment, I would like to invite David Leveille to the
podium please.
Mr. Leveille: Thank you. David Leveille, 15400 White Columns Drive. We've
lived there for 12 years now. I'll try not to be repetitive. I'm here
in opposition of the enormous signs. I feel like this has been an
autocratic decision made by a homeowners association without any '
input from the people who live in the golf community. I remind all
of you that there are four White Columns communities and many
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
Page 21 of 83
of the board members live outside of the golf community. So, it
may not affect them for these signs to be in our section.
When the signs went up, I sent an email to the homeowners
association board and asked some questions. And I'd just like to
read some of the responses to the questions because I don't want to
misspeak. So, in response to a question, the association's purchase
of the new radar -controlled signs were included in community
wide entails in September. On September 6, October 10, and
December 21, 2021, as well as in the February 15, 2022,
community wide email. So, that speaks to the purchase of the
signs. Later, they comment, "In addition while individual votes on
every matter facing the association cannot, as a practical matter, be
taken by every resident, we do want to make sure we are both
communicating and listening well."
Obviously, that didn't happen. "In order to gauge community
opinion, we did circulate a resident survey as part of our February
15, 2022, community email." So, in other words, they surveyed us
after repeatedly telling us that they had already purchased the
equipment. "Among golf residents, 50% said speeding and road
safety is extremely or very important. Another 28% said the issue
is somewhat important. In the same survey, radar -controlled speed
signs ranked third behind increased community education and
increased speed controls by Milton police." So, in other words, it
was the third recognized priority to the board.
However, we purchased the signs. So, it just feels like this decision
has been made without any consideration for those who are
impacted the most by it. Thank you.
Mayor Jamison: Thank you.
City Clerk: That concludes public comment on this item.
Mayor Jamison: We'll close public comment and open up for council questions and
discussion. Ken, I have one question or two questions really quick.
One is what is the legal authority that an HOA has and what
exactly are they requesting?
Attorney Jarrard: Well, let me start from the beginning. First of all, we're talking
about the city of Milton right of way. So, we have the authority to
' set up systems in place that will help stakeholders approach the
city to ask for certain things to do within our right of way.
Remember, think of right of way abandonment, etc. We have
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
Page 22 of 83
capabilities for private groups, etc., to come and make these ,
requests to us not unlike what we're seeing here. We have an
ordinance and we have an attendant policy.
The ordinance and the policy both contemplate that in situations
where you have a mandatory HOA that is otherwise tasked to act
on.behalf of the HOA in eventualities, they have the right to do
that and to bypass the petition requirement. And so, our office did,
in fact, look at the covenants as well as what White Columns HOA
had the authority to do and concurred that they do, in fact, have the
authority under our policy and our code to make this request.
That is not binding on the city of Milton. It is a part of our process
that we put in place to bring these issues to you. But you are
confronted now with both an encroachment permit or
encroachment onto city right of way as well as an agreement
implicating cost share. Those are discretionary.
So, you certainly have the right to do this because you've put in
place a system that allows it to get to this point. And it is my belief
that everyone has acted appropriately from a legal standpoint.
That's why it's in front of you. If they had not done things '
appropriately, it would never have gotten here. But here it is. So,
within the confines of that, the contract itself is appropriate. I
believe it was drafted by my office. I believe it is consistent with
an ordinance that contemplates a 50/50 sharing of sort of a base
traffic calming system with 100% for any overruns or what are
considered to be enhanced traffic calming measures.
But this is to the council now. You've heard the public feedback
and the public participation and all of the various concerns both
pro and con. You have in front of you an agreement that you have
every right to adopt this evening. But you also have some things to
think about because, at the end of the day, this is a council
decision. And you have the right to heartily say yes. You have the
right to say no.
And you would even, in fact, I believe I heard some speakers
saying that you had asked previously or there had been some
discussion about going back and notwithstanding that the HOA
had made these affirmations on behalf of its community that you
still wanted to get certain percentages of the community to be in
favor. You would have that authority as well, although I would '
respectfully suggest to you, we have an ordinance and a policy that
contemplates that an HOA has the right to, in fact, [audio skip].
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
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I
And we believe they are speaking appropriately, at least under the
law in this case. Mr. Mayor?
Mayor Jamison: Thank you. Carol?
CM Cookerly: So, let me net it out this way. We have the opportunity or the
responsibility to either support the HOA or to overrule the HOA.
Attorney Jarrard: That is a fair characterization of it, yes.
Mayor Jamison: Paul?
CM Moore: Ken, I think this is a question for you. I think there are two things
for us with the agreement. One is the cost sharing. And the second
part is percussion from the city to place these signs in the right of
way. Am I correct on those two things?
Attorney Jarrard: Right. One of them, of course, is the approval of the money, the
cost share. The other is the permission to encroach. Now, that will
also be perfected by way of a permit. But we are also giving that
authorization by way of the agreement.
' CM Moore: So, a follow up question to that. Would you expect in that process
that the signs would not have been erected prior to this evening's
vote?
Attorney Jarrard: If they're on city right of way, if they're within city right of way,
there needs to be city or things or placed in city right of way
[audio skip] my position.
CM Moore: That's where I would have thought we would have been as well.
Sara, I have a question for you. A lot of the information that was
presented this evening was regarding some of the speed studies
that have been done in the past. The most recent I recall being
2019, is that correct?
Ms. Leaders: Yes.
CM Moore: Has there been any speed studies since 2019?
Ms. Leaders: There have not, no.
' CM Moore: So, after 2019, I think a couple of the residents this evening
represented there was a variety of meetings that took place, even as
recently as 2021, whether it was a discussion about additional
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
Page 24 of 83
measures. As a matter of fact, I think I even spoke at that meeting. '
I'm talking about the three E's of the city, education, enforcement,
and engineering. I think at the request of the community, meaning
White Columns community, we chose to engage the city for the
enforcement part of that. And we elevated the police presence I
think pretty significantly. The whole idea is to be consistently
inconsistent so you didn't know when they were going to be there.
It wasn't going to be Tuesday mornings or Friday afternoons. Do
we have any information as a result of that elevated engagement by
the Milton police as to the impact on the speeds?
Ms. Leaders: We've not recounted those same locations from 2019 at this time.
CM Moore: Do we know whether or not speeding tickets or warnings were
given during that period of time from 2021 until now?
Ms. Leaders: I don't have those exact numbers in front of me. I know some of
the patrols were done at the multiway stop intersection. And then, I
know there were some spot speed studies done or patrols run as
well. But I don't have the details of the numbers of those.
CM Moore: And I just know anecdotally there were a lot of tickets written or '
warnings given, including to a close friend of mine who was
picking me up as a convenience one day. I didn't warn him that
there might be police in the area. It's probably a good thing I
didn't. He learned a lesson coming and going past the club. Wasn't
it true that we were also doing a study about putting in some stop
signs in some strategic places to have an impact on speeding as
well?
Ms. Leaders: We looked at those from a safety standpoint to see if they
warranted limited site visibility. And there were two locations. We
had a third -party engineer look at those to measure those distances
and run evaluations based on the traveling speeds. And there were
two locations that met the safety warrants for multi -site stops.
CM Moore: And those signs have not been placed, have they?
Ms. Leaders: They are in the process of getting installed.
CM Moore: We don't know what impact those might have on safety or speeds
at this point because we've taken another action prior to the I
placement of those signs.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
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' Ms. Leaders: Correct.
CM Moore: I'd just like to make a comment, too, about the 67%. And I think
some of the community has very eloquently pointed this out in the
fact that there may have been a more recent interpretation of
whether or not the 67% is needed. Not a recent interpretation. I
guess an updating of our awareness of the HOA's authority versus
the input from the community. And I've lived in the community
for 24 years, 21 I think in the home I'm in today, which is at the
very end of White Columns Drive. So, I'm one of those 28 homes
that's beyond the fourth sign.
I don't see a speeding problem on my end of the neighborhood. I
chose to live down there on purpose because it's a quieter part of
the street. But I do observe elevated speeds in other parts of the
neighborhood as well. So, I'm concerned, too, that speed is
needing to be addressed. But what's interesting is, historically, the
city has chosen to stay out of — and I'm not directing this at you,
Sara. You happen to be standing at the podium. This is sort of
general commentary for consumption. The city has chosen to stay
out of the fight because it was clearly dividing the community.
'
And that divide isn't over as evidenced by the fact that we have a
number of people assembled here this evening, some in a minority
this evening speaking in favor of but a significant majority in
speaking in opposition. And I've gotten the phone calls and the
emails and the texts saying how upset everybody is about the
process. So, I own that as part of the city. I own it as part of the
community, too. I think it's been wise, historically, to have stayed
out of the fight. I think the past boards have said they're not
convinced they could get 67% that was a reasonable measure to
say that there is a powerful ground swell to have to make a change.
I don't think we've reached that threshold.
I think the board certainly has acted within their authority and
they're entitled to do that. I think it's a mistake. I think the signs
are not in keeping with the spirit or the tenor or the price point of
the neighborhood as several people this evening said. They are
much more industrial than I ever would have imagined. Do a
comparison to the signs that we have on Freemanville Road that
are significantly less encroaching, significantly less impactful but
just as important. The city is determined that a significantly less
' engaging sign is also very effective.
And yet, we've chosen to go to this significant sign of great height
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
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Pape 26 of 83
with multi colors flashing. I just think it's a significant '
overstepping of the requirement. I guess in wrapping my questions
as much as comments, I would say I think this is a significant
mistake. I think we have a chance to correct it. I think that we
should not necessarily at this point reward an HOA that may have
overstepped their bounds with timing of this and the fact that even
though they're not required to secure the 67%, it's the smart thing
to do. I don't think the city should engage in the fight. We should
stand aside, let the. community express its interests, conduct the
vote and then, let the chips fall where they may.
Mayor Jamison: Thank you. Sara, quick question. I know you gave us the list of
what fees that we've approved over the years, I guess, is it 10 or
12. Has there ever been some where we had discussion like this
and any of them have ever been denied?
Ms. Leaders: All of the past ones, the HOA's did act on behalf of the
neighborhood. And so, they followed the ordinance as it's set up so
the item that came before council for approval would have been
the construction contract for the actual installation and purchase.
So, those all were approved when those came before.
Mayor Jamison: Thank you. I just wasn't involved in any of those ones. I wanted to '
double check. Carol then, Rick.
CM Cookerly: Thank you. So, one of my least favorite things to do is to
adjudicate anything regarding an HOA because you know more
about your community and the details, many of which have
probably not been shared tonight. It's just a bit of a sticky wicket.
And also, I appreciate leadership of HOAs. I really do. But if
people aren't happy, it does call for perhaps the roll back to see
what could make people happy. And there are three elements here.
And I think that this might be the core of the process that you
could roll back, whether residents acknowledge the issue, whether
residents want action, and what action is agreeable.
I don't think that you're going to get there, which is where you
were, a very happy community, with a great reputation if this isn't
fixed through a new process. So, I would support that. But I want
to make it clear that I also respect the leadership of the HOA and
the fact that it is solution oriented because the flipside of that are
many communities where the HOA doesn't do anything decisive
and problems persist. And then, there is a tragedy and it's oh, why ,
didn't you do something. So, I would say if you go down this path
to open process that you act expediently and make firm decisions
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
Page 27 of 83
' and then, take responsibility for those decisions because at some
point, someday, something may happen. And there will be no
finger pointing if everybody participates as quickly as possible. So
that's my two cents.
Mayor Jamison: Rick?
CM Mohrig: [Audio skip] are the signs installed before it even came before us.
And I do know any type of traffic calming in a subdivision is
always a concern. We've had this in our subdivision. I definitely
understand the concern for speed and trying to regulate that. And
you don't want to have an accident occur. And I've served on a
couple of HOA boards and I know it's a thankless job as a couple
of you have actually served longer terms. But I think it's important
that you actually have community support. You may have the legal
ability to actually enact this. But if it's something that's going to
cause the citizens and residents who live closest to it, they're
against it, that doesn't seem like something you want to do to your
neighborhood, unless you've got some glaring error where there
has been an accident, somebody has been hit. You need to act
immediately. Then, maybe there would be a reason to enact
something against the majority or will of what the community
wants. But I would think that you'd want to go back and actually —
the signs, first of all, shouldn't have beep installed until you
actually notified the residents and you went through the proper
channels with the city.
But then, make sure that you've got community support. And it
doesn't sound like there has been that due diligence on this
instance. It sounds like you've done it in the past. But it doesn't
sound like you really got majority of support. We didn't have a lot
of people out here saying we fully support it. I think what we've
heard is the opposite. So, I guess I'm coming down more on the
side of saying I think you want to have the community involved
until you actually come up with a solution that most people can
support. You may not get 100% but to not really have a true
representation from the people that live in that immediate
community, I don't think that's a good way to move.
Mayor Jamison: Ken, can you speak on the signs being installed?
Attorney Jarrard: Well, that was in response to my question to Councilmember
' Moore. And hear me when I tell you that when it comes to
introduction of anything into city or county right of way for that
matter, I'm going to want to ensure that there has been some
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday. May 2, 2022
Page 28 of 83
approval by the government. However, that is manifested. But I '
also don't want — there are various levels of improvement. And
what we're talking about here this evening is actual traffic calming
devices placed literally within the traveling lanes. Is that not
correct? Within the traveling lanes as well. But with respect to the
signage, may I ask Sara a question?
Mayor Jamison: Absolutely.
Attorney Jarrard: So, with respect to the signage that has been discussed, was that
permitted by — not by the council but by staff?
Ms. Leaders: Yes, ij was.
Attorney Jarrard: So, there has been indicia of permission given by staff with respect
to that. This is a different sort of transaction than that. This
involves both cost as well as installation within the right of way,
correct, within the traveling lanes?
