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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - CC - 11/20/2023Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 1 Page 1 of 53 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Jamison: ROLL CALL City Clerk: Mayor Jamison: City Clerk : CM Verhoff: City Clerk: CM Cookerly: Thank you. I would like to call the regular meeting of the Milton City Council from Monday, November 20 , 2023 , 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 a speaker to turn 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 please call the roll and make general announcements? Good evening , Mayor and Council. Before I call roll this evening , I would like to remind everyone 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 and submit it to the city clerk prior to the agenda item being called. If the agenda item has been called then , no other comment cards will be accepted. All speakers , when asked to the podium , will identify themselves with name , address , and organization before beginning their comment. If y ou are representing an organization, a notarized affidavit is required stating you have the authority to speak on behalf of that organization. Please re view tonight's agenda and if you would like to make a public comment, please bring your cards to me now. Demonstration of any sort within the chamber is prohibited. Please refrain from any applause, cheering , booing, outbursts , or dialogue with any person speaking. Anyone in violation will be asked to leave. Mayor and Council , as I call roll this evening , please confirm your attendance , Mayor Peyton Jamieson. Here . Councilmember Andrea Verhoff. Here. Councilrnember Carol Cookerly . Here. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20 , 2023 2 Page 2 of 53 City Clerk : CM Jacob us: City Clerk: CM Mohrig : City Clerk : Councilmember Jan Jacobus . Present. Councilmember Rick Morhig. Here . And for the record , Councilmember Paul Moore and Councilmember Juliette Johnson our absent tonight. Mayor, you have a quorum. Mayor: Mayor Peyton Jamis o n present . Councilmembers Present : C o uncilmember A ndrea Verhoff, Cou nc il member Carol Co o ke rl y , Counci lmem b e r Jan C. Jacobus, a nd Counci lmember Rick Mohrig. Councilmember(s) Absent : Counci lmember Paul Moore, Councilmember Ju li ette Jo hnson PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE City Clerk: All: Would everyone please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands , one nation under God , indivisib le, with liberty and justice for all. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Mayor Jamison: City Clerk : Mayor Jamison: Next is the approval of the meeting agenda. Real quick , how many public comment cards do we have , City Clerk. Ten. Ten, all right. I'm sorry , 11. All right. Eleven pub lic comment. With that , I will ask Council if we can move reports and presentations Agenda Item 7 A to before general public comment. And I would like to add an executi ve session to discuss personnel , land acquisition , and potential Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 3 Page 3 of 53 CM Cookerly: CM Jacobus: Mayor Jamison: Councilmembers: Mayor Jamison: Mayor Jamison: City Attorney: CM Cookerly: CM Cookerly: City Attorney : CM Cookerly: City Attorney : litigation. Do I have a motion on that? Mr. Mayor, I make a motion that we move Agenda Item No. 7A up before public comment and add an executive session. Second . Okay . I have a motion from Councilmember Cookerly and a second from Councilmember Jacobus to approve the agenda item as amended. All in favor , please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That's unanimous. With that , we will go straight into Agenda Item 7 A. So , Mr. Mayor, forgive me for a point of order. You all just approved the agenda. I really believe that the public hearing related to that winery needs to be December 18 . That 's 9A. Oh . On the agenda? Okay. Absolutely , yeah. It 's on the agenda and then , I know a lot of people are going to be - I can amend that. What number? Oh , here it is. Public Hearing A , I'll move it deferred until December 18? That 's right and let me explain why. This is the public hearing related to the winery. This is an application for the alcohol component. I've received some input from staff. And I've got to make a determination as to whether or not I believe this property has the appropriate land use permissions to even have an alcohol license . I have not made that decision yet. And I'm not going to be in a position to make it until I receive some feedback from the applicants themselves. There is some information that I need from them to know whether or not I believe they have an entitlement to operate a winery . I'm not saying they do. I'm not saying they don 't. I'm saying I haven 't made that decision yet. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 4 Page 4 of 53 CM Cookerly: City Attorney: Mayor Jamison: CM Cookerly: CM Jacobus: Mayor Jamison: Councilmembers: Mayor Jamison : And I need to make that decision before the Council even has the right to vote on a winery. And so , I am requesting that 9A be deferre d to 12/18. And that deferral needs to occur right now. This will not be on the agenda this evening because it's not ready to be on the agenda this evening as far as the actual public hearing. Now, folks who are in the gallery and want to approach this council during public comment to speak about this , they can do that. But there will not be a public hearing on this. There will be a public hearing on December 18 -again, forgive me , but assuming I'm where I need to be with my conclusion because I want to get this right. Okay. Fair enough . I'm going to restate the agenda items to be moved and then, I'll open up for a motion . Is that okay? Yeah. Okay. So, Council , I would like to move Agenda Item 7 A before public comment. I would like to defer Agenda Item 9A to December 18 council meeting. And I would like to add an executive session to discuss personnel , land acquisition, and potential litigation. And I'll open it for a motion . Mr. Mayor, I move that we move 7 A Proclamation before public comment. We also defer Public Hearing 9A to December 18 and add an executive session for personnel , land acquisition , and legal. Second. Okay. I have a motion from Councilmember Cookerly and a second from Councilmember Jacobis to approve the agenda as amended. All in favor , please say aye . Aye. Any opposed? Okay. That's unanimous and we'll go into 7A. Motion and Vote: Councilmember Cookerly moved to approve the Meeting Agenda with the following amendments: • Move Reports and Presentations Item 7 A for the Proclamation Recognizing Nothing Bundt Cakes on their 10 Year Anniversary of Serving the Milton Community to precede Public Comment (General). Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 Page 5 of 53 • Add an Executive Session to discuss Land Acquisition, Potential Litigation , and Personnel. Councilmember Jacobus seconded the motion. The motion passed {5-0). Councilmember Johnson and Councilmember Moore were absent from the meeting. 5 The City Attorney advises Council that the Public Hearing Agenda Item No. 23-204, relating to the winery, needs to be deferred to the December 18, 2024, meeting because this item is an application for the alcohol component. The City Attorney received input, from staff, which requires the City Attorney to make a determination as to whether or not he believes this property has the appropriate land use permissions to have an alcohol license. The City Attorney has not yet made that decision and he is not in a position to make that decision yet until he receives some feedback from the applicants that will help determine if they have an entitlement to operate a winery. The City Attorney clarifies that he is not saying that they do or do not, he just wants to clarify. He has not be able to make this decision before the council has the right to vote on a winery. Therefore, the City Attorney request that the Public Hearing Agenda Item 9A (Agenda# 23-304) be deferred to the December 18, 2023 meeting and that deferral needs to occur on tonight's agenda. He clarifies that this Agenda Item will not be on tonight's meeting because it is not ready to be on the agenda for this evening, as far as the Public Hearing is concerned. Public comment can be allowed for the participants in the audience tonight, but it will be conducted under general public comment and not under the Public Hearing portion of the agenda. There will be a Public Hearing on December 18, 2024, assuming the City Attorney is where he needs to be with his conclusion to ensure he gets a full understanding . REVISED Motion and Vote: Councilmember Cookerly moved to approve the Meeting Agenda with the following amendments: • Move Reports and Presentations Item 7 A for the Proclamation Recognizing Nothing Bundt Cakes on their 10 Year Anniversary of Serving the Milton Community to precede Public Comment (General). • Defer Agenda Item No. 23-304 until the December 18, 2023 Regular City Council Meeting. • Add an Executive Session to discuss Land Acquisition, Potential Litigation, and Personnel . Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 6 Page 6 of 53 Councilmember Jacobus seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0). Councilmember Johnson and Councilmember Moore were absent from the meeting . City Clerk: City Attorney: City Clerk: Mayor Jamison: Can I just confirm that the one comment for 304 , can I move that to general? Yeah. So, somebody was speaking on the public hearing? Yeah. If they're here and if they want to speak about that topic during the public comment, they can do that. They don't have to but if they want to. But the y will have another opportunity on December 18 to do the same. So , that 's up to them. Okay. Thank you. Mayor , Item 7A. Bear with me. Juggle my papers here. It 's a proclamation recognizing Nothing Bundt Cakes on their 10 year anniversary of serving the Milton community. Mayor Jamison? Thank you. So , this is an absolute honor to recognize Gloria and Sergio for all that you've done in our community. I've known them for a very, very long time ever since you opened your business . And I see the Chamber is here and everyone's here that has supported you along the way . And so , it is an honor for me to read this proclamation for you . This is a proclamation celebrating the 10th anniversary of Milton's Nothing Bundt Cakes. Whereas Nothing Bundt Cakes is a national company with a down home feel with cakes handcrafted at local bakeries. And whereas one of those bakeries is off of Winward Parkway in Milton having been opened there in December 2013 by co-owners Gloria Mattei and Sergio Pacheco. And whereas their new Milton location was then the second Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise in all of Georgia, meaning they had to introduce a whole new concept and attract residents. And whereas they did just that by building a strong , lo ya l, satisfied customer base who for years have enjoyed and celebrated countless special occasions with their customized cakes. And whereas up to 20 emp lo yees during a given season work to make this fun , valuable jobs that bolster the economy . And whereas for Pacheco and Mattei have also immersed themselves and their businesses in the Milton community. And whereas this includes Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 7 Page 7 of 53 PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Mayor Jamison: City Clerk : involvement with schools , nonprofits, and Lion Heart Works , the vocational training program for young adults with autism and other neurodevelopmental differences. And whereas Nothing Bundt Cakes represents the best of Milton's business community in terms of the quality product it provides , stellar service it offers , and dedicated commitment to our area. Now, therefore , we , the Mayor and the City Council of the City of Milton celebrate the 10th anniversary of Milton's Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise given under my hand and seal on the city of Milton, Georgia, on this 20th day of November 2023. Can the Chamber come up and Sergio and Gloria? We will take a picture and celebrate your achievement. Madam Clerk , next is general public comment. Do we have an y public comment? We do , Mayor. Okay. So , the next item is general public comment. Public comment is a time for citizens to share information with the Mayor and the City Council and to provide input and opinions on any matter that is not scheduled for its own public hearing during today's meeting. Each citizen who chooses to participate in public comment must complete a comment card and submit it to the City Clerk prior to the agenda item being called. Please remember 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 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 right now. All right. If you'll please call the first public comment. Thank you , Mayor. Before I call my first public comment to the podium, we do have one that has been received via e-mail and complies with our code section. It's Lisa Calley at 14680 Freemanville Road. "I'm writing to express my strong concerns regarding the proposed Mega Park on Hopewell Road. Choosing this location would have detrimental effects on adjacent property Regular Meeting of the Milton City Counci l November 20 , 2023 8 Page 8 of 53 City Clerk: Mayor Jamison: Pitts Carr: owners , a valuable horse farm , and significantly worsened traffic congestion in the area." "Placing such a large scale facility in the heart of a residential area would disrupt the peaceful li ves of residents. I urge the Council to explore alternative locations , preferably in commercial areas that would minimize the negati ve impact on residents daily li ves despite the campaign , several councilmembers , and candidate made promises regarding this park. With this in mind , I believe there is no need to wait until 2024 to initiate discussion and a vote on relocating the park. The current Council has the authority to make this decision in a timely manner." "I kindl y request that Council add the park 's relocation to the agenda for the ne xt regular City Council meeting . This will allow for a comprehensive discussion and a vote on the motion to consider alternate sites. By addressing this matter promptly, we can demonstrate our commitment to the concerns and desires of the community. To maintain the rural nature of our community , I proposed a different approach. Instead of one large park, let 's consider establishing multipl e smaller , quaint parks throughout the community ." "This way , we can uphold our unique charm while ensuring that all areas , especially District 3 with a significant population , recei ve fair and equitable attention in terms of park development. I implore the Council to carefully consider relocating the mega park to a more suitable area that will help preserve the integrity of our residential neighborhoods and better serve the needs of our community . Thank you for your time and consideration." The ne xt public comment I invite Mr. Pitts Carr to the podium , please . Pitts Carr . I reside at 13515 Willow Bank Lane in Milford . Good to go. Yes , Sir. Okay. My wife , Julie , and I recently learned of the plan by the city to build a new multiple acre park adjacent to Hopewell Road very near our home on Willow Bank Lane . To say that that is and was a shock is a considerable understatement. Presently, there is a huge park operated by the city of Alpharetta, 30 plus acres , one half a mile away from the proposed new park. That seems to make no sense to me . It's also a few hundred feet from the rear portion of Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 9 Page 9 of 53 Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Claire McGuffey: our property. As I hope that you know that area of roadway is one of the most densely traveled roads in this entire community. It is under constant bombardment by automobiles, school buses , ambulances, and heavy commercial vehicles that rumble all day and night on a constant basis . This appears to us to be a terrible waste of city's resources and a terrible idea. It is inconceivable that any possible rational basis for this boondoggle exist. Further, we are already bombarded in our community by the incessant noise coming from North Park. There is a seemingly endless supply of ball games of every sort, particularly on the weekends. Other than that , the park is virtually deserted five