Ms. Leaders: This is within the right of way. So, there is the difference in active
and passive traffic calming. The passive is more of the educational
component like a sign would be. Active would be something ,
physical in the travel lanes themselves like a speed table. So, we
looked at it as like we would a decorative sign. Lots of
neighborhoods come in with permits to change all of their signage
to decorative. So, they're putting a decorative fixture within the
right of way. So, it's a similar permit to what we would do for that
sort of signage, again, as it being a passive, educational type of
traffic calming. That was the approach that we took.
And the agreement is to, again, the cost sharing and then, the right
of entry to continue to maintain it and to set the maintenance terms
is what the agreement spelled out.
Mayor Jamison: We did everything correct.
Attorney Jarrard: With respect to the already completed installations, that gives me a
comfort level. I just was concerned about that as well as the
conversation was unfolding.
Mayor Jamison: So, a follow up to that. Let's say council says no. Do they have to
remove the signs?
Attorney Jarrard: Not the signs that are already there, no. But this deal, this '
transaction we're talking about tonight, does not go forward. But
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
Page 29 of 83
the signs themselves that have already been permitted would
remain.
Mayor Jamison: And they stay. Okay. That's kind of where I was coming along is I
don't like overriding an HOA decision. They were voted in to do
whatever the citizens that voted them to do. So, it always becomes
difficult to override that and it sets a precedent on us getting into
these decisions. But I understand it's what's before us.
Attorney Jarrard
Mayor Jamison:
What's before you.
Jan?
CM Jacobus: So, were all four of the signs — did you approve the location for all
four? And I just wonder about the fourth sign that came up about
where that was located where there were only 28 homes and
located on the opposite side of the sidewalk. It almost sounds like
that was put in outside of the right of way. How far was our right
of way I guess is the question to ask?
Ms. Leaders: I've got the map here of the locations. Originally, we looked at two
on Treybum Manor and two on White Columns Drive. Once we
did the stop sign warrants, one of the proposed locations became
near what was going to be a muldway stop. So, it didn't make
sense to have the two on Treyburn Manor anymore. So, we looked
at a third location on White Columns Drive. And the red arrows
were the conceptual locations. And then, once the signs got ready
to be installed, the actual locations were determined. But these
were the general — the three locations and the direction that they
would point.
And this was all coordinated with the city and the HOA for
visibility for not too much visibility. So, you do want to, as you're
coming around a curve or a hill, to be able to — for the sign to catch
your attention. So, there are some logistics that go into the
placement. But this is the map of the three on White Columns
Drive and the one on Treybum Manor,
Mayor Jamison: Paul?
CM Moore: Sara, while you've got that map up, help me with the orientation of
the arrows. So, the arrow was intended — if I'm on White Columns
Drive going in, the first arrow that I see is near the pond. And it's
facing as if you're going to leave White Columns. Is that the
orientation? Am I looking at the sign or am I looking at the back of
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
Paoe 30 of 83
the sign with orientation of the arrow? The reason I'm asking the '
question is that right now, all of the signs on White Columns, the
orientation to be able to read the sign is as you are coming into the
neighborhood. There is no orientation of the signs as you're exiting
the neighborhood.
Was that the city's intention?
Ms. Leaders: .Yes. Yes.
CM Moore: That they should all be oriented as we're coming in. So, the map is
incorrect.
Ms. Leaders: Yes.
CM Moore: The outcome is correct. Okay. I'll just point out an interesting fact.
I think the only accidents we've had in the neighborhood are
between the club house and the exit of White Columns or the
entrance of White Columns. And they were accidents as people
were leaving the community. So, these have no effect on the
accidents that had taken place historically. So, thanks. Ken, I have ,
another question for you. i just want to clarify your comment about
whether the signs stay or go with our decision this evening.
Attorney Jarrard: Right.
CM Moore: I think I disagree with that. I just want to clarify my thinking
compared to your thinking. So, if this is an agreement for the use
of the right of way and the access to the right of way and then, for
the funding thereof the signs, isn't this also a decision about
whether the signs stay or go?
Attorney Jarrard: The city staff have been authorized to issue encroachment permits
and they have done so. The more important aspect of the
agreement before you this evening is the cost share. It is a financial
aspect of it, particularly with respect to the city's match. And that
is what is the primary issue this evening. To the extent that I
misspoke earlier that is my fault. There is a right of entry
component of the agreement. I'm not taking that aback. There is.
But I agree that city staff have the right to allow and permit
encroachments in the right of way.
CM Moore: Prior to the vote of council. I think that's a vote that's in the I
council's hands.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
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' Attorney Jarrard: That's right. I think that's true. And that's not uncommon. Where I
think the agreement covers a lot of area. But the focus of the
agreement is the funding and the —
CM Moore: I get that.
Attorney Jarrard: So, that was my mistake in my previous answer to you.
CM Moore: So, here is the heartburn I have about that. It's not secret to
anybody in this room this is a long battle that's gone on in White
Columns. This is not the first time White Columns in one way,
shape, or form has been before the city in trying to address this
issue of speeding. And historically, we have stayed out of the fight.
This time, we've chosen to engage. I don't know what the
circumstances were that were different that the city chose to
engage. But I think we have a chance to correct our engagement if
we charge the HOA with going back and doing some of the things
that should have been done prior to this placement.
Maybe it's turn the signs off for a period of time until the proper
percentage of the community has given their support. Maybe it's
' they're removed for a period of time or maybe they're removed in
their entirety. But I think we've entered this fight and I think that's
a mistake. I think that the authority should be granted by council
on something like this. And we're talking about a right of way,
especially when there's a contentious issue. I've already presented
the fact that we have a couple of instances of things that the city
has engaged in that were for the good of traffic calming, which is
the engagement of Milton police force.
We don't know truly the outcome of that because we haven't done
a speed study since the elevated engagement of the city. We have
not seen any impact from the placement of the stop signs. So, I
think short of those two things, I think we should be charging the
HOA to 1) go back and take responsibility for measuring both of
those impacts and see if it will have an impact on the speed overall.
I'd be surprised if it didn't. And at that point, engage the
community for the proper chance to have their voice.
By doing it this way, you're basically saying that the HOA can run
rough shot over a majority that have spoken this evening and what
I believe to be a majority in the neighborhood in opposition in the
' golf community. I think it would be a misrepresentation of the
voice of the people that we so solidly stand here for if we silence
that whatever the percentage is I believe to be 67% or more that
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2. 2022
Paue 32 of 83
are in opposition. I think we've silenced those voices tonight by '
going forward with a vote that says this is okay either procedurally
or that we've chosen to engage in a fight that we never should have
engaged in in the first place.
Mayor Jamison: Paul, I'll just say one question is I don't think we engaged in the
fght. I think the HOA came to us within their —
CM Moore: But we knowingly participated in something that we know — I
totally get — it would be irresponsible for us not to be involved in
assessing traffic calming measures for the safety of the community.
That part I totally get. But where we have historically said go fight
your own fight first and then, come back with the majority, we
didn't do that this time.
Mayor Jamison: All I'm saying is this is very common within the city and I don't —
CM Moore: It's not common.
Mayor Jamison: We've approved, I don't know, 12 of them. Steve and then, Rick —
or Rick, go first.
CM Mohrig: Sara, if I could just ask you has public works — did I understand '
that you actually have approved the locations for installation of
two stop signs within the golf club community?
Ms. Leaders: That's correct, yes.
CM Mohrig: When do we plan to install those?
Ms. Leaders: We're working with the HOA. They have the decorative sign post.
So, while we could have put up the standard metal post, we
decided to wait and let them get the final placement and the
decorative fixture to attach it to. And then, we've order the stop bar
material to put down on the pavement.
CM Mohrig: So, then you do the break away sign at that point, inside break
away pole and side?
Ms. Leaders: Yes.
CM Mohrig: Have we done, have we as a city approved these type of speed
signs without a majority of people where there's an HOA? Because '
it seems like with Fulton County and also I know when we were
trying to do it in our subdivision, I thought we had to have that
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
Page 33 of 83
majority threshold that we met. Did they bypass that because they
had greater than 50% in the speed study, exceeded the speed limit?
Is that why they were able to go ahead without getting a percentage
of approval within the community?
Ms. Leaders: It was the review of the HOA covenants. So, I've got the slide
pulled up with the list in those past neighborhoods where we have
installed. There's been two other neighborhoods that have done
radar signs through the HOA acting on behalf of the neighborhood.
One is Kennewick but the city did contribute to that funding and
then, Hopewell Plantation did some privately owned and installed
radar signs that we did an indemnity agreement for that was
recorded related to them being in the right of way. And then, they
had a right of way permit to install them.
CM Moore: So, two radar signs and the rest were speed bumps?
Ms. Leaders: Yes.
CM Moore: Okay. Got you. Thanks.
' CM Mohrig: This is new to me that we actually don't need majority — I guess I
wasn't aware of that 50% because in the past, it's always been, like
Paul had said, usually, you want the neighborhood to come to the
agreement of what they, the majority rule, want to actually go on in
their community. I think when we were talking about doing it in
Beltaire, we were talking about the number of people on the street
higher X percentage of people approving either speed humps or
signs or something else. I think that now, this is kind of a difficult
position for the neighbors because there are signs up there. But
they feel like, at least what I'm hearing, they didn't have a voice in
it, except through their community association.
Mayor Jamison: Steve, if you want to say something and Jan is going to say
something.
Mr. Krokoff: I'll speak whenever the council determines I should speak.
Mayor Jamison: Okay. You can go.
Mr. Krokoff: So, just to clear one thing up if I could, staff didn't wade into any
issue going on between an HOA and its community. The ordinance
' is very clear on what role that staff plays in this. And when there
was some concern or confusion as to what the HOA is empowered
to do, of course, we brought that to legal counsel, and we got that
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
Page 34 of 83
clarified. And staff acted appropriately throughout the entire '
process, including granting the right of entry into the right of way,
which they do every day. It comes down to what the purpose of
this is and that's a cost share for the traffic calming devices and the
ongoing maintenance.
Not necessarily whether staff is weighing into an issue between an
HOA and its community, which, of course, I am somewhat
conflicted because in addition to the city manager, I'm also a
resident of White Columns. But I do think it comes down to not
necessarily whether or not they've met the threshold because it's
already been determined legally that they have. I think what the
question before you today is whether or not this city council is
going to contribute the 50% of the cost share unless the council has
decided it's going to and it has the authority to now overrule the
decision by staff on the entry into the right of way.
Mayor Jamison: So, just to clear everything up, no matter what council says tonight,
the signs stay. Is that correct?
Mr. Krokoff: That's a Ken question. If you can overrule staff s right of entry — '
Mayor Jamison: Because that's important because if council says no, I personally
would have a hard time for the city uninstalling speed signs given
the data that was given to us. I just want to make sure we're all on
the same page on what the outcome is going to be if it's no.
Attorney Jarrard: Well, the code — there's a process and the process has been
followed. The process has culminated in this evening's discussion.
But from the bigger picture, get right to it, the city — I'm reading
from our ordinance, the city reserves the right to remove traffic
calming devices for any reason period. Upon approval of the city
manager, the public works director may order the applicant to
remove a traffic calming measure in accordance with Subsection
C, which I won't get into. Again, I want to keep going back to the
plenary authority of the council over its right of way. But I concur
with your city manager that what's on the table today is primarily a
funding construct or reimbursement.
Mayor Jamison: Jan?
CM Jacobus: Yeah. I kind of agree with Paul from the perspective that I think
the city should stay out of and let the HOA do what they need to '
do. But I look at it from a different perspective and that is I think if
the members of the community really don't want those signs then,
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
Page 35 of 83
' when the next election occurs, you vote in people that want that
and you pull the signs out. That lets the responsibility stay with the
HOA. I'm just very uncomfortable the city getting that involved
when you really don't know all of the people and you don't know
everything that's going on there.
And you got to trust that — it always happens in these HOAs
because I've been on Crooked Creek's board. Nobody wants to be
on the board. You have trouble getting people on the board. And
then, when there is a big issue, everybody blames the members of
the board. This board did what they thought was right, whether it
was or not. But they did what they thought was right. And if the
majority of the members of the community don't feel that they did
the right thing, they should vote them out and put in people that
will do what the majority of the members want.
Mayor Jamison: I agree, Jan. Paul?
CM Moore: Jan, with all due respect, we're talking about another contentious
issue within the community and that is what are the board terms?
We've already had some debate within our own community about
' the elected terms of this board and the board is in control of that.
Without dragging you into the dirty, muddy waters of our
neighborhood battles, just know that that won't work. Not making
the right decision this evening and kicking the can down the road I
think would be an unfortunate decision on our part this evening. I
think we have a responsibility to charge the HOA with going back
and taking 1) advantage of another speed study. Seeing if the
police impact made a difference. 2) See if the stop signs make a
difference. And at that point, if we still have a speeding problem,
you bet they'll probably get the 67% that they need because, at that
point, we have to do something different. I don't think we're there.
I think we have not, I think we're not hearing the voice of the
community this evening.
Mayor Jamison: Paul, just real quick but I think I think what the issue is it's the
signs are staying.
CM Moore: Not necessarily. Not if the council — if the motion is made for the
signs to be removed, I heard Ken say that we can override staff
decision.
Attorney Jarrard: That's in your code, that direct line is in your code. It's actually in
the agreement.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
Paae 36 of 83
Mayor Jamison: I guess my only issue is the HOA has the legal — and I know I
people on both sides of this.
CM Moore: But so does the council have legal authority.
Mayor Jamison: Right, I just think we're treading very carefully when we get into
HOA business and overriding their decision, which they were
elected to represent their HOA. It's tricky.
CM Moore: I was elected to represent the voice of the community. And I
believe we are not representing the voice of the community with,
by supporting the board's decision this evening.
Mayor Jamison:
Any other questions or discussion? With that said, I'll open it up
for — Carol?
CM Cookerly:
So, can we vote on something else, which is intrusive?
Mayor Jamison:
Where are we going?
CM Jacobus:
Who wants peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?
CM Cookerly:
Me. Can we vote on — no. We're nibbling around the edges here.