days out of seven . So , I go ride my bicycle at the park and don't have to worry about getting hit. It's just that I cannot imagine we're going to start another park that big so close to the one that is already there. We very much appreciate your service. We know that some of your members are in compliance or support us on this. It is hard for us to imagine that any of you would consider this given what it will do to the further degrading of the pastoral environment of our neighborhood. More noise, more traffic, more just about everything that we don't need any more of. I thank you for your time. [Inaudible] [00:18:09] questions if you have any . Thank you, sir. Public comment is a time where speak to us and we don't go back to you, but we'll probably make a comment towards the end of public comment, so we appreciate it. Thank you . Would you please call the next speaker? Yes , Mayor. I invite Claire McGuffey to the podium please. My name is Claire McGuffey. I have li ved at 901 North Brookshire Parkway in Milton for 25 years . My family moved to this area to be close to my daughter's barn where she boarded her horse and trained. We chose this property because it was bordered by a horse farm known as the Bates property and across the street was Providence Park, which is a passive park. The area was quiet. We could sit on our deck early in the morning and hear the horses stabled at the barn on the Bates property. Consider finding out that the property directly behind your backyard was decided in secrecy by the city to be a mega sports park with four baseball fields, three multipurpose fields , concession buildings , and a car lot large enough to hold four hundred cars. Would you vote to put this in your backyard? No , of Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 Page 10 of 53 Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Tony Shepherd : course not. We learned about this decision when we saw orange tape marking our property line. Where's the transparency? We later found out that the City Council, all of you, voted to buy the property to put a mega sports park in place without even wa lking the property, much less trying to understand the adverse impact this would have on our community. I'm concerned about the security as now it's public property and anyone can enter anytime, day or night and walk into my yard. I'm concerned about the light pollution, the noise pollution, and the traffic. We've heard nothing about how the city plans to control any of these issues, nor having even given a thought to the adverse impact this will have on our property values. Certainly, this will be the first domino to fall. If you know anything about horses, you will understand that a training barn cannot exist ne xt door to a sports park of any size. What do you think is going to happen to the three or four horse farms adjacent to the mega sports park location? They will sell and developers will build more neighborhoods , which tum into more traffic and more noise. This is the first domino and before long, Milton will no longer have any horse farms . No longer will this be an equestrian community. For what? So more organized for profit, sports organizations can grow and prosper? Why are for sports organizations supported by the citizens of Milton? Why are these organizations more important than the equestrian community? I ask that the City Council correct the wrong of blindly following city staff recommendation to purchase the Bates and Chandler properties . I recommend selling the property to someone who will tum it into a horse farm, thus avoid spending $15 million taxpayer dollars designed for fund for profit sports organization. Thank you. Thank yo u. Tony Sheppard , I invite you to the podium please. Good evening. Tony Shepherd, 710 Meadowbrook Lane. I've lived in Milton before it was Milton. We moved here in 2003. And I've even served on one of Milton's many boards that you have here and. And when I heard about this situation with the park, it kind of made me sick. My daughter has ridden horses for 20 years. We've had horses in the area. We kept them at Yellow House right there on Hopewell. We still even have a horse today on the property Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 11 Page 11 of 53 Mayor Jamison : City Clerk: Ben Leonard : directly across the street where this proposed site is going. And the more I think about it , I look up at our logo , we've got a horse on it. We've got horse fencing on it and it kind of implies that's kind of what we're after in our community. I think about the rural view shed. When I look at the main roads in Milton, you look at Birmingham, you look at Freemanville ,and you look at Hopewell and you go down those roads and really what you see are horse farms or farms. You don't see sports fields. You don't see that. You see those things on the periphery of where we are. So, when I thought about what could happen at a sports park , I'm thinking about Wills Park in Alpharetta. One of the things they do there, they shoot fireworks and that's one of the absolute worst things that could ever happen at a park around horses because horses and other animals are extremely sensitive to that type of environment. So , we've got, I guess , since 2019 , I don't know, 200 plus acres of land have been purchased by the city. And I wou ld just I think that there's more suitable areas that we could look to put a . large park. As the previous speaker mentioned, the amount of traffic that exists up on Hopewell now so much so that we're having to put roundabouts , multiple roundabouts on that road . So , I would just ask that we either look at exploring extending our agreement with Alpharetta to utilize their parks or ,as the previous person said , the parks are largel y unused for five of the seven days. Maybe explore that. But I would just ask that we get this on the agenda, we have discussion about this, and you make a wise choice and keep Milton's rural view sheds rural. Thank you. Thank you. Please call the next speaker. I invite Ben Leonard to the podium. Ben Leonard , 1250 Hopewell Crest, Milton, Georgia. City Council, thank you for hearing what I have to say today. I want to start by pointing out five thing. And it's the five things that this Council and the employees of the city swore to uphold by proxy . Serve others , not ourselves . Treat resources with efficiency and economy. Treat all people fairly. Use the power of our position for the well-being of our constituents. And finally , create an environment of honesty , openness , and integrity . And I know we 're not supposed to engage in discourse. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 12 Page 12 of 53 So , I'm going to say this very openly as an open-ended question. But ask yourselves has this transaction been handled in accordance with these five things ? And by the way, these five things were what everybody swore to do as part of the City of Ethics A ward this city was gi ven at the beginning of this year. I'm going to start with the master plan that we're supposed to be following 2017. By a three to one margin in multiple discussions with interested citizens , they were more interested in walking trails than athletic fields by three to one margin. And in fact , there were more people by two to one margin that supported not funding athletic fields than funding again 2017. This is the plan we're supposed to be following . Park equity was a part of the master plan. Park equity meaning geographic di vers ity . And if you look at Page 61 of the master plan, it has a map of the city of Milton. Every acti ve park if you bisect the city is in the lower third to one half of the city. The upper third one half, the Northwest Corridor , has a lot of nature space , no active parks. Speaking of space , if we put in not one , but two because there's also been a city purchase of seven acres off Bethany Bend Road that's going to be used for an indoor facility , we will have six active facilities in one square mile. Let's think about that. What is that going to do for traffic ? What is that going to do for an already over congested Hopewell Road and Bethany Bend Road? What's it going to do for the traffic table we've already had to install just outside of the traffic circle , which somebody just graced with their bumper a few days ago I noticed ? What's that gonna do to traffic ? What is that going to do to my neighborhood for cut through traffic , which already suffers from a great amount of that? You know the reason we don't know is because when I re viewed the 1,500 plus pages of documents that I received as part of the Freedom of Information Act request , there were no traffic studies. You know what else there wasn't? There was no groundwater studies. There's a dam that in 2005 a report came out that it needed work. If the dam is breached , there will be a significant loss of life. This is the from the Corps of Engineers , and this is in your documents. No studies have been done on shifting the water tables , which would happen if this land is developed. Speaking of water , this park is also adjacent to a former toxic waste site . That water Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20 , 2023 13 Page 13 of 53 Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Chris Hayes : that flows through there also feeds groundwater wells , which then feed the horse farms at the Hesters own, that Christy Hayes and her family own . Not one study has been done to determine if that water is safe, if riparian rights will be violated of the adjacent homeowners , which would also violate Georgia law. And most importantly , is that water going to be safe for the children who are going to use these parks ? Finally , I want to point something out. I just received these emails and , frankly, I was a little stunned. I sent a letter on June 9 to the city making many of these points and nobody reached out to me from the city , not one. But shortly thereafter , comments were made. We have no definitive plans. Yet the same day, June 9, one city employee , Tom McKlveen , was emailing back and forth with the owner of a for profit baseball tournament. He had already been out to the site. He had already gotten schematics. And this had been going on for weeks . So , I asked you , all of you , are the five things I pointed out , have they been adhered to? We've been through a bruising political process , a bruising election. A lot of mud has flown. Does this need to be added to it? Is this in accordance with the five things that we here at the city have sworn to uphold? Thank you for your time . Thank you. Mayor invite Chris Hayes to the podium , please . Chris Hayes. I live at 13585 Hopewell Road. Good evening , Members of the City Council. As was previously addressed , we lived directly across from the park that you're wanting to put this mega park in at. The city purchased the athletic mega park without consent of any of the folks that live around us. My wife has met with the mayor , has met with several other councilmembers individuall y . She 's spoken on the phone with many of you. Every turn , we were told just to wait until these elections were over. Well , they're over. So , it's time to put up or shut up . And that's where we're at. The property was bought and paid for and budgeted by this Council. And if left unaddressed , we expect to see bulldozers before we see an agenda item the way things have been going in the past. And we want to address our concern. My wife and I bought our property Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20 , 2023 14 Page 14 of 53 almost seven years ago . We spent a significant amount of money rebuilding an old horse farm and turned into something that we dreamed about. We bought that property as is when most people are going to buy as a development for $1 million and start it over. One of the reasons that we left Alpharetta , which is where we li ved for 1 7 years and we have a lot of dear friends there , was to escape the overdevelopment, the overcrowding , the never ending traffic. And we chose Milton for that same reason right there . Keep Milton, Milton. What everybody on this Council swore to do , we want to keep Milton , Milton . And those five agenda items that were spoken about previously, I would adhere to that as well and say you should look y ourself in the face and see if you're agreeing to those five or you're honoring those fi ve principles. At the November 13 work session , it was stated that the number one goal of the Community Development Strategic Smart Plan Land Initiative is to establish Milton as a location of choice for equestrian hobbyi sts and preserve the farm lifestyle that contributes to the city's unique sense of character. So , imagine our surprise when we discovered that the city 's plan to build an athletic complex on the horse property , we didn't even know was for sale , was never put on the market sits directl y across the street from our property and next to another significant horse property right ne xt door. The planned comple x, even scaled down due to the unsustainability of the land , will make our property and the adjacent horse properties both unli vable and unsellable . The city spent $4.5 million buy ing these properties . The 2017 Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan specifically states that the site selection for a sports park , and let me be clear, is preferably streets on four sides , three sides with school or municipal use on the fourth side . The proposed park along Hopewell Road on the Bates/Hudson property would have a single entry point and exit point , single of an already congested Hopewell Road. If the original plan of the four lighted baseball fields and three lighted football fields is scaled back , the usable acreage would leave absolutel y no room for buffering the lights and noise for adjacent neighbors along Hopewell Road in the Brook Shade neighborhood and the Cooper Sandy Farms neighborhood. This park would be an eyesore and would cause the demise of not onl y Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 15 Page 15 of 53 Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Rick Bach : significant horse farms around the property , but the two adjoining properties as well , all without any modification or property owner input. Not only am I here tonight to voice my opposition to the mega park, I'm also here to point out the obvious disparity and hypocrisy of how this Council operates. Let's start with the properties Milton recently purchased with green space funds. During the City Council work session on November 13 , when discussing green space , the Mayor specifically said on three occasions how important it was to communicate with residents that are going to be affected by the green space so they can -they're aware of every step in the process and they don't miss a meeting. But the city can purchase land , build a minimum four lighted baseball field , restrooms , maintenance buildings , parking for hundreds of cars , and we're simply supposed to let that happen. Unlike the continuing narrative that has been decided , there will be a robust community involvement in this action. Almost a year has passed , and other than residents alerting other residents about this athletic park, most Milton citizens are still dark about the city 's plans. I respectfully ask that you put the park to a vote. Either turn the property into a passive park or sell the land and relocate the park . Thank you. Will you please call the next speaker? I invite Rick Bach to the podium please. My name is Rick Bach, 215 Oakhurst Leaf Drive, Brook Shade development, across the street or very close to where the mega Park is located. We moved to Milton in September of '99 before it was even a city. And we're big advocates of supporting the city's founding and looking at that horse logo right there. And when you come after some very eloquent speakers , a lot of what I'm going to say is going to be repetitious . But it's some notes that I jotted down before I got here . So , 1.) I would agree that the purchase of the property was made without certainly the majority or very few of the people that li ve in the city of Milton being aware of it. And living next to it , never traversing the property but knowing the little walking trail that we have in Brook Shade , I have a concern about the environmental impact of developing that property for a mega sports park. And as a number of people has mentioned , Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 16 Page 16 of 