,
And I am, with my colleagues as I said at the beginning, I'm very
uncomfortable adjudicating something with a minute's worth of
knowledge, lots of history, and some angst, etc. But can we — with
the power of having one side of the purse strings, can we ask for
process? Can we ask for a survey process? Can that be our
mandate so that we know that we can put this issue to bed on
behalf of the citizens? I would imagine the HOA would like that
monkey off of it's back. And I would imagine the citizens would
like that clarity.
So, can we, on behalf of our fiduciary responsibility, can we vote
on that?
Attorney Jarrard: Under the strength of this agenda header, approval of an agreement
between the city and White Columns for installation of four radar
feedback signs, if the council believes that before it is prepared to
vote on this agreement that it wants that sort of additional process,
I would be comfortable with that direction being given tonight. But
I'm not going to go much further than that with respect to what this
agenda header would allow. '
Mayor Jamison: Approve it or we deny it, that's just my opinion.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
Page 37 of 83
' CM Moore: I can offer maybe a compromise is that if we think about if we
were to pause, allow some of this other information to be
measured, the impact of the police enforcement and the stop signs,
that we not require that the signs be removed for the time being but
they be turned off. And if at such time that there is compelling
information that says we still have a speeding problem and a
majority — 67% majority can be accomplished then, at that point,
the signs are still in place, no cost incurred in removing them, but
they're turned back on.
Mayor Jamison: The only thing I could grant would be a deferral for some delayed
period of time. But the HOA has acted in a legal authority. They're
asking us. So, I think we approve it or we deny it.
CM Moore: Mr. Mayor, all due respect, I'll just ask that you'd give
consideration to what our city attorney has suggested is within our
authority and it's within our authority to deny the placement.
Mayor Jamison: Absolutely. And we can have that motion. And I think — Rick.
CM Mohrig: What I'm hearing is kind of a mix of different things. Like Carol
I
said, we're kind of nipping around the outside.
Mayor Jamison: Exactly.
CM Mohrig: I think the problem we've got right now is the signs were
approved. The signs were installed legally. What we have before
us is more the issue is are we going to fund the purchase of the
signs? Are we going to enter into an agreement where we
maintain? And Paul, what you were talking about was trying to go
back and maybe before we approve or deny, maybe we do a
deferral and have them come back after they're done, direct the
community association or homeowners association to in fact do a
survey, do more speed study.
Then Sara is going to install the stop signs. But before we approve
funding without telling them that we're going to override and pull
the signs out, maybe we defer this item or this portion of the item
and say we'll hear it again once you've gone back and actually
gone to the community. That may also afford the ability of the
community to work with their community or homeowners
association to try to get this rectified and try to solve it internally.
' Because it sounds like we'd have to overrule what legally has gone
through and to take the signs out. And that becomes a little bit,
again, like Carol had said, if we don't have full representation,
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday. May 2, 2022
Page 38 of 83
we're going on what we've heard.
But I'm just a little troubled with that they got installed. But I
understand we did that within what the legal — what our ordinance
actually covers.
Mayor Jamison: :,Quick question. If we go to a deferral, the signs still stay and they
can still operate. It's just the cost sharing. Is that correct?
Attorney Jarrard: That's right. Until further direction of either the city manager or, of
course, again, the buck stops with the council. The council has the
right to control your right of way. It's a curious idiosyncrasy of
this process. So, can I play a hypothetical with you very quickly?
Mayor Jamison: Absolutely.
Attorney Jarrard: Let's assume that you make that direction that we go back to the
HOA with a demand from the city of Milton that says, basically,
before we talk about a cost share, etc., we want to see you engage
the community and, basically, do some sort of a vote the way
HOAs know how to do. And let's say they don't get 67%. Let's
say, they get 50.1%, because the HOA has otherwise has the
authority to do this independent of that 67%, I'm just saying that is
going to be food for thought for you all to say maybe 50% is
enough then, you see, because we're not talking about bringing the
petition now. That's got 67% requirement.
We're talking about just a check the pulse of the community. I
hope you all are seeing the distinction I'm making. It's an
informational point but it's not legally dispositive of the issue.
CM Cookerly: But counselor, it is informational to us in terms of the wishes of the
community. And we are predisposed to want to validate the wishes
of the majority.
Attorney Jarrard: I agree completely.
CM Cookerly: So, I feel like you're minimizing that but it's actually very
powerful for at least us on —
Attorney Jarrard: That was not my intent, Councilmember Cookerly. The only thing
I was pointing out to you was that information is important. But
I'm just suggesting that 67% threshold is not the key to the
kingdom in this situation.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday. May 2. 2022
Page 39 of 83
' Mayor Jamison: I really try not to wade into that because we get into a lot of gray
area.
CM Cookerly: No, I understand. But we also have something that is moved pretty
far down the path. Even this talking about turning them on, turning
them off. That's not —
Mayor Jamison: Because the sign is already up. So, even if we go down that path —
CM Cookerly: I understand that. But they don't have to stay up. There is a core
issue here. They don't have to stay up. Signs are movable. Signs
can be changed. We're talking about that, too. Apparently, there is
some sentiment that they're ugly and they're this and they're that.
And whether you turn them on or turn them off that doesn't change
ugly. We have core issues here that we're just kind of on the outer
rim of this thing.
CM Mohrig: My thoughts are before we approve the funding for this, the city
side and, basically, put our stamp of approval on it, there is,
obviously, concern within the community. And I'd like to hear
what you had said, too, Carol and Paul, you referenced it. Get the
data that tells us — go back to homeowners association. You're
asking us to fund half of this. Go back and actually do a little bit
more thorough data because it sounds like, at least the folks that
came up today, are not in favor of what you've done as far as the
sign. But we're not then saying, then overriding and saying let's go
into a whole new area and we're going to take the signs out.
Even though legally, we could do that, I don't think we're ready to
do that at this point. I think we don't, my suggestion is we do not
approve this, we defer. We ask the homeowners association to go
back and actually talk to the residents. And then, they can bring the
data back. That will also allow and afford the community to
actually work within themselves to try to resolve some of these
issues.
Mayor Jamison: What's the funding really quick we're talking about?
CM Moore: It's $6,000.00.
Ms. Verhoff: It's $7,000.00.
' Attorney Jarrard: The city's total contribution per the agreement this evening is
$6,853.00.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
Pape 40 of 83
Mayor Jamison: Paul? I
CM Moore: I think Rick makes some good points. I would rather error on the
side being conservative and do a little more fact finding than to
make a bad decision this evening on not enough information. I
think it would be completely appropriate to allow some of these
additional measures to be considered with a deferral. I really
thought it was going to be more clear cut than this. But based on
the arguments that I'm hearing and trying to make sure that we
work with the best facts available, I could support a deferral
provided there are charges to the HOA to go participate and
engage in the community, take a look at the stop sign impact, and
take a look at the impact of the police enforcement.
Mayor Jamison: I guess the question is what would be the — exactly what would be
the charge that you would ask, the outcome of that? Because the
signs are going to be up. They're going to be operational.
CM Moore: I think we need to allow staff to finish their process of putting the
signs up or the city, the stop signs. I think we need to go back and
take a look. We charged the — I'm not sure who owns the
responsibility but we looked at the number of tickets that were '
written and at what speeds and whether there are warnings issued
and at what speeds and see if that's had an impact. And I think we
should do a traffic study. I think we should do another speed study
that says we do or don't have a speeding issue at this point.
Whether the signs stay on or off to me, I think that there is a truer
measure of the speed study if the signs are off.
But I think it would give us a false read. To be very fair and
transparent, I think it would give us a false read at a lower speed if
the signs stay active because people are going to abide by the signs
we hope. They're going to have the impact. So, it's a false read if
the signs stay on. I'll support either way. But I think to be fair, the
signs should be off but I'll support either way. And then, lastly, I
think a community survey should be conducted. And I will leave it
up for debate about whether it's 50% plus one. I think that's
reasonable.
Mayor Jamison: I just really think council shouldn't be getting into these waters.
That's just my two cents on that.
CM Moore: I agree. I don't think we should be here. ,
Mayor Jamison: I know people on both sides of this issue and I just really think this
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday. May 2, 2022
Page 41 of 83
' is an HOA decision. And probably to Councilmember Jacobus's
point of view, if they want the stop signs or they want the speed
signs out, they should just elect a different board. That's just my
two cents.
CM Moore: There's more history to that.
CM Mohrig: Only opposing or different view on that is if we do a deferral,
we're just encouraging them to go back and actually talk within the
community. We're not ripping out the signs, which I know what
the will of many people here, they want to see them pulled out.
We're not impacting that. So, the question is do we do the funding
and can we encourage them to do a little bit more due diligence.
That's the only thing that I see by doing the deferral we're
offering. And that gives the community a chance to maybe do a
little bit more input. But I thought, initially, we were doing more
than just — I thought we and I think Paul probably thought that, too,
we were looking at more than just the funding of this.
We were talking about whether the signs were going to be
approved. But we've been told they already have been approved.
And I don't think as a council we're ready to say let's overrule
what staff has already done. But at least on this one, we can send it
back and say do a little bit more communication within your
community. And, hopefully, you find out really where people stand
and take appropriate action internally.
Mayor Jamison: If there is no more discussion, I'll open it for a motion.
CM Moore: Mr. Mayor, I would like to make a motion that we defer. However,
let me ask a question. Sara, what's an appropriate amount of time
to defer if we're going to ask that a speed study be conducted?
Ms. Leaders: We would likely want to get that done — we try to do that during
school when school is in session. So, we only have a few more
weeks here in May. So, at least four months to get us if we aren't
able to get them until August.
CM Moore: So, you don't think it can be done between now and the end of
school?
Ms. Leaders: We could get — yes. We could likely get at least two locations
' counted.
CM Moore: So, if we defer for no less than 60, maybe 90 days, is that
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Monday, May 2, 2022
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reasonable? I
Ms. Leaders: Ninety days sounds good.
CM Moore: So, I make a motion, Mr. Mayor, that we defer this decision for 90
days to allow a couple of different things to happen. Number one is
a speed study. Number two, let the city have a chance to install the
stop signs. Number three, that we capture information from the city
of Milton Police Department on number of tickets written and at
what speeds. And then number four, that the HOA conduct a
community survey to see what the representation is but they
achieve at least 50% plus one to be able to come back for an
approval.
Mayor Jamison: Do I have a second?
CM Cookerly: May I ask a question?
Mayor Jamison: Yeah.
CM Cookerly: So, on your last part of that then, we're overruling the power of the
HOA. We can keep that intact if your, if the last part is it is our ,
desired wish. Because if you a make it mandatory then, we're
trying to overrule the power of the HOA. And that doesn't work
for me.
CM Moore: Okay. So, I'll withdraw that last part of the motion.
CM Cookerly: But it is our express desire that — because I think process is
everything, right, folks? So, if you will say that then, I'm 100% on
board with this.
CM Moore: So, I'll amend the last part of my motion to say that we strongly
encourage the HOA to conduct a survey and see what the
representation of the community is for or against.
CM Mohrig: Second.
Mayor Jamison: I have a motion from Councilmember Moore and a second from
Councilmember Mohrig. Like I said, I personally might not agree
with what the HOA did but I fully respect their charter and what
they're charged to do with it. Any other discussion? All in favor,
please say aye. I
CM Moore: Aye.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday. May 2. 2022
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' CM Mohrig: Aye.
CM Cookerly: Aye.
CM Verhoff: Aye.
CM Jacobus: Aye.
Mayor Jamison: All opposed?
CM Johnson: Aye.
Mayor Jamison: Aye.
Motion and Vote: Councilmember Moore moved to defer Agenda Item No. 22-
152 for 90 days to allow the following:
1. Allow for a Speed Study
2. Allow the City a chance to install the stop signs
3. Capture information from City of Milton Police Department (number of
tickets written and at what speeds)
' 4. Strongly encourage the White Columns HOA to conduct a community
survey to see what representation of the community is — 'for or against'
(Council desire is to achieve at least 50% plus one (1) for an approval
from the community.)
Councilmember Mohrig seconded the motion. Councilmembers Verhoff, Moore,
Cookerly, Jacobus and Mohrig vote in favor of the motion. Mayor Jamison and
Councilmember Johnson opposed the motion. The motion passed (5-2).
Mayor Jamison: What did you say, Jan? It's five to two. Motion carries. Are we
good? Are you clear, Steve, on what the charge is?
Mr. Krokoff: I am. Just if the council would like to consider perhaps we want to
change the language in the ordinance related to traffic calming that
would now make the decision as to whether or not to implement
any of the traffic calming devices, anything in the right of way
contingent upon the vote here as opposed to separating that up.
Mayor Jamison: I guess my only two cents is the one thing that I gauged tonight
was putting traffic calming within the right of way without us
approving it, I think everyone in this room thought we were
' approving that. So, maybe that is something we can talk about at
the next work session or so if everyone is okay with that.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday. May 2. 2022
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Mr. Krokoff. The right of entry, correct me if I'm wrong, Sara and Ken, is not '
only the initial installation but also the ongoing maintenance
because normally, we take over the maintenance. But in this
situation because they were different than our base model, I
believe that the HOA was going to take over ongoing maintenance.
And they would now have to continue to enter the right of way for
,that. But I understand where this body would come from thinking
that was part of it. It makes sense. Perhaps we should change the
language if you want to continue on even with this program.
Mayor Jamison: Okay. That's good. So, 90 days. Can we have a count? Do we need
to have a date on this? You said 90 days, right?
Attorney Jarrard: It would be the next meeting after the 90 day period.
Mayor Jamison: Thank you.
City Clerk: Does that language change the motion that I just recorded?
Mayor Jamison: Do you want me to repeat it?
City Clerk: No, no. I've got it. '
REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS
Mayor Jamison: All right. I just want to make sure. We will move on. Sorry, we
were shuffling stuff around. I think we're on to reports and
presentations. No. B.
City Clerk: Mayor, that's going to be reports and presentation, Item A,
discussion on the allocation of Milton's American Rescue Plan Act
funds. Our community deputy city manager, Stacey Inglis.