53 Mayor Jamison : City Clerk: Raymond Brooks: Hopewell is heavily traveled in that area. And there are school buses . There's also the heavy duty commercial vehicles that come down that road. It was just done. The speed has picked up since all that great work was done to improve Hopewell. But I will tell you when we go up toward Bethany Bend or to the Publix, those big trucks cross that yellow line. And you'll see them coming around those comers at exceeding the speed limit, and they're over that line. And as mentioned earlier, that's a single entry point to what would be a mega park. And I would consider that a very, very dangerous situation there. There's a lot of dump trucks, 18 wheelers and, obviously, the school buses that traverse that area. The sight lines are limited. I think that really contributes to not just the amount of traffic that goes on that road and the speed, but as you're going around those bins, the sight lines are limited and you get a big truck that crosses that line and then, you've got a mega sports park with all the kids, I consider that extremely dangerous. The noise that would exist as a result of the ball playing has been mentioned by several of the other speakers here today. We can hear the North Park football games when they're doing the announcement. I just can't imagine what night games for baseball and the like what that would be like for the neighborhood. And as much as I look at the logo again with the horses, I feel for the people that own the horse farms. The lights certainly would be disruptive to whatever activity they're doing. And I would suspect to some extent even be dangerous for the horses and the people that are riding them. So, the logo I think is important and I think that's what the people that have spoken before me and what I'm asking you is to live up to the logo and keep Milton as an equestrian, rural type community and really not fall prey to the development that may occur as a result of the mega park. Thanks for your time. Thank you . Raymond Brooks , I invite you to the podium. Mayor, Members of the Council , I'm Raymond Brooks. I live at 2390 Sandy Creek Farm . I've been there with my horses for 32 years. We still have horses that people can actually view and represent the emblem that's up there. I appreciate my neighbors Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 17 Page 17 of 53 Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Matt Rowenczak: who were willing to come forward and speak in opposition to this. The concern is twofold. One is how this process has gone through without clear information to the residents involving them getting our input, comments about how a park if a park is to be built , how it could be built and be favorable balance between the local neighborhood. When I'm in the barn at 9:00 cleaning stalls and it's a weekend or a Friday or Saturday night, I can give you the play by play football that's going on in the Alpharetta Parks on the other side of our property. So , I'm taking that and concerned about several components of pollution. One is noise pollution, traffic pollution, if you will, concerned about that. Neighbors have talked about property values. I haven't heard anyone talk about the fact that at least one third of this property is in the FEMA floodplain. And within that floodplain is a significant amount of wetlands. And there's a whole series of federal laws and issues about those wetlands and what can and can't be done. And the plan that I saw had a parking lot in the floodplain area that could greatly impact that whole watershed going into the lake where there was the pollution previously and everything. So , my concern is from an environmental standpoint have we addressed those issues? There's no sewer that I'm aware of for that facility. You're going to have multiple ball fields, hundreds of people attending. So, you're going to have to have restroom facilities, which will be on the septic system that is the drain field is going to impact and pollute the creek? So, my concern is that besides all of the merits that the neighbors talked about have we addressed the study. I'm a CPA by profession. I'm a forester by degree , so I have some element to be concerned about environmental issues. One of my clients is a very well-known civil engineer in the area. When I showed him this plan, he was shocked. He inquired of the city and they would not provide him with any information about the plan, which gives me great concern that is this being forthright with it. So, thank you for my time and your service. Thank you. Please call the next speaker. Mayor, I invite Matt Rowenczak to the podium please. Mayor, City Council. Matt Rowenczak , 3001 Victory Trace. And I Regular Meeting of the Mi lton City Council November 20, 2023 18 Page 18 of 53 wanted to bring some good news to Council tonight. This city and its residents should be extremely proud of what they just accomp lished. And that was the decision to run yo ur own municipal elections. It was a waiving success. Let me share with you some of the reasons why. When voters went to cast their ballot, I believe the concept of wait times was non-existent on most days. If there was a wait time, it was less than five minutes and using the average processing time was also five minutes or less . The level of excitement from vote rs to be able to personally mark their choices and to see their selections on their ballot versus staring at a QR code was also quite evident. When it came to election night , you had the unofficial results that evening. And city staff and volunteers have already proposed ideas on how to increase the efficiency for the results to come in even sooner. The level of transparency and openness conducted by city staff and election workers on election night with the public was exceptional. Before tabulation began , an explanation was given by Assistant City Manager Stacy Inglis on how tabulation would be conducted. I observed poll watchers feeling like they were part of the process and not shunned. And they could ask questions if they arose. You even have master students and PhD students from Auburn University within their Election Management Department that came and observed. The level of integrity implemented into the process to always have more than one pair of eyes for verification added to a level of accountability and security . When it comes to cost , I will wait until the city publishes its final numbers , but I can't envision a single scenario where the cost would be more than what Fulton County woul d have charged you. Not to mention what Fulton County will charge in the future and the increased savings the city will have because of the first year's cost. Secondly , having real stakeholders, your residents in the local community, work this election also had a positive impact because when folks had concerns or feedback, they got a much more responsive time compared to temp workers who usually do not live here. And lastly, I've never seen so much excitement from residents in the community as a whole to be able to volunteer and be part of this. I personally witnessed one lady during training said that she felt like she was a celebrity. And I do have to say one councilmember not that long ago proposed that yo u go back to Fulton County. That Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 19 Page 19 of 53 Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Rahul Gupta: was you, Miss Cookerly. Here's what you might have ended up with if you did that. There were voters that were not listed on the voter rolls when they showed up to vote this municipal election. Some when they voted, the candidates didn't show up on the ballot. Some had difficulty actually selecting their candidates on the monitor. The voter history file from early voting, whether it's accurate or not , showed that people voted two, three , four, and five times. And it is a disaster. Fulton County, despite their certification, they cannot reconcile the list of voters who voted and the results. That's why you may have seen they had a recount on Monday of last week. And the results changed for some races, including the candidates that ended up in a runoff. And one of the major discrepancies was in early voting. So they recounted agam on Tuesday