Ms. Inglis: Good evening, Mayor and Council. This will be a repeat of pretty
much what you heard in the council retreat. So, bear with me. We
need to do this in the public and I also need to get a little bit of
feedback from you. So, tonight, we're going to talk about — we're
going to discuss the components of ARPA and the final rule. And I
would like to gain some feedback on allocation for eligible uses.
And as I go through this, I'll bring up some of the discussion that
we had in the council retreat. You had some questions for us and
I've gotten some of those answers for you. So, I'll try my best to '
get though all of that.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
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' The American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, was signed into law on
March 11, 2021. A part of ARPA is the Coronavirus state and local
fiscal recovery funds or SLFRS. For the sake of having to not say
SLFRS, I'm going to say ARPA just because that's a lot easier to
say and now Matt Marietta owes me a Starbucks. He said, "I think
if you say SLFRS in the public, I will give you a Starbucks," and
that's now two. It delivers $350 billion to state, local, and tribal
governments across the country to support their response to and
recovery from COVID-19 public health emergency.
The program ensures that governments have resources needed to
fight the pandemic and support families and businesses struggling
with it's public health and economic impacts, maintain vital public
services even amid declines in revenues, and build a strong,
resilient, and equitable recovery by making investments that
support long term growth and opportunity. In May 2021, the US
Treasury published the Interim Final Rule describing eligible and
ineligible uses of funds. They sought feedback from the public on
these program rules and began to distribute funds. They took into
consideration the feedback they received and developed the final
rule.
' And this guide has provided clarification and additional flexibility
in the eligible uses. And it was published on January 6 of this year
and it went into effect on April 1. For Milton, we felt it was
prudent to wait until the final rule was published because there was
so much communication and changing rules and guidance
throughout the whole process. We felt that it was just necessary to
wait until final rule. And once that final rule came about then, we
would bring forward some recommended eligible uses for the
funds. And as you'll see later in this presentation, it was actually
worthy.
And we're very happy that we waited until the final rule was
published because it provided additional flexibility for us. It was
more beneficial for our citizens. So, the funding is sent in two
tranches. We received the first half last July and the second half is
on schedule for delivery this summer. And they divided it up into
two different types of governments and based on how they
calculated the funds. Metropolitan cities were populations higher
than 50,000. And that was all of our sister cities in North Milton
except Mountain Park. They received monies directly from the US
' Department of Treasury.
And the calculation though is a little different from what our
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2. 2022
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calculation was. They calculated it using the modified CDBG
'
formula. CDBG is community development block grant. And there
is a specific formula that kind of goes along with that. Non -
entitlement units or NEU's are what we are considered because our
population is less than 50,000. We received the funds indirectly
from the state. So, the state received the funds from the federal
government. The state had to then distribute the funds to us. And
our funding is based on simple per capita calculation. The eligible
expenses cover the period occurring on or after March 3, 2021.
All except for premium pay. Premium pay is retroactive back to
the beginning of the pandemic, January 2020. On this next slide,
we'll see our distribution based on, again, NEU. We have a
population less than 50,000. And the other sister cities had their
calculation based on that CDBG formula so you can see how it
actually benefited the citizens of Milton. We're scheduled to
receive nearly $14.8 million in all. The timeline, as I mentioned,
the first half was received last year and the second half is
scheduled to be received this year. Expenditures must be obligated
by December 21, 2024. And they must be fully expended by
December 31, 2026.
There are four key eligible use categories. And they are ordered
'
from broadest and most flexible to the most specific. So, public
sector revenues is providing government services up to the amount
of revenue lost due to the pandemic. The eligible use category No.
2 is public health and economic response. And this is responding to
COVID-19's public health impact along with its economic harms.
No. 3 is premium pay for essential workers offering additional
support to workers who bear the greatest health risks because of
their service in critical sectors. And No. 4 is investments in water
and sewer broadband infrastructure.
And this is providing funding to critical water and sewer projects
along with high speed broadband infrastructure. So, we're going to
dive into each one of these categories and then discuss potential
eligible uses afterwards. And as we go through the presentation, I
will also outline the differences between the interim final rule and
the final rule and address questions that you brought up during the
council retreat. So, the first category is replacing lost public sector
revenues. The key change, this is key for us in Milton, is in the
final rule regarding this category as it allows for now a standards
allowance option. '
There are two options of replacing lost public sector revenue. The
standard allowance option is up to $10 million can be used to
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday. May 2, 2022
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' replace lost revenue. And this is an amount that is available
immediately to the citizens of Milton. These funds can be used for
general government services that are traditionally provided by us.
The other option is calculating revenue lost each year using the
treasury's counterfactual growth trend that can be applied to
revenues that we receive. And it is available after each calendar
year.
So, you have to wait until that calendar year comes about, actual
revenues are calculated, compared to the counterfactual growth
trend, and that actual ends up not working well for the city of
Milton and I'll show you later on. So, we're going to recommend
that the standard allowance is the recommended way of using these
funds. And any revenue loss, replacement of revenue loss sector,
public sector revenues is subject to streamline reporting and
compliance requirements. So, it's a little easier to report. This next
category is very, very broad. It deals with responding to public
health and negative economic impacts.
And there are several subcategories under this particular category
for lack of better words. Responding to the public health
' emergency is one category. And I'll go through each one of these
in detail. Responding to the negative economic impacts of which
there are several assistance programs that are organized by type of
beneficiary. And you can see all of the assistance programs. And
then, restoring a bolstering public sector capacity. And in general,
to identify eligible uses of funds in this category, recipients should
identify a COVID-19 public health or economic impact on an
individual or class.
And design a program that responds to that impact. And responses
should be related and reasonably proportional to the harm
identified and reasonable designed to benefit those impacted. And
the final rule provides a broader set of eligible uses for impacted
and disproportionately impacted populations and clarify that
reasonably proportional capital expenditures may be allowable.
And just to note impact to populations means the general
population that experienced broad based impacts of the pandemic
and disproportionately impacted community is the section of
population that faced many more severe impacts often due to pre-
existing disparity.
' So, think qualified census track and low, low income. For this
presentation, I'm actually going to discuss just the ones that are
highlighted here in red because they are most relevant to the city. I
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2. 2022
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know that we went through all of these categories in the retreat. '
But after receiving feedback from you, I'm going to focus on the
ones we had questions on and go through those. Under the
subcategory of responding to public health emergency, treasury
has identified several public health impacts and enumerated uses of
funds to respond to impact to populations. COVID-19 mitigation
and prevention.
There are enumerated eligible uses that include a long list. So, the
ones that are most applicable to Milton can be vaccination
programs, testing programs, equipment, and sites, COVID-19
prevention and treatment equipment, such as ventilators and
ambulances, medical and PPE protective supplies. And then,
Medical expenses includes paid family and medical leave for
public employees to enable compliance with COVID-19 public
health precautions. So, the next subcategory is responding to the
negative economic impacts in which I'm going to discuss. First,
the assistance to small businesses.
So, as mentioned previously, there are several assistance categories
identified and we'll just focus on small business and nonprofits.
And I'll go through each and I'll discuss the council questions that '
came up during the retreat. Under assistance to small businesses to
be eligible for assistance, the small business must have
experienced negative economic impacts like the ones identified on
the slide you see there. They should have no more than 500
employees. And our small business concern is defined in Section 3
of Small Business Act, which includes among other requirements
that the business is independently owned and operated and is not
dominant in its field of operation.
The type of assistance allowable in the final rule are loans or grants
to mitigate any financial hardship they experienced or technical
assistance counseling or other services that support business
planning. During the council retreat, a question came about
whether or not we can refund occupational taxes that were paid
during the pandemic. And while it's possible to do this in the form
of a grant, I wanted to mention that occupational taxes are based
primarily on gross receipts for most of our businesses. There are
some that do it based on a flat fee and number of employees.
But most of the businesses do pay based on gross receives. And
any revenue lost and a business experience would reflect in the '
fees they paid in the city in the subsequent year. So, for instance,
for 2022, the fees were based on the gross receipts they received in
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Monday, May 2, 2022
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' 2021. In 2021, it was based on gross receipts from 2020 and so on.
So, for any gross receipts that they had or any losses they
experienced, it does reflect in the fees that they were paid in the
next calendar year. And I was a little curious to see how businesses
have faired through the pandemic. And so, we pulled a very, very
small sampling of different businesses throughout the city and
compared them year over year from 2019 to 2022.
And I'll look at the year prior to the pandemic. As I mentioned,
2019 fees were based on 2018 gross receipts. And then, in a small
sample, all had either paid significantly higher fees in 2022 versus
their fees in 2019, which would show a growth in their business or
very much a recovery in the business. There was one that was a
little bit below what they paid in 2019. So, they're still recovering.
And overall, we have collected more occupational taxes in 2022
than we ever have in the past. I think we're over 917,000 just in
this part of the fiscal year. So, we haven't even gotten through the
rest of the fiscal year.
Last year, we collected I think it was 803,000 or 826,000. I can't
remember. And I'm not asking you to look at it. I think it's
803,000 we collected last year, 826,000 we collected in the
previous year. And then, prior to that, it was a little bit less than
826,000. So, I just wanted to point out that we have recovered
well, I think, as businesses. I know that there are several
businesses that did suffer through the pandemic. If that's
something that you would like for us to explore, I just wanted to be
mindful and let you know that we would need some additional
resources in order to assess that, come up with criteria, and
administer the program.
I'm currently not going to recommend any allocation of the funds
based on this. But, again, if this is something that council wants to
do, we can certainly provide any support and get through that
program. So, this is nonprofit, for those nonprofits that experience
negative economic impacts or disproportionate impacts of the
pandemic and meet the definition nonprofit, specifically those with
a 501C3 or 501C19 in Texas and organizations. Impact to
nonprofits can be identified as having decreased revenues, facing
financial insecurity, experienced increased costs, and have
challenges covering payroll, rent, or mortgage and other operating
costs.
' In the council retreat, a question came up about whether a
nonprofit had to be located within the city limits. And so, I reached
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out to our auditor under the contract that we had with them to help ,
us administer these funds. And it is their opinion that there isn't a
residence requirement for nonprofits and argue that supporting a
nonprofit that serves our city is allowable under the regional
initiatives focus that is mentioned in the guidance. And as a small
business assistance, additional resources would be required to
administer this program. So, we're currently not proposing using
ARPA funds for this category.
But, again, if it's something that the council would like to do, we
can certainly come back with something for you. So, the next
subcategory under No. 2 is responding to the public health and
negative economic impacts. And that next subcategory is restoring
and bolstering public sector capacity, which supports government's
ability to deliver critical COVID-19 services. There are three main
categories of eligible uses, which include public safety, public
health, and human services staff, government employment and
rehiring public sector staff and sector service delivery. I'll get to
the third point in just a minute.
Under public safety, public health and human services staff, ARPA
funding may be used for payroll and cover benefits for eligible '
employees and police and fire are considered eligible under this.
We would need to assess the portion of time they spent on
COVID-19 response. And that portion of time can then be applied
to their payroll and related benefits. The next category focuses on
government employment and rehiring public sector staff.
Fortunately, Milton did not lay off any of our workers due to the
pandemic. However, the final rule allows for uses that support and
retain public sector workers.
So, for Milton potential eligible use could be worker retention
incentives, including reasonable increases in compensation to
persuade employees to remain with the city as compared to other
employment options. Another eligible use could be covering
administrative costs associated with administering, hiring,
supporting, and hiring support retention programs. A third category
is improving the efficacy of service delivery through tools like
program evaluation, data, and outreach as well as address
administrator [inaudible] [02:05:28] exacerbated by the pandemic.
And eligible uses include what you see here on the screen. The
third category is premium pay. And the funds that may be used to '
provide premium pay to eligible workers performing essential
work during the pandemic. This focuses on offering additional
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
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' support to those who have and will bear the greatest health risks
because of their service may be awarded up to $13.00 per hour and
it may not exceed $25,000.00 for any single worker. And that's not
within a calendar year. That's throughout this whole program. And
as I mentioned, this is the one category that payments can extend
beyond that May 3, 2021 day.
These payments could be retroactive from the beginning of
pandemic. Recipients should undergo the following steps to
provide premium pay to eligible workers. Step 1 is identifying
eligible worker. Emergency responders and local government work
force is among the list of 25 considered to be key economic
sectors.
No. 2 is verify that work performs essential work and that is work
that is not performed by teleworking from a residence and involves
either regular in person interactions with patients, the public, or co-
workers of the individual that is performing the work or regular
physical handling of items that were handled by or are to be
handled by patients, the public, or co-workers of the individual that
is performing the work. And Step 3 is confirm that premium pay
responds to workers performing essential work during the COVID-
19 pandemic. No written justification is required if the eligible
worker meets one of these requirements.
The first is they're earning at or below 150% of the residing state
or county's average annual wage, including premium pay as
determined by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, occupational,
employment, and wage statistics, whichever is higher. For Milton,
this would be $88,650.00 for our area. That is the cap that we're
looking at or the worker is not exempt from the FLSA overtime
provisions meaning that they can earn overtime. So, premium pay
may be awarded in installments or lump sums. That is monthly,
quarterly, or etc.
It may be awarded to hourly, part time, or salaried or non -hourly
workers. The last category is the least flexible. And it deals with
investment in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure. The final
rule broadens eligible broadband infrastructure investments to
address challenges with broadband access, affordability, and
reliability and to add additional eligible water and sewer
infrastructure investments, including a broader range of lead
' remediation and storm water management projects.
Eligible projects under the water and sewer infrastructure aligns
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
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Paoe 52 of 83
with eligible projects under EPA's clean water state revolving fund '
of which the management and treatment of storm water or
subsurface drainage water and reuse or recycling of waste water,
storm water or subsurface drainage water. I'm sorry I'm having to
read all this. There are also other eligible products that align under
the EPA's drinking water state revolving fund. And the one type
that is most specific to Milton is the green infrastructure, including
green roofs, rainwater harvesting, and permeable pavement
projects.
The final rule does.allow for additional eligible projects such as
culver repair resizing and removal, replacing the storm water
sewers and additional types of storm water infrastructure, and these
projects would need to be deemed necessary. And there are criteria
provided on how to do that within the Anal rule. So, the second
part of this category is investment in broadband infrastructure. And
these types of projects are focused on serving locations without
access to reliable wire learned broadband service. Treasury
encourages recipients to prioritize investments in fiber optic
infrastructure wherever feasible on projects that will achieve last
mile connections.
Further, treasury encourages recipients to prioritize support for
'
broadband networks owned, operated by, or affiliated with local
governments. So, during the council retreat, there was some
discussion around whether ARPA funds may be used for funding
or partially funding the connection between a resident who had a
long driveway into the right of way, the fiber that might be in the
right of way because that goes along with our initiative to
encourage large lots throughout the city. I asked the auditor and
they felt that this use would actually be a stretch because there is
broadband available.
It's just that connection.. However, she did say that if we wanted to,
we could use general funds for that if we wanted to do something
with that but not ARPA funds specifically. It would not be an
eligible use. While there is a lot of flexibility throughout the four
key eligible use categories, there are some restrictions that do
apply. We cannot offset a reduction in net tax revenue meaning
that we can't lower our taxes and assume that we can make up our
lost revenue with ARPA funds. We are also not allowed to make
any deposits to the pension fund, payments on debt service,
replenishment of financial reserves, or satisfy settlements and '
judgments.
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Additional general restrictions are funds that cannot be used that
conflicts with or contravenes the purpose of the ARPA statute.
Meaning you cannot use the funds to undermine the COVID-19
mitigation practices in line with CDC guidance and
recommendations. So, this next section identifies potential uses
within the four key eligible use categories. And first up is
replacement of lost revenues. And we are recommending using the
standard $10 million allowance because the counterfactual
calculation would actually result in either a negative $4.1 million
that we have to give back or about $4 million by the end of this
thing.
And as mentioned, using the counterfactual calculation would
draw out the amount of time that we can actually use the funds.
They're not immediately available. This would help expedite any
other of the build out of an active park along with the funds that we
have already budgeted for building out an active park. If you add
$10 million to it, we can do this without going out for a bond and
going into debt. So, if we use the $10 million, we'll have almost
$4.8 million remaining balance. The next category is responding to
the public health emergency. And all of the items that you see on
' this list qualify under the eligible use for this category.
And all of them are either budgeted or have already been spent
within that timeframe after March 3, 2021, with the exception of
desk top scanners. But if we use the funds to pay back the city or to
take care of the allocation and budget that we already have, we can
reallocate the monies that we already have budgeted elsewhere to,
again, expedite some of the projects that we might want to expedite
for the strategic plan or current plan. That total is $776,000.00 and
remaining balance would be about $4 million. And I'll sum it all
up in just a minute and I'll ask for your feedback. But please, if
you have any questions right now, I'll be happy to answer them.
So, within this same category of responding to public health
emergency under the subcategory restoring and bolstering public
sector capacity, we can use the funds to cover payroll and cover
benefits for the portion of eligible staff time spent on the COVID-
19 response. Calculating this out, assuming a 25% of the staff are
the public safety time spent was on COVID-19 response, it equates
to about $100,000.00 per pay period. Over a year, that would be
about $2.6 million. The next category is premium pay. We
' surveyed the surrounding jurisdictions to get an understanding of
what they are doing in this category.
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And you can see the results here. I want to mention that Cherokee '
County and Johns Creek distributed hazard pay to their employees,
which came from the general fund and no ARPA funds were used.
But we did want to include that information in the survey because
it did do something for their employees. During the council retreat,
you were very supportive of providing premium pay to our team
members that were exposed to COVID due to the nature of their
work. You favored the Cherokee County policy that differentiated
between levels of exposure. So, the recommendation you see on
this slide is modeled after that program with that tiered approach.,
And the criteria would need to be flushed out 'into a policy and
include input from our department heads. Our thoughts are that the
pay would cover the period in which our facilities were closed to
the public. So, that would be March of 2020 to March of 2021. So,
a period of one year. We opened them up back to the public in
March of 2021 because that was when the vaccine was readily
available to our citizens and to the staff. So, that would be when
the mitigation of COVID-19 and spread of COVID-19 was starting
to get a handle within the public.
It would be prorated for the number of months an individual '
worked in person and would be for employees whose salary is
equal to or less than 150% of our area's overall average wage as
reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is the $88,650.00
that you see on the screen. If we do the $500.00 per month for
sworn police and fire that meet those qualifications that are listed
below and $250.00 per month for civilians, it would be a max of
$560,000.00. We would, obviously, have to go and dive deeper.
This was not a back of the napkin calculation. It was a lot more in
depth than that.
But what I looked at and what I could see without having to dive in
through each person's time sheet whenever they said that they
were teleworking or when they were in the office, this is the
figures that I could come up with. I know that there were some
discussion in the council retreat about creating a greater difference
between those with the significant elevated risk versus those that
didn't have as great of a risk as our public safety employees. If you
wanted to do something like $500.00 to $200.00, the total max cost
would be around $544,000.00. So, I just wanted to mention that.
And let me finish through the rest of this —
Mayor Jamison: Stacey, can you draw that comparison again please. If we did - I
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' Ms. Inglis: So, $500.00 for sworn and $200.00 for civilians, the maximum
would be $544,000.00.
Mayor Jamison: Versus what generates the $560,000.00?
Ms. Inglis: So, $500.00 and $250.00.
Mayor Jamison: Okay. Thank you.
Ms. Inglis: So, if we did the $560,000.00 as is on the screen, the remaining
balance would be about $3.4 million. And the next eligible use
category is investment in water and sewer infrastructure. And you
can see several projects there that are either budgeted or in the pipe
and coming down the pike of needing to be budgeted. 1 believe
FMCC Hydrology is one of those that isn't fully funded. But the
total amount on this screen would be almost $2.4 million leaving a
remaining balance of a little over $1 million. So, in summary, most
of these funds are either replenishing the $10 million we're
replenishing, either budgeted or have been spent. Premium pay is,
obviously, not one of those.
' And then, the storm water infrastructure, a good bit of that is
already budgeted or has been spent. And we could redirect those.
And that's the reason why we have the buckets that are on the
screen. So, monies that we already have budgeted, if you put
money to cover these projects that have already been budgeted, we
can reallocate those budgeted funds to another project hence the
water coming out of that bucket into the next one.
CM Mohrig: Can you go back to the storm water infrastructure? Just one
question. Are we looking at doing anything on Bethany Bend
where we've got the flooding every time it rains? And the reason I
ask is that's been a known issue. And you can go out there and you
can see where the dirt is. But every time it rains hard, that is a
hazardous thing because it's a low point. And it floods three-
quarters of the way across both lanes, which makes it dangerous
because I see people swerving around it every time.
Ms. Inglis: Yeah. That would classify as one of those storm water
management type of categories. It would fit under this. And the
line item, the $240,000.00 on this sheet that shows other planned
projects, that one wasn't specifically called out in that list. But we
' were hoping to bid a big group of storm water projects to generate
some interest. And it could definitely fit within that category as an
eligible project.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
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CM Mohrig: I appreciate that. Thanks. '
Ms. Inglis: So, we're recommending that remaining balance, that $1 million
remaining balance after we take into account all of the other
categories as using it for public safety payroll. But I'll be happy to
an$wer any questions if you have any direction you want to
provide on other assistance programs or anything like that.
Mayor Jamison: Great presentation. Questions for Stacey? Rick?
CM Mohrig: Yeah. It was very thorough. And I'll just ask this for the public
record. Have we vetted the rules and the bill to make sure that
there is no current or future federal government strings attached to
the use of these funds?
Ms. Inglis: Yes.
CM Mohrig: So, we're confident we don't have an issue there. Another question
is we had talked one time about using some of the funds possibly
for charitable organizations that serve Milton and other areas. Did
we look at any of that where we have food insecurity, stuff that we '
know exists within our community, it's justnot that public? Have
we looked at using any of those funds or did we just allocate them
all just for the city projects.
Ms. Inglis: That is direction that we need from the council. That is one of the
eligible use categories is assistance to nonprofits. If you wanted us
to look into that, additional resources would be needed. And I
asked the question of whether or not they had to be located within
the city limits. They do not as long as they serve the residents of
the city of Milton. So, if the council would like to have us look into
something like that, we would have to put together a bid to get
some additional resources or look into what other jurisdictions are
doing.
But right now, we are not recommending that. But again, if the
council wants to do so, we'll be happy to.
CM Mohrig: So, essentially, what we've got right now isn't recommending
doing anything for North Fulton community charities or Beal's
Bike Race, any of those types of organizations? We're not going to
do anything as outlined right now. That's the current proposal.
Ms. Inglis: It's up to the council. I
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2. 2022
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' Mr. Krokoff: You're right, Councilmember Mohrig. It's not part of the current
proposal. If the council would like us to look into that more, I think
what Stacey is stating is that we would probably have to bring on
additional resources. We don't have the internal capacity of the
managed grants and things along those lines.
CM Mohrig: So, it would have to be by grant is what you — I don't think we
want to get into loans. I know Fulton County did that last time.
They didn't do loans but I think they did grants to charitable
organizations when they just had the funds initially.
Ms. Inglis: Would it take additional resources just to find out what other cities
are doing if they are looking at nonprofits?
Ms. Leaders: We could do a survey. We would have to — we could reach out to
them and we can reach out specifically to —
Mayor Jamison: So, the reference to additional resources would be if we were going
to create a grant program to accommodate that, an application by
one of those charities that Rick is talking about.
' Attorney Jarrard: There's a little more. I've had a few governments that have done
this and it is a bit of a staff endeavor because you've got to — you
have to have an application process, a vetting process, an approval
process, an accountability process, and even maybe an audit
process. So, it's a bit of work. It can be done. I've seen it done.
And I'm just suggesting that it's a bit of a bureaucratic grind.
Mayor Jamison: Yeah. The reason I was asking to clarify is is there a way to
streamline that where you don't have to go to that heavy a process.
And we don't need to explore that tonight.
Attorney Jarrard: There may be opportunities. We might be able to just bootstrap
onto somebody else that's already doing it and immolate their
forms and their protocol but that would just be —
CM Mohrig: I'm just wondering because I know in talking to Bob Ellis, during
the actual year when COVID was going on, Fulton County did
make — it seemed like they almost did declaration and said we're
going to give X amount of $100,000.00 to this organization, that
organization.
I
Mayor Jamison: They were giving out party favors. Speaking frank, I don't think
they had a designated process like I think we would have to do. As
far as — it's difficult to pick and choose who gets what. And I think
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
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I remember that process. They were just —
CM Mohrig: Yes. I'm wondering how they were able to do that. Were the rules
different at that time for what they did and —
Attorney Jarrard: And that wasn't ARPA, too. That was something else. That was
the Cares Act. I will tell you that I think that as the — and I'm not
going to suggest the crisis is over because it is abated. I think that
there has been a more measured response to how to use some of
these federal dollars than right in the thick of it. And we were just
saying we had to get money out to as many constituents.
CM Mohrig: It sounds like it would be more complicated than not. But are we
making the final decision tonight?
Ms. Inglis: No. This will come back before you. You still have additional
input that you can give during the budget amendment process and
during the FY '23 budget process because, obviously, we will not
be able to spend all of these monies within fiscal year 2022. So,
they will have to be reallocated in 2023. So, you have a couple of
bites of the apple there.
Mayor Jamison: We all have to be in general agreement that this is a relatively
pretty good path.
Ms. Inglis: Some sort of direction, yes.
CM Jacobus: Can we go to the premium pay?
Ms. Inglis: Absolutely.
Mayor Jamison: I'm definitely in favor of that. Oh, you're asking to review it again.
I was going to say I support the higher pay amounts.
CM Jacobus: I was wondering if — you said do $500.00 and then, $200.00 would
be the alternative. Could we just take the one with $200.00 and add
it to the $500.00? So, in other words, make — my concern is that
the Police and the Fire Department, they were in the thick of it
more than anybody, I think. And to me, I think giving them a
larger share is the right thing to do. So, I would like to see that
$500.00 changed to $600.00 and rearrange the dollars. And then,
the civilians would go to $200.00.
Ms. Inglis: It would change the amounts a good bit but I could do those I
calculations and bring that back before you during the budget
amendment.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
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IMayor Jamison: So, are you saying increase —
CM Jacobus: I'm saying increase police and fire by $100.00 and decrease the
civilian by $50.00.
Mr. Krokoff: This is a monthly amount.
CM Jacobus: It would be a net increase by $50.00.
Ms. Inglis: Is the council on board with that?
Mayor Jamison: Yeah. I'll bring you those numbers back.
CM Jacobus: And how soon can we do that for them? I know lot of this has to
wait. But to me, the premium pay is something that if we can move
more quickly on it than other areas, is that possible?
Ms. Inglis: I'm looking over at Steve. We want to make sure — if you're all in
agreement, we can do that before the budget amendment, which
we'll be bringing before you in June. We can certainly look at that.
' It depends on how quickly we can get the policy written and vetted
by Fire Department heads and, obviously, it's going to take a little
bit of time to look into the payroll and make sure that we are
distributing it appropriately to the people that were not teleworking
at the time. So, it's going to take a little bit of time.
Mr. Krokoff: Listen, might we be able to get the public safety out first because
there is less —
Ms. Inglis: Absolutely. That's the easiest.
Mr. Krokoff: Because there's less research we have to do to be able to apply
those. So, from a public safety perspective, we'll probably be able
to move quicker on the public safety.
Attorney Jarrard: I've got some of the documents.
Mr. Krokoff: And we can make that a priority. I've heard that from the council
both tonight and at the retreat. So, we'll move on that.
Mayor Jamison: Paul?
' CM Moore: Just a quick clarification. The eligibility for that. There may have
been some staff or public safety personnel changes since that time.