and never told us why the changes occurred. One candidate has already filed an election challenge due to these changes. And I can go on and on and on. So, to summarize, I want to thank those that are on the election feasibility committee , Councilmember Moore , Councilmember Mohrig. Thank you for your leadership. And thank you for city staff, particularly Stacy and Tammy, as well as Bernadette, and all those in the community that really volunteered and stepped up . This is exactly what local government collaboration with the community is supposed to look like. So , thank you for all those that contributed very much. Thank you. Can you please call the next speaker? Mayor, I invite Raul Gupta to the podium please. Good evening , Councilmen and women. How we doing? My name is Rahul Gupta. I'm a proud citizen of the city of Milton, a business owner, and an avid cyclist, not the one you see when you passed on your way down the road here. I'm also the team director for the Milton side of Team Nitro, which is a Georgia Cycling Association team, which has grown tremendously over the last several years where many of our residents ' children compete in mountain bike races . I'm not here to ask for any kind of mega sports parks. And we're not on the agenda. We 're here to, hopefully, change that and put mountain bike trails here in Milton on the agenda in the very near future. I have one child at Milton High School , another one at Northwestern, soon to Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 20 Page 20 of 53 Mayor Jamison : Rahul Gupta : Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Dave Thoman: Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Holly Henderson: be in Milton next year. Again, I just wanted to express my deep interest in having sustainable mountain bike trails here in Milton for the Council to consider. Cycling and mountain biking bonds communities , encourages good health , it positively affects the lives of children and adults in many, many ways. Mountain biking has become ever increasingly popular, especially since COVID . The growth in demand for it, as you see across the country , is evident and very clear. Mountain biking is good for the citizens of Milton , the health and mental well-being of children out in nature , and I think in the local economy as well. Hopefully , you guys can consider that. We can be here again next time. I'll be here at every single City Council meeting and , hopefully, push for that. Thank you . Mr. Gupta , will you state your address for the record ? Yeah. I'm sorry . 550 Hickory Mill Lane , Milton. Thank you. Do we have any other public comment? I do , Mayor. I invite Dave Thoman to the podium. Hi , my name is Dave Thoman. It's 910 Dunster Court. I'm in support of Nitro and , basically, just to add a little bit to what Raul said , I am the head coach for Milton High School Mountain Bike Team Nitro. And for any future green space , I would like to also put in that the future trails would be for walking. It would not be a sports complex , but also for mountain biking. It's a growing sport. We've gone from 700 kids in Georgia to 1,400 in the past 6 y ears . So , having a place where our team could practice would be great to have. Other cities such as Woodstock have their trails . We currentl y practice in Roswell at Big Creek. So , having something here local for our team and also , as an open park would be great for the community and would not be a sports complex but keep it as a green space. Great. Thank you . Holly Henderson , I invite you to the podium. Hi , Holly Henderson , 13485 Pro v idence Lake Dri ve . I, too , Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 21 Page 21 of 53 Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: actually am here in support of Nitro , not as one of the coaches of Nitro, but I'm a parent. My son is actually on the team. He's an avid mountain biker. I, too , travel from very congested traffic from Milton all the way to Roswell to take him three days a week and/or other parks in other cities. One of the things that we want here is , again, as you've heard , not a mega park. It's something for us as parents to take our children to. Even if the kids around here have tons of organized sports, this is one that not all kids that can participate in organized sports they have the opportunity to be in mountain biking. It very much has saved my child's life just so you know. We as parents want the best for our kids post COVID and in the world of I won't go into social media has really stunted our children's social skills , ability to go outside to interact with the world. For me, my kid could not do organized sports. He's actually in a learning disability school and there are five members of that school that have joined in the last year just to be part of this mountain biking club. And the confidence that is brought to them, the mental health, stability, the balance of being outside and not inside looking at video games or terrorizing other people on social media has been so amazing and has turned my family around. We want to stay on the docket. We want to be part of 2024 planning. Just so you know, I have another kid that rides horses. And very often, I'm part of Milton. I love horses. They often are in the same place. So , we do understand that there are some parts of the community that don't particularly want mountain biking along with areas by horses. I think we can all get along , especially if we use our common space. But we would really like to just be considered on your agenda moving forward. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Mayor , our final public comment is the public hearing item and I will read that into tonight's record. It is Sandra Sheppard at 155 Gladwin Ridge Drive. And the comment is , "This address is in the middle of neighborhoods with families and children. Milton has grown over and above what many who moved here imagined. It's no longer the peaceful area it once was . This business will bring traffic , noise , and light throughout our neighborhoods." And Mayor, that concludes general public comment. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 22 Page 22 of 53 CONSENT AGENDA City Clerk: City Clerk: Mayor Jamison: CM Jacobus: CM Verhoff: Mayor Jamison : Councilmembers: Thank you so much. We will move on to the consent agenda. Will City Clerk please sound the items? The first Item A is approval of the November 6, 2023, regular City Council meeting minutes . Agenda Item No. 23-299. Bis approval of the November 13, 2023 , work session meeting minutes, Agenda Item No. 23-300. C is approval of a services agreement with Freeman's Tree Care, Inc. to provide tree removal services at Milton City Park and Preserve and Bell Memorial Park , Agenda Item No. 23-301. D is approval of a professional services agreement between the city of Milton and Columbia Engineering and Services, Inc., for on call land acquisition services for Public Works Projects , Agenda Item No. 23-302. Our final consent item E is approval of subdivision plats and revisions, the developments Elva and Eduardo Flores at 13400 and 13420 Providence Road, Land Lot 961 and 962, District 2 , Section 2. It is a minor plat revision and the purpose of this flat is to move the common property line between Track 1 and 2 to correct a driveway encroachment, a total of 3.856 acres for the density of 0.52 lots per acre, Agenda Item No. 23-303 . Mayor? Thank you. Do we have a motion on the consent agenda? I make a motion to approve the consent agenda as read. Second. Okay. I have a motion from Councilmember Jacobus and a second from Councilmember Verhoff to approve the consent agenda as read. All in favor, please say aye. Aye . Motion and Vote: Councilmember Jacobus moved to approve the Consent Agenda as read . Councilmember Verhoff seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0). Councilmember Johnson and Councilmember Moore were absent from the meeting. REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS Mayor Jamison: Any opposed? That's unanimous. So , we'll move on to reports and Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 23 Page 23 of 53 City Clerk: Greg Botelho : presentations . Will the City Clerk please sound Agenda Item 7B? Seven B is presentation on city of