Are you required to be on the payroll today to be eligible?
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
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Paae 60 of 83
Ms. Inglis: That's what I recommend.
CM Moore: I agree with that.
Ms. Inglis: We did go through recently where there was the grant, the public
.safety grant that was provided by the governor where it didn't
matter if they were still on our payroll or not. So, tracking down
former employees and making sure we had the proper information
was a little more on the resources than we'd thought initially. But
yes, I would recommend that we only do current active employees
who worked during that time.
CM Moore: Thank you.
Mr. Krokoff: If I could just to go back to the grants before for the not for profits.
It's not a matter of us not wanting to do it. I used to be in my old
job, we used to do the passthrough of federal dollars. And we
would be the grantor. And the amount of work required with that is
significant. I don't know everything that has to be done with this if
we were going to passthrough money. But being on the other end
of that audit, which I was every year is a huge undertaking. '
Mayor Jamison: Fair enough. Council good? Thanks, Stacey.
Ms. Inglis: Thank you.
Mayor Jamison: Okay, Tammy. If you'd please sound the next item.
City Clerk: Mayor, that next item is discussion of name for the city's 137 acre
passive and active park property at 1785 Dinsmore Road in Milton.
Our communications director, Mr. Greg Botelho.
Mr. Botelho: I heard Stacey said FMCC. Hopefully, you'll never have to hear
that again soon unless you really want to. Sorry. I don't mean to
make jokes. You can call it the FMCC Park.
Mayor Jamison: Was it one of the choices?
Mr. Botelho: Well, it wasn't one of your nominations. So, we are here once
again. I think as many of you as possible are able to explore this
awesome property that is managed by my friend Tom. It's a really
unique place. I called it the crown jewel or gem of our green space '
purchases. But it's really more than that because it's unique
because it's active and passive. So, the challenge though is that it
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2. 2022
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' doesn't have — I want to say the Former Milton Country Club is a
name. But we're trying to get it so it's to get something that really
resonates and something that sticks and lives on with people for
while and really speaks to the community.
And we've created a process for this. It's the cool thing and the fun
thing and the creative thing and also the challenging thing is that
we've had lots of good ideas. So, again, the mission is to give it a
name that resonates with the visitors while reflecting the city's
values and identity. So, it was before you went in March. Our goal
and [inaudible] 102:31:201. We want to create an efficient and
effective process that allows for citizen and stakeholder input. And
I'm going to go into this later. But the response was amazing, too
amazing almost.
But to build energy and excitement and value for this unique and
treasured city property, I think if you actually went out there and
saw the people and hear anybody that talks about it, they love it.
So, I think that was a success so far. To provide with the council
with viable, legitimate contenders to name this space. So, we
provided you with a lot of names. I'll go into the challenge of that.
' And then, the last part is to select a name that makes sense. So, I'm
going to just explain a little bit of the process where we came from
here. So, I'm not going to go through all of this sort of thing. But
we had Facebook posts. We had email solicitations and things like
that and other ways we got the public to buy in.
We had the stakeholders as well. As you all know, you had an
internal survey that kind of went out to hopefully trying to narrow
this down. What ended up happening is that the council was
similar to what the public was is that you had many great ideas. If
there was one name that stood out above all else, I would say we
would just kind of vote on that name. There wasn't. That makes a
challenge. And I don't want us to bang our heads against the wall
too much. I want this to be the council's decision but I also want to
make it a process that will get us to the finish line because we
could be doing this a year or two from now and still be in the same
place, which is all fun but still.
So, I'm going to walk you through my proposed process with
Tom's support, too, and explain where we kind of think we might
leave this. So, the idea is by mid -May, we'll have a name that's
' acceptable to you all that is official. Again, I'm going to talk a
little about the public feedback. So, we had 211 names submitted
by people. One of the challenges and one of the great things is that
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
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Paqe 62 of 83
very few of them were the same names. There were lots of one offs '
and great creative names. You'll see this word cloud sort of thing.
We did have a few names and I think the council took this to heart,
a few terms that kind of stood out.
Milton was represented more than half. Park was the next most
common one. Preserve, valley, you can kind of read on down
there. So, there were a few terms that stood out. But in terms of the
combinations, they took all different forms. To that point, I just
wanted to — I'm not going to read all of these but there are some
really cool names. And the cool thing is that all of these names, the
people emailed — I went through every email and responded to
every email, even in the comments. But there was a lot of thought.
And the Milton Sticks, a gentleman who sent me that really put a
lot of thought into these things.
And all of these Kit Fox, I think Tom heard that there is a lot of
foxes around. And there are really creative people in our
community. And I really want to publicly thank them for every
single one of these ideas was worth considering and every single
one was fun to read through, even if it makes it more challenging
to pick one. So, after this, we shared this with you all and said '
what names of those would you like to consider. I was hoping that
everyone would come back with one name and that would have
been all very simple. But we have instead seven names. Am I
counting right, yes, that were proposed by the mayor and council.
And one of the feedback from one of the people up on the
[inaudible] [02:34:52] there is that rather than if we can just
narrow these down to four or five or whether we have three,
whether we have seven, names that you all would be comfortable
with. And I have dual process here. I'm going to walk you through
how I would approach this. From there, if we ask you this and
everyone has the same one name then, that's the name. We'll see if
that happens. But if not, we'll say if we can have names that you're
comfortable with and people that someone stands up for then, we
can have a public poll that's starting as soon as tomorrow or at
least Wednesday or so.
So, I'm going to ask for all of these names. I'm just going to go
one by one. If there is one person up there who says yes, I want
this name on the ballot then, that name will be on the ballot. If
there is not then, it won't be. That's just my proposal. I'm open to '
other ideas but I feel like this is the safe way. So, if you don't
mind, is everyone fine with that process?
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
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Mayor Jamison: Go for it.
Mr. Botelho: This is alphabetical order as you can see. Milton Makers Parks and
Rec.
CM Mohrig: Sorry, can we see the —
Mayor Jamison: Can we see the name list again?
Mr. Botelho: Oh, it's not there. It went away. I'm looking at it.
Mayor Jamison: So, we are voting on if we want it on the final or just on the ballot?
Mr. Botelho: Yes.
CM Jacobus: Unless we all agree on one name.
Mr. Botelho: Unless you all agree on one name. It's not a vote. It's a survey.
[Inaudible - crosstalk]
Mr. Botelho: We're just talking amongst friends. If you raise your hands and —
so, the first one, and if you can see, this is alphabetical order.
Milton Makers Parks and Rec. Is there someone who really wants
that on there?
Mayor Jamison: Really wants that on there?
Mr. Botelho: Or wants it in any way. That's the end of it. So, that is on the
contenders. I think I know the answer to this one. Milton Central
Park and Preserve. That is on there, too. Milton City Park and
Preserve. We have a few of those so that is on there as well.
Hopefully, someone is taking notes. Actually, is Carol here? Well,
Milton Meadows was suggested by her.
Mayor Jamison: Is that what she said?
Mr. Botelho: Yeah. That was hers.
Mayor Jamison: She would vote for that.
Mr. Botelho: I think she would. So, you're proxies. Milton Preserve and
Recreation Center.
CM Moore: I kind of like that.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
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Mr. Botelho: I didn't see any — congratulations on eliminating one. The second
to last one is Milton Valley Park.
CM Johnson; Is it a valley?
Mr. Botelho: It is. Good question. I asked our city engineer that. Half of the
property, 50 to 60 acres is considered a valley. And it's not a
valley like Sonoma Valley or Napa Valley.
CM Johnson: Right. That's what I think a valley is. Milton is not a valley.
Mr. Botelho: That was one of the more commonly — for obvious reasons.
Mayor Jamison: Greg, isn't that one on there because that was the community chose
Mr. Botelho: Yes. That was of the contenders, that was probably the highest one.
But when we're talking about highest, it was like —
CM Mohrig: I'll vote for that.
Mr. Botelho: That works. The idea is if that was the name, you would be okay ,
with it. And the last one is Woods of Milton Community Center.
Anyone? Okay.
CM Moore: So, what are the ones?
Mr. Botelho: Let's see. Tom is going to fact check me. Milton Makers Parks and
Rec, Milton Central Park and Preserve, Milton City Park and
Preserve, Milton Meadows, and Milton Valley Park. So, those are
five names. So, we will create an online survey, which is kind of IP
address protected in the sense that you can only vote from the same
device once. We're going to do the best we can. We actually tend
to get some good responses.
Mayor Jamison: They're write in candidates, right? I'm not going to get one of
those?
Mr. Botelho: I hope not. And then, I think just we'll give them 10 days and we'll
see what happens. We have signs that we can put out at the park if
you happen to be going by there and we'll tell them not to put it in
the Facebook comments because it won't count, even though it did
count before. But I'm hoping we can have the Former Former I
Milton Country Club very soon because that's not one of the
contenders.
C
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
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CM Moore: Is that one of them?
Mr. Botelho: No, it's not. We have some creative uses of FMCC from some
people on staff. But those did not rise to the fore.
Mayor Jamison: This is a great way to engage the community and let them choose
the name.
Mr. Botelho: Exactly. And as long as you're acceptable, it's a good partnership.
And we'll see what happens. Thank you very much.
Mayor Jamison: Thanks, Greg.
Mr. Botelho: This is the last up. After this is settled, we'll move on to the next
one, which I believe either Cox Road or the Mayfield Park over
there.
Mr. McKlveen: Probably Mayfield.
Mr. Botelho: Probably Mayfield, yes. But eventually, we'll name them all
eventually.
CM Moore: Mayfield Park?
Mr. Botelho: The lake one. You call it a lake, some people call it a pond. It's a
lake.
CM Moore: The one right here.
Mr. Botelho: Yeah. You can walk to it. Thank you very much.
Mayor Jamison: Thanks, Greg. So, we have no items under first presentation or
public hearing. So, we'll move on to the zoning agenda. Will the
city clerk please read the zoning rules and sound the first item.
ZONING AGENDA
City Clerk: Mayor, that first item is consideration of RZ2201 text amendment
to Article 19, Crabapple form base code Article 6.1 definitions to
define outdoor auditorium. It's Agenda Item No. 22-148. Can I
read really quick just for protocol the short zoning rules?
Mayor Jamison: Is there any public comment here? If we don't have public
comment, do we need to read it, Ken?
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday. May 2, 2022
Page 66 of 83
Attorney Jarrard: There is no requirement to read them. I think I would survey the I
gallery to make sure there is none.
Mayor Jamison: Do we have anybody here to speak on this? No.
Attorney Jarrard: Forgive me for not knowing this. Is there anyone that wants to
speak? Okay. Forgive me.
City Clerk: Ms. Robyn MacDonald.
Ms. MacDonald: The most interesting material for last. So, tonight as Tammy, our
wonderful city clerk, sounded for two different — two text
amendments that are, basically, the same definition out of
Crabapple and Deerfield form base codes. So, our objective tonight
is to consider a specific definition for the term outdoor auditorium
for both Crabapple and Deerfield form base codes. A little bit of
background. Although this use is listed in both the Crabapple and
Deerfield form base codes specific function and use table, there are
no definitions either in the form base codes or the general
definition section of the zoning board notes.
There is a need to provide a definition tailored for the city of '
Milton as it will impact the proposed updated administrative
permit for event special indoor/outdoor currently in the zoning
ordinance that will be moved to parks, recreation, and cultural
affairs sometime in the near future. Just going over what has
happened thus far, the planning commission recommended
approval of the following definition at its March 23 meeting.
Outdoor auditorium means any privately owned property improved
with an outdoor permanent structure used for outdoor
entertainment and intended to be used for the gathering of people
for public or private assembly.
At the planning commission meeting, they expressed concern that
outdoor auditoriums are allowed by right or warrant within T2 by
warrant within the Crabapple and Deerfield form base codes. It
was suggested that outdoor auditoriums only be allowed by use
permit, which would be a public hearing process through various
meetings including planning commission and city council. And all
transit zones within Crabapple and Deerfield. I just wanted to show
you currently where outdoor auditorium is permitted. As you can
see in the highlighted area, the warrant and T2 and the rest of them
by right through T3 to T5 with exception of T4R, which is '
basically a place holder for existing zoning from Fulton County.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
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' And then, Deerfield also by warrant and then, by right T3 through
T6. You all heard this at the last work session on April 18. And
based upon the input, you all agreed with the opinion of the
planning commission that outdoor auditoriums only be allowed by
use permit. After discussions, staff proposed the following
definitions, which would require the outdoor auditorium to be
located on a civic space and not just placed arbitrarily within the
form base codes. So, the proposed edit, which would add on to
what the planning commission recommended is right here. So,
what we propose and has been reviewed by the city attorney was
the outdoor auditorium shall be located on a civic space as required
by 3.6.2A of this article.
This is specific to Crabapple. Sites of more than 4 acres and not
located within an infield regulated plan shall dedicate at least five
percent of their total area to civic space. So, meaning that Mr.
Jones can't just take 5 acres out there on Deerfield and then, create
an outdoor auditorium, it needs to be specifically associated with a
development and the minimum requirement of the civic space. And
it be developed within that area.
' CM Moore: Robin, can you define what civic space — what we mean by that? Is
it still privately held? What determines civic space, the use or the
term civic space?
Ms. MacDonald: There is a specific definition of civic space. I would need to look it
up to get back to you. Stacey looks like she's ready to assist me.
Mr. Krokoff: I can tell you it is privately held. And a civic space is the result,
correct me if I'm wrong, Bob, of the space that is required as a
result of the percentage in the form base code. And I believe as of
right now, we only have one. And it's across the street, correct?
Ms. MacDonald: There are other civic spaces that are being developed. For instance,
we have subdivision coming in over on Crabapple that they're
required to do civic space. It's not as large as the one across the
street or the one that's at the lake on Mayfield. But they are
privately held but they need to be open to the public with what
would be normal park hours.