Milton earning a National Voice of the People Award for Outstanding Civic Engagement. Our communications director , Mr. Greg Botello . Hello. This will be a fairly brief presentation, a happy presentation , not only because it's briefs , but also I think a presentation to help put this in perspective because there's a lot of stuff, big issues , small issues to really take a step back and see how Milton compares to places , not only around Georgia but around the country . In this case , we were determined by international organizations as one of the best around. And I'll explain because we recentl y won something called the Voice of the People Award . And what is the Voice of the People Award? Well , glad you asked. It's the only nationally recognized award given to local governments based on resident input. I'll talk a little about National Community Survey . That's one of the inputs here . But it reflects how a government creatively , effectively engages the publics and uses citizens ' input to inform decisions. The winners are chosen by Poll Co., which is a company that runs the National Community Survey and a bunch of other things , including the National Research Center and also the International City County Management Association , which is much easier said as ICMA. Just for context , this award was given out at the 109th Annual Conference of ICMA. So , this is not a new entity. So , we've been around for a while . And we compete against governments , city governments and county governments of all sizes . So , I'll go into that a little more. But probably one of the entries -we were actually nominated for two categories , but one of the determining factors is , again , how we compare to other communities. We had the National Community Survey , which was last year 2022. And just again , to put it in context , some of the highlights from that compared to hundreds and hundreds of local governments around the country , we were ranked in the 97 th percentile in customer service by city employees , again , something we should be proud of and 90 th percentile in confidence in city government. There are a lot of other factors and other numbers that also kind of are along those lines. So , again , it's a good thing and it does put us in new context. So , in terms of this year's honorees , so there are 14 Voice of the People A ward honorees overall. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20 , 2023 24 Page 24 of 53 As you can see from this map , they're from across the United States , from Upstate New York to Southern California. There are small communities and some big cities . We're in the same categories as someone like Denver , Colorado or Scottsdale , Arizona. This was based off of not only that official nomination. We were in two categories. The other one was public safety but also in terms of the different initiatives and things like that and thinking outside the box to try to get the word out on certain things. And this was awarded at the ICMA conference in Austin , Texas in October. Unfortunately , we couldn't make it here. So , that's why we're kind of doing this today to kind of celebrate that way . So , this is a quote that was in the press release from the CEO of the Poll Co. company. "These amazing communities are national models for taking on pernicious problems in government. It 's why the VOP awards are so important. These organizations are making the blueprint to better democrac y in an era of profound transition." Again , this is not always easy. It's sometimes messy. But the fact that we're being held up as a standard and we are certainly not alone our challenges. But I think we're trying hard. I get to tell you that. So , and I'm just going to just really briefly touch on ways that we engage the public. And again , this is not just my department , but there's a lot of things. And it 's everything from newer technologies , from leveraging technology with live polling , interactive maps, social media. We do a lot of online surveys and other sorts of survey s. We also have web pages , things like that. We also try to have kind of old fashioned ones like having the public forums like some of the green print forums we had. And we had people wandering around the room looking the maps , adding their two cents in. That's very conscious. Also , you could see some of these elections things that old fashioned signs, fliers , ads , guides , cards , things like that that people can actually tangibly see. That's part of it, too. And also , as much as we can explaining things in ways that people understand. A lot of times , government just will throw up a big , fat packet of 700 pages of something and ask people read through them. We try to actually make it so people could digest it as much as we can and also having the opportunity to share opinions like we saw tonight. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 25 Page 25 of 53 Mayor Jamison: Mayor Jamison:: City Clerk: Scott Tkach: That's part of the process and that's something we embrace. And I'm going to segue to, I think, we won in one certain category that exemplifies this as much as anyone else. And that's our public works projects, especially our transportation. So, we were nominated for public safety and also transformation and mobility, which is a fancy way of recognizing how we go above and beyond to connect with, acknowledge, and act on residents' concerns related to how drivers, pedestrians, equestrians, and bicyclists get around Milton. You could very simply have these things at a Council meeting and say, "Come on up and just tell me what you think." But we try to go above and beyond. The last year or so alone, we have the comprehensive transportation plan, which had all those things I mentioned and more in terms of outreaching people in person. The local road safety plan also had in person ads and things like that. We had Cox Road intersections and then, the mobility component, which is, basically, how people get around the Woodmore Parkway at Highway 9, strategic master plan and also, a bunch of other projects for TSPLOST, including the Bethany Bend and Bethany Creek intersection improvements. So again, we just wanted to recognize this and have this here. And I also wanted to just invite my Public Works friends and also Luxana from my team up for a little -since we didn't get a picture in Austin, to actually have a little picture here. So, Any questions real quick for Greg? Any questions? I'll tell you what, you all did a fantastic job. Other mayors and elected officials are really jealous of what we got here, so thank you. Will the City Clerk please send the next item? Mayor, that next item, C is the MS-4 permit annual stormwater presentation given by our city engineer, Mr. Scott Tkach. Good evening, Mayor and City Council. I'm Scott Tkach, your city engineer. And I'm here this evening to provide an update on the annual NPDS detection and elimination system, or NPDS municipal separate storm sewer system or MS-4 permit. I want to apologize in advance for all the acronyms I'm going to use this evening. I wi ll provide an overview of the regulatory requirements of the NPDS permit, what's in it, and how staff is meeting the requirements of the permit, as well as the storm water management Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 26 Page 26 of 53 plan . This slide is an outline of what I'll talk about this evening. The annual reporting is a requirement of the Environmental Protection Division. And the Georgia State EPD issued municipalities a new permit spanning 2023 through 2028. And they issued that in early 2023. Staff completed a revision of the old stormwater management plan with several new SOP's . They're included as appendices detailing how inspections are done , how plan review is conducted , those types of things. There was a lot of work that went into that , and I want to give out to a gentleman , Josh Rogers , in Public Works that completed a lot of that work. It was a tremendous effort. Under the regulatory requirements , in 1972 , Congress passed the Clean Water Act , which is what regulates the NPDS permit. And it deals with the illicit discharges of industries , as well as municipal storm water runoff. And fun fact , the Clean Water Act is 51 years old this