CM Moore: So, does that mean that, for instance, the outdoor arena behind us
that's civic space? And then, the owner, even though it's privately
' held, does not have control over hours and what happens on that? I
know you may have gotten calls, too. I got some calls saying how
does that impact our ability to restrict or —
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
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Mr. Krokoff: I met with the owners of this one and I've spoken to Ken since. '
They are entirely — they own their civic space. They can determine
the hours. They can determine what goes on there as long as it
doesn't violate city code. They can restrict who goes there. They
have authority in that regard. Where it becomes civic space and,
again, Ken, please jump in and correct me where I falter here is
they can't entirely close it off to the public. But it's generally
consigered as a public gathering space. This one just so happens to
have an amphitheater in it. But you see it in other places and
around the country if you think about Manhattan and some of those
greens that you see in and around the city.
And Savannah is actually another great example where you see
these gathering places.. So, you can't entirely close it off. In theory,
you couldn't fence it off and entirely exclude the use. But it still is
completely under the ownership of whatever private entity owns it.
CM Moore: They could also control, like you said, the hours and that type of
thing?
Mr. Krokoff: They can. The city can't — some of the conversations I had where
some of the ideas that they were thinking about using it for and '
they were worried about separation of church and state, things
along those lines. And none of that plays a role here.
CM Moore: So, it's not technically a park per se that the city dictates. It's still
privately held.
Mr. Krokoff: It falls within the same regulations as any other private property.
So, it should — other than being able to fence it off and exclude
everybody from it, it doesn't impede their ability to use their
property as they'd like to.
Attorney Jarrard: I think that's fine. It's the difference between something that is
generally accessible but the private entity has the right dedicated to
its own unique purpose for a time versus back to being generally
open.
Mayor Jamison: Stacey, is there any benefit to reading the definition beyond that
discussion? I'll tell you why I'm asking. I'm asking because if we
are trying to make sure that there is a civic space, what does it look
like? Pretend it's a S acre property. Could they do 3 feet wide and
it's the entire perimeter of the property and they've met the ,
parameters of the acreage commitment but not necessarily the
spirit of the intent of civic space?
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
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' Mr. Krokoff: I think that's a zoning question, yeah.
Ms. MacDonald: I was going to interject. There are certain qualifications for a civic
space. There are different types of civic spaces. They can be as
small as a playground but they go as large as a regular park. And
there are different ones in between. And all of them require to be
infronted or front on a street so there can be access by the public.
So, that's part of it. So, there are various requirements that are
made in the code about a civic space. It can't just be a little bit of
acreage way in the back where nobody can access it.
Mayor Jamison: So, it does restrict that or it does restrict the definition I just gave
or it could be 3 feet wide for the perimeter and then —
Ms. MacDonald: Correct, correct.
Mayor Jamison: It has to be assembled as such that the community actually can use
it.
Ms. MacDonald: Correct. But there are different levels of it.
I
Mr. Krokoff: And the minimum I'm seeing at least from what Stacey is scrolling
through is 60 feet in width.
Ms. MacDonald: Yeah, a 60 foot square or 60 feet each way.
Attorney Jarrard: Robyn, would it be fair to say that every outdoor auditorium as
used in [audio skip] must on a civic space but all civic spaces
don't necessarily have an outdoor auditorium on them?
Ms. MacDonald: Correct, yes. That's just a requirement to do an outdoor
auditorium. They can't just put it anywhere. It would have to be
part of the civic space.
CM Mohrig: And it will be by permit.
Ms. MacDonald: I'm sorry, what?
CM Mohrig: And it would be by permit so it would still —
Ms. MacDonald: Exactly. You're asking us to go back and create a use permit for
this use. So, we'll go and do that as well. Yes. So, there is a little
bit of difference between Crabapple and Deerfield. And Crabapple,
there is just one requirement for any sites of more than 4 acres is
5%. But when you go to Deerfield, it will have the same definition
but it will refer to two sections of the civic spaces, A) sites of more
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
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than 4 acres and not located within [inaudible] 102:52:18] '
regulating plan shall dedicate at least 5%. And then, following up
that sites of more than 8 acres shall provide at least 10%. So, that's
a little bit different than Crabapple where it's just one requirement
versus in Deerfield.
As you get larger, the idea is there is probably going to be larger
parcels that could be developed. And we would ask for more
percentage of a civic space. But otherwise, it remains proposed to
be the same. Questions on that part?
Mayor Jamison: You haven't addressed the use permit yet. And if you're going to,
I'll hold my question.
Ms. MacDonald: Correct. We haven't began that process yet.
Mayor Jamison: So, a quick question about use permit. So, a use permit, typically,
is for perpetuity. It goes with the property. Could we, in a case like
this, have the opportunity to measure at the change of ownership?
Or are use permits not touchable that way?
Attorney Jarrard: They're touchable so I don't want to mislead the council, of '
course. A use permit can be removed. It has to be removed in
zoning procedures act compliance. In other words, we'd have to
run legal ads and take away the use permit. What I think my better
answer would be is that tethering it to some sort of a change in
ownership puts almost an unbearable burden on staff to try to keep
up with that. We don't know when these uses go in and out of
different owners. Once we've approved it, we just sort of don't
keep up with it anymore. No one does that I'm aware of. So, that's
the administrative difficulty in that.
Mayor Jamison: The reason I ask that is you assume everything is going to be in the
spirit of Milton and it's always going to be used to the best and
highest use for the good of the community. But heaven forbid there
is something that's not and the guy decides hey, it's too much of a
hassle. I'm just going to flip it, if it's going to continue in an
operation that would still be unacceptable for whatever the reasons
might be, you wouldn't have a chance to revisit it. Where if you
did have a sunset on it at the change of ownership, you might have
a chance to weigh in.
However, and to defend where you may be going is if it is an I
egregious use, you'd probably have a chance to weigh in based on
other code.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
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1 Attorney Jarrard: That's right. Not only that but I think that if we did, in fact, have a
real problematic issue with this in the future given that it's
typically not a huge money maker, it's not like a restaurant or an
industry or an office building, I think our flexibility to [audio skip]
use permit may be a little more robust. That's something we have
to look at when it comes.
Mayor Jamison: Thank you. Any other discussion?
CM Mohrig: One question on individual use or uses that can do with that, do
they still have to get a special events permit if they're going to do a
concert or something like that? Or is that automatically unlimited
and approved once we approve it as an outdoor arena?
Mr. Krokoff: That will be back before you shortly. That's the new special event
permit, which is what this is keying it up for. And depending on
the impact, there is a two to three prong test that will determine
whether or not something requires a special event permit. The
proposal is that amphitheaters or civic spaces —
' Ms. MacDonald: Outdoor auditoriums.
Mr. Krokoff: Outdoor auditoriums, eventually I get there, they had — it's 10
hours a day. I believe they're scheduled or they're proposed for 12
events per yet. But most events that you see generally out here
don't rise to the level of requiring a special event permit. An
example of some things that we'd be used to seeing out here that
would rise to that level is probably the St. Patrick's Day event.
They had a big public safety event out here, something along those
lines. But.most of the events out here would not require it. It would
have to have significant impact on the community, the roads,
public safety, things along those lines. I'm paraphrasing.
Mayor Jamison: Anybody? Okay. Are you done with the presentation, Robin?
Ms. MacDonald: I think you guys got it. I just gave an example of how it would be
calculated. It already has a development in Crabapple. It contains 6
acres times 5% is 13,068 square feet, which is approximately about
a quarter of an acre, a little less. So, then, again, on a larger piece,
12 acres times 10%, that's easy math, 1.2 acres of that
development would have to be set aside for civic space. So, that's
just demonstrating how you calculate that civic space. And then,
' we just have the map there. But since we're going to propose doing
a use permit for all transit zones, it's kind of immaterial at this
point. But with that, I'm done unless you guys have any other
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Monday, May 2, 2022
Page 72 of 83
questions. I
And then, we'll just have to make voting on each individual RZ22-
01 and RZ22-02 because they're two different parts of the zoning
ordinance.
Mayor Jamison: Perfect. I'll open up for a motion.
CM Moore: Mr. Mayor, I propose that we approve Agenda Item No. 22-148.
CM Mohrig: Second.
Mayor Jamison: I have a motion from Councilmember Moore with a second from
Councilmember Mohrig to approve Agenda Item 22-148. All in
favor, please say aye.
Councilmembers: Aye.
Motion and Vote: Councilmember Moore moved to approve Agenda Item No.
22-148. Councilmember Mohrig seconded the motion. The motion passed (6-0).
Councilmember Cookerly departed the meeting at 8:20 pm and was not present
for the vote. I
Mayor Jamison: Any opposed? That's unanimous. And I guess we probably need to
read it.
City Clerk: Yes. If you don't mind, Mayor, I'd like to read that for the record.
It's Consideration RZ22-02, text amendment to Article 20,
Deerfield form base code, Article 6.1 definitions to define outdoor
auditorium, Agenda Item No. 22-149. Mayor?
Mayor Jamison: And I'll waive public comment unless anyone is here that wants to
speak on this. So, I will close the public hearing and open for a
motion.
CM Jacobus: Mr. Mayor, I make a motion we approve Agenda Item No. 22-149.
CM Moore: Second.
Mayor Jamison: I have a motion from Councilmember Jacobus and a second from
Councilmember Moore. He's beating you all. All in favor, please
say aye. ,
Councilmembers: Aye.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
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Mayor Jamison: Any opposed? That's unanimous.
Motion and vote: Councilmember Jacobus moved to approve Agenda Item
No. 22-149. Councilmember Moore seconded the motion. The motion passed (6-
0). Councilmember Cookerly departed the meeting at 8:20pm and was not
present for the vote.
Attorney Jarrard: And forgive me, Mr. Mayor, this is my fault. We did approve 22-
148 as well?
MAYOR AND COUNCIL REPORTS
Mayor Jamison: Yes. So, there are no items under unfinished business. We already
did new business. So, we will go on to mayor and council reports.
Any councilmember reports? Paul?
CM Moore: Just two quick comments. First, if my remarks earlier this evening
' were interpreted to be disparaging to staff in any way, I would like
to apologize for that. That was not my intent. So, I would like to
make sure if I offended anybody, I apologize. No. 2 is I had the
pleasure this week of being up in Jasper, Georgia and had business
with the new fire chief, Chief Tim Prather. And he could not have
sung higher praises on our Milton fire chief, who is not here. He
was here earlier this evening. I was hoping I could say this while
he was here. One of the — Tim Prather took me into his office.
And it was with great pride that he showed me an award that he
had received from our chief from when he was chief in Cherokee
County. It was short lived retirement. It was about three weeks
before he stepped back into his hometown where he is now the
new fire chief for Jasper, Georgia. But I couldn't have taken more
pride in the fact that our city did something forward and
outreaching to acknowledge Chief Prather's accomplishments
under his time as Cherokee County chief of fire and now look
forward to celebrating him in his role in Jasper, Georgia. Our own
chief made us very proud as usual.
Mayor Jamison: Yes, he does. Anything else?
I
CM Mohrig: I'll just give quick feedback on the community center, not the
Former Milton Country Club Community Center. I think we just
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday.. May 2, 2022
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had our first rented event this past weekend. And I just want to '
commend Tom and staff for helping the person that actually did
that. And I think it was well received. I had heard a lot of positive
comments on that space to the point that people are saying we
think we want to do events and I think it's going to cue more up.
So, it was perfect setting, perfect weather on a Saturday night. But
I just want to thank staff for all of the work that they did. And also,
assisting one of the residents who actually rented it.
STAFF REPORTS
Public Works
Mayor Jamison: All right. Sara?
Ms. Leaders: Good evening, again. This is the month of March but I'm going to
jump into the April statistics for public works. And we had 18
service requests. That's requests for work orders that come from
outside of the Public Works Department, generated 104 work
orders, and 78 of those were completed. Some of that gap is we've
been doing inspection of our storm water infrastructure. So, as '
we're finding certain structures that need cleaning, those are just
created work orders that we'll get around to when some of the
other potholes and more urgent requests slow down. Our seasonal
roadside mowing started in April.
Ashford Gardeners is our contractor that provides that once a
month April through October. Our quarterly gravel road
maintenance was completed in April. And our quarterly street
sweeping of curbs along major roads was also completed. We
collected 12 cubic yards of debris. I also wanted to point out that
we're working on a programmed maintenance effort with our right
of way general maintenance contractor where we're going to look
where there are gaps between our street sweeping services and our
roadside mowing to get some of those areas that aren't exactly
identified in those scopes.
For instance, there are places where debris builds up on the edge of
catch basins and the street sweeper just doesn't quite reach far
enough. So, efforts to clean up those areas as well as places where
grass grows in some of these concrete islands or in sidewalks. So,
we're working with our general right of way maintenance '
contractor on those types of concerns. And then, last on this picture
is our new member of our public works fleet is an F550 dump
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Monday, May 2, 2022
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' truck. It's going to replace the need for rental equipment and help
with both winter weather with the snow plow and spreader and
also some of our routine debris collection and will support our
gravel road maintenance.
CM Mohrig: You bought yourself a dually.
Ms. Leaders: My take home vehicle, exactly. Then, a few project updates on the
April 25 meeting. The contract was approved for the Crabapple
Road street scape design. So, we're going to be kicking off the
survey to collect all of the existing conditions while we finalize the
concept of what we're going to do on Crabapple Road. That's
going to be the signalized pedestrian crossing, some medians and
planters, and some street scape improvements. So, we're excited to
get that one going and we're going to kick off the design
consultant this week. The equestrian parking, Birmingham Park,
and the Freemanville Birmingham green space, we got bids back.
So, we're working on a contract for the construction of those
parking areas. And lastly on budget updates is Hopewell at
Bethany. These pictures are from the construction. The top picture
you can almost start to see the circular roadway forming with the
grading that's been done. And the bottom picture has lots of utility
work kind of all going on together. We got the power truck
working on power lines. We have a lot of gas line relocation out
there and water lines as well. So, lots of underground work going
and we can really start to see the intersection forming now. We
presented a contract for approval on April 11 that was from two
different sections of New Providence Road.
One was an asphalt path and the other was a drainage
improvement. So, I just wanted to bring this up that work is
starting. We've got the barrels out done. Just some minor clearing
along that shoulder but it's going to connect the two sections of the
Woodwinds development where there is a nice 8 foot asphalt path.
And it's going to install the path that same width along the
Gladwyne frontage. And lastly, I wanted to talk a little bit about
the Former Milton Country Club. One thing I brought up during
the early stages of construction was the cart path removal. And you
all may not remember, one thing we did with that is to stockpile
the old concrete pieces, crush them.
' And they're actually the bottom 2 inches of the new surface trail.
That trail is a total of — it's got 2 inches of the crushed concrete
and then, another 6 inches of base and then, 2 inches of topping.
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
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So, now that we are in the close out part of the trail construction '
and the cart path removal, we're going to be ready to proceed with
abandoning those cart path easements now that everything is
removed and stabilized. That will be moving forward. And finally,
just some pictures of the trail. I feel like it turned out really well
and I look forward to our community getting to use those. And
that's all I have tonight.
Mayor Jamison: Great.
CM Mohrig: It's great that you reused the concrete instead of us buying new
material. That's great.
STAFF REPORTS
Communications
Mayor Jamison: All right. Greg?
Mr. Botelho: I feel like Sara Leaders could hear me twice so lucky you. I think
that went away. I'm not going to talk — I'm going to do it a little bit '
different this time mostly because while I can talk fast, I think
you'd rather hear from my colleagues what you hear from me. I
will introduce you to them in a second. But our general metrics, if
you've seen us, our engagement is great. Everything is all kind of
full systems go. Just for an example, in the past, maybe we do two
or three I call them full package when you do email, news release,
Facebook, Twitter, maybe we do two or three a month. The last
eight days, we've had something along those lines.
And every one of those is relevant. Part of it is that you have more
council previews. When people have to vote, I want the public to
know about that and end up in their inbox rather than having to
search around the website. And it should be nine tomorrow if we
can get the FMCC naming survey out. So, we're just ramping it up,
keeping it busy, and next you're going to talk with my — my
colleagues here will talk about all of the stuff they're doing. We
also try to be interactive. I think we use our social media in
different ways. For example, our nature photography where people
left their photos in the comments.
We had great response. We are also increasing outreach to HOA's '
now. And when it's relevant at all, we're including the HOA lists
on our communications, which did not used to be the case. You
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Monday, May 2, 2022
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' could see also that we're coordinating on the Veteran's and
Memorial Day coordination. You can see the ad that was in The
Herald. We got a good retreat. And in person is also part of it. So,
while we're not running these events per se, we are very much
involved with everything that pretty much every department does.
And especially lately, it's been our Parks and Rec Department has
been great to work with.
A few things I'm just going to touch on before I hand off. The
national community survey, that's going well. I think we have
about a 15 something percent response rate for the official survey.
But what's customary for these things is that they eventually have
an open survey that anyone could take, not quite as useful but it's
another data point. So, that is now out. We're working on getting
involved in creating the Core Valley Champions. That's more of
an internal thing to get people energized within the city staff. So,
we have an internal role there. There are a bunch of other things
here. I'm not going to talk on all of these things.
But every single department we've been working with — and I
know Jen is going to talk a little bit more about Fire Department
' things and we've done some Police Department and things like
that. But there is a lot more that I can talk about but I will spare
you since I'm the last speaker and better yet, introduce you to our —
my colleague is Jen Hartwig who is going to say a few words.
Ms. Hartwig: Good evening, Mayor and Council. You might not recognize me
without a camera in front of my face. I'm Jen Hartwig, the city's
communications coordinator. And my main responsibilities are
multimedia communications. So, that includes photography, video,
building and managing the website. And I've also been
spearheading some big web -based projects for our department,
including creating a single page for all meetings and transparency
dashboards for the 2021/2025 strategic plan. So, working alongside
our city clerk, Tammy Lowit, we now have all meetings with their
agendas and other documents in one location on the website.
All city council, board, and committee meetings are listed by date
with agenda, packet, and minutes available in PDF and HTML
format as well as a link to that meeting's You Tube video. This I
frame or inline frame is an HTML element that loads another
HTML page. In this case, we're using Mimi code within the web
' page. So, essentially, it puts another web page on our website. And
the reason we do this is because although the program is external
to our website, it looks like it's internal so people don't have to go
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Monday, May 2, 2022
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to an external website. I
We're also working with Mimi code to have a portal to create a
portal for all of this information. The portal will have a robust
search function and an integrated meeting screen and will be even
more mobile friendly. About 50% of the visitors to our website do
so using a mobile device. So, a portal that is completely mobile
friendly and snaps to the size of a photo screen is very important.
So, that's what it looks like on the website. So, everything is listed
by date and you can scroll down. You can also search by the type
of meeting. And you'll have everything on there.
Once we finish the strategic plan in 2021, the next goal was
communicating to the public where we were on meeting those
goals. When assigned the task of figuring out the best way to do
that, Assistant City Manager Bernadette Harvill and I landed on
Clear Gov, our transparency portal. We built a dashboard for each
strategic plan priority and goal, 14 in all. And there we share the
objectives and action plans to reach each goal as well as the
progress on each action plan supporting those objectives. This is a
living document that we will update regularly. There are 14
dashboards with 200 individual elements that need to be updated '
regularly.
CM Jacobus: Can you go back to that last slide?
Ms. Hartwig: Absolutely.
CM Jacobus: And so, each one of those will have numerous goals?
Ms. Hartwig: Yeah. So, if you look on the right, those are the individual
dashboards. And if you click on each one, what will show up is on
the left. And that has each action plan listed and the objectives and
where we are in meeting those.
Ms. Jupin: The dashboard is one of the strategic plan goals. And then, within
there is each objective in the action plan instead of action plan
beneath each objective.
CM Jacobus: And the results to date.
Ms. Jupin: Working as diligently as we can to get that up to date each day.
We're also working — Clear Gov is working on a strategic plan '
specific platform that will be part of the package we already have.
So, hopefully, that will be a little bit easier for Jen and I to track
7
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
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' going forward. And we're hoping that will be easier than the
dashboards. But for now, that's what we plan to do.
Mayor Jamison: Once you're current, how often do you think it will be updated?
Ms. Jupin: As often as the city manager advises us. That's why we came off
the quarterly whatever —
Mr. Krokoff: We're planning on every 30 days right now.
Mayor Jamison: Fantastic.
Ms. Hartwig: I've also been working with the Fire Department to increase their
social media presence. We started an Instagram account and we're
working to gain followers. We hope our new cooking series,
Cooking with Fire, will help where we'll showcase some of our
fire chefs who all agree that having a good meal can make a bad
day better. We're also filming Building in Milton where we'll
share the progress of construction on Station 41 among other
projects that we're working on. But we're having a lot of fun doing
these things.
' Finally, I'd like to thank city leadership for the opportunity to
attend some really exciting training this past month. Two weeks
ago, I attended Managing Public Information for All Hazards
Incidents at the Center for Domestic Preparedness, a FEMA
facility in Anniston, Alabama. At this course, I trained alongside
other public information officers and emergency responders from
around the country working to better plan for and respond to an
emergency.
We learned practical knowledge for the role of public information
officer, about the national incident management system,
emergency communications methods, risk communications, and
message development and delivery. The best part is this training
was 100% funded by FEMA. So, nothing came from any of our
pockets. I also attended the Annual Government Social Media
Conference in Dallas learning alongside other government social
media professionals with seminars from major social media
networks and other industry leaders.
And finally, while I was in Hilton Head enjoying spring break, I
' took the less than one hour ride to Savannah to attend the City
County Communications Marketing Association Regional
Conference. It's called CCCMA. That's the normal name but City
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday, May 2, 2022
Page 80 of 83
County Communications. And 1 was able to learn some great ,
information about graphic design quick tips, hence some of those
cool graphics and the role of video in government
communications. So, thank you. And I'm happy to answer any
questions you all may have.
Mayor Jamison:
I'm ready for your Tik Tok videos.
Ms. Hartwig:
I'm hoping one of our interns this summer might help us with that.
Actually, we do have a plan.
City Clerk:
She's going to help me with electronic voting. So, that's coming.
Ms. Hartwig:
That is coming.
Ms. Jupin:
Good evening, Mayor and Council, tonight I'm happy to share a
few updates with you. all regarding economic engagement and
development. As you know, I transitioned into this role in late
November after working as a city special event coordinator for the
past 2.5 years. The last five months have confirmed that I found a
path that aligns with me both personally and professionally. And
I've enjoyed taking on these new challenges and developing new '
initiatives. I'm going to start by showing this photo. What better
way to showcase a thriving business community and the recent
growth in Milton than this photo?
Since just January of 2022, I've coordinated 10 grand opening
ceremonies with business owners throughout the city. And I'm
grateful to have had your support at many of these important
occasions. These grand openings have taken place in Crabapple,
Birmingham Crossroads, and Deerfield, including a wide range of
business concepts showing the unique offerings of the community.
And what's important to state is that a ribbon cutting is so much
more than just a photo op. It truly marks the beginning of a
relationship that's built on respect, appreciation, and support. I've
made it a priority to connect with new businesses as well as
existing businesses to establish a strong foundation and a
relationship that we can continue to build upon moving forward.
Before scheduling a grand opening, I make sure to visit with the
business owners prior, familiarize myself with their space, their
stock, and their mission. I believe that really helps make it more
impactful and valuable. And I've heard nothing but good feedback '
from these business owners that are getting to take the time to
connect with elected officials, city leadership, and staff. Here, I'd
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Monday. May 2, 2022
Paae 81 of 83
' like to recap with you with the larger projects that I have
underway. As you know, the rewrite of the special events
ordinance is in progress. Hopefully, you should have this in front
of you soon for final vote.
I know tonight's approval of the outdoor auditorium definition
definitely sets us up in a good place for that. We believe the
updated language will provide clarity for external applicants,
provide a smoother workflow for internal departments, and support
special events that are beneficial to creating a sense of place within
our community. In March, I was fortunate to be able to attend the
Georgia Academy for Economic Development. This training
covered topics about community development, economic
development, and leadership.
The facilitators there shared helpful statewide resources and that
program created space for local and regional networking
opportunities. I found this program to be extremely fruitful and
was able to create wonderful new relationships with other
academic development partners throughout the state. With
professional development as a high priority for me, I'm also
' currently participating in the city's Leader Gov Emerging Leaders
Program. Through this program and from the guidance of my
mentor, I am better able to identify my leadership style and
approach and apply it to every day interactions in the community.
I am also seeking my Georgia Economic Development certification
and will be beginning that program in the fall. I have begun
working alongside community development to partner on Milton's
place making campaign. These efforts coincide with the priorities
in the strategic plan and the comprehensive plan. A big focus of
this project includes way finding, identifying the entry points into
Milton, and working to ensure that Deerfield is connected in a
thoughtful, inclusive way along with each of the character areas
throughout Milton. Along with these various projects and
initiatives taking place, I'm planning this fall's Crabapple fest that
is set to take place on Saturday, October 1.
Applications went live on April 26. Last year was our biggest,
most widely attended festival yet. And I have high hopes for the
same level of energy and enthusiasm this year as well. We all
know that when strong connections are made, they will have a
' ripple effect in the community. It's my role in economic
engagement to work as a liaison, not only between the business
community and Milton residents but also with community partners
Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
Monday. May 2. 2022
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and stakeholders. Establishing a strong relationship in North I
Fulton specifically allows us to leverage the strength of the region.
Working with Jenny Doyle and her team to co -host the 3000
Forum was an opportunity to bring together real estate
professionals with local developers and city officials to promote an
open dialogue. I recently toured and established a connection with
Tech Alpharetta so that Milton can remain strong in the
conversations regarding the technology corridor between
Alpharetta and Forsythe County. I'm also working alongside my
North Fulton partners on Biz Now efforts. That's set to take.place
later in August to bring real estate professionals and developers
together to share updates with the North Fulton community.
And I have received valuable support from the Greater North
Fulton Chamber of Commerce as well as my counterparts in
Alpharetta, Roswell, Sandy Springs, and Johns Creek. I'm working
very closely with team members in Alpharetta and Roswell to help
bring my vision of a green business network to life. I'm very
excited about this. We are working to create a unified approach to
support agriculture in North Fulton and prioritize agritourism in
our community. Some more to come on this soon but, hopefully, as '
we're steadily working together to find ways we can benefit our
communities collectively.
Further, the partnerships with Georgia Power and Fulton County
have been very important to keep Milton informed of the economic
development landscape and environment perspective. And last but
certainly not least, I've been working closely with the Milton Arts
Council to foster new connections and come up with creative ways
to engage the arts within the Milton community through the
creation of events, performances, and competitions to reach
residents of all ages. With that, I'm happy to answer any questions
you all have.
Mayor Jamison: Good stuff. Milton Business Council tomorrow night, right?
Ms. Jupin: Yeah, at 5:30.
Mayor Jamison: Does anybody have any questions for Anita? Thank you. Collin,
you made it, man. Great job. Great job.
City Clerk: Mayor, can I say one thing? We have to recognize we have a '
special person watching tonight. Our old city clerk, Sudie Gordon
is watching us all right now. So, I just wanted to give a quick shout
7
1
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Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council
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out to her and a quick wave. I couldn't let tonight go by without
mentioning her.
Mayor Jamison: Awesome. I guess I'll open for a motion to adjourn.
CM Moore: So moved.
CM Mohrig: Second.
Mayor Jamison: I have a motion from Councilmember Moore, second from
Councilmember Mohrig to adjourn. All in favor, please say aye.
Councilmembers: Aye.
Mayor Jamison: Thank you.
Motion and Vote: Councilmember Moore moved to adjourn the Regular
Meeting at 9:25pm. Councilmember Mohrig seconded the motion. The motion
passed (6-0). Councilmember Cookerly departed the meeting at 8:20pm and
was not present for the vote.
Date Approved: May 16, 2022
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