year. There are two types of permits , a general permit , which covers a large geographic area like a city or a county and then , there are individual permits , which covers things like wastewater treatment plants , manufacturing facilities , and other types of municipal facilities. It regulates stormwater conveyance systems that are owned and operated by a city or a state . So , basically , pipes , catch basin , manholes, ditches , retention , detention ponds and water quality treatment facilities. Under the new permit, the requirements that we had to meet were the enhanced documentation of the standard operating procedures , the pathogen or the bacterial indicator species that we have to test for change from fecal coliform to E coli. And we have to perform enhanced annual reviews and documentation of the existing ordinances. The Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District was put together in 2001. And it was designed to be able to have a regional , long term , comprehensive water management program. And they have at least one annual meeting , which we attend every year. And I anticipate those will probably increase . Under the permit , there are six minimum control measurements or MCMs that we have to meet. And all MS-4 permit holders have to meet these MCMs. And this city has implemented 35 best management practices , or BMPs' to be able to meet those. Specifically, under the public education and outreach that includes things like pamphlets. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 27 Page 27 of 53 We have a website, a stormwater website, presentation to our elected officials. Hence the reason I'm here before you this evening. And then, a social media campaign effort. So, those would be things like don't put grass clippings in the storm drains , don 't have the lease on the storm drains because of flooding. And we work very closely with our communications director to be able to put those out to the public. So , thank you, Greg , for those efforts. Under the public participation and involvement, that is things like the storm drain markers. If you've seen those little stickers or placards that we have, we do an annual stream clean up. We do adopt a road programs and pet waste stations throughout the city. MCM-3 illicit discharge detection and elimination , or IDDE , it's a fairly large lift for the city. We had have the legal authority to have that , so ordinances or end ordinance. We had to know where the outfalls were. So , we have a map of that. We have an IDDE plan , an IDD education program, and a complaint response SOP. Under MCM-4, that's the construction site stuff, again , we had to have an ordinance for that. We had to have SOPs on site plan review , site inspections, enforcement procedures , a complaint response , and staff certification. Community development predominantly implements and manages that. Under MCM-5 , we had to have post construction stormwater runoff control. Again , we had to have an ordinance for that , an inventory, inspection program , a maintenance program. We had to have a green infrastructure LID program that included inventory , inspection , and maintenance. We also have an ordinance that deals with that. Under MCM-6 , we have pollution prevention, good housekeeping, and municipal operations. Public works manages that, and that is a very big lift. It includes things like DMS-4 , control and conveyance , inventory and inspection , maintenance of those pieces of infrastructure , municipal street sweeping , employee training, waste disposal , new flood management projects , which is predominantly handled by community development , existing flood management projects. That would be things like , for example , public works, retrofitted the Fire Station 43 detention pond and put some settling basins in , which improve the water quality of that facility . We also had to have municipal facility inventories and inspections . And Josh does a lot of that work for Public Works. The city also has a revised Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 28 Page 28 of 53 stormwater management plan. As I previously indicated, it's a fairly hefty document. It's about 50 pages. In addition to the six minimum control measurements, as I had mentioned that are managed through the 35 best management practices, we also have an enforcement response plan as well as requirements for water quality, monitoring of impaired waterways. The Enforcement Response Plan details actions to be taken for violations of the stormwater management plan. So, those are things like the illicit discharge and detection and elimination system , soil erosion, and sediment control , commercial on site stormwater systems, as well as debris and waste control. And we have environmental ordinances to deal with that. Under the impaired waters , the city entered into a memorandum of understanding with Fulton County in October of 2022 for the county to conduct the stream water monitoring. So , that would be LTI under the county's monitoring program. And they monitor specifically for habitat and biological monitoring or bacteria. They also take a look at macro invertebrate populations , which is water insects , which are a great indicator species of water quality. They look at fish samples, water quality testing, stream reach assessments, and stream velocity profiles. The city monitors Cooper Sandy Creek for total suspended solids. Total suspended solids is just dirt that gets into the water column. Some of the particulate size of the dirt will settle out with gravity. Some are small enough that they don't and they will stay suspended in the water column. It's called the Browning effect for if you remember your boring chemistry classes. And in the last two years, water quality testing for TSS has yielded a non-detect for both the wet weather sampling and the dry weather sampling, which indicates that the water quality of that health is improving. So, the efforts of the city has shown some improvement. Something new I'd like to bring to Council's attention is staffed worked on the development of a linear transportation project stormwater feasibility policy. The intent of that policy is to provide a reasonable justification for not meeting stormwater, quality treatment requirements and runoff reduction for capital transportation projects where it's warranted . For example, this would exempt projects like pavement preservation, so mill infills , or even reconstructions where we are not adding new impervious areas . Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 29 Page 29 of 53 Mayor Jamison: CM Cookerly: Mayor Jamison: The city of Milton is the second city in the state to submit a linear transportation SOP and have it adopted and approved by the state. So , kudos for staff for that. The next slide is a brief overview of the 10 criteria that would exempt a transportation project from meeting these requirements. Under the major and infeasibility categories , we have payment management, project costs , roadside landscaping and sidewalks , emergency safety projects , and a net decrease in impervious area. Under the minor infeasibility category , that would be impacts to environmentally sensitive areas , so things like wetlands. We're not going to go in and pave over a wetland. Cultural community impacts that could be things like graveyards , site limitations , those would be critical areas , so maybe steep slopes or if we had a granite outcropping that would be cost prohibitive to be able to put in a new road. Legal actions , that could be anything from eminent domain to the city being sued. And then, a sheep flow regime. Under that policy, our consultants are required to fill out a form that the city has generated and it goes to the Public Works director for her review. And then , she signs a justification letter. And that goes into the project file. And if we're audited , the state will take a look at that. And then finally , I'd like to bring to Council's attention that staff has been working on developing a stormwater improvement program similar to what we've done with our transportation improvement program . And the intent there is that we want to develop scopes of work , conceptual cost , scheduling for design , right of way and permitting by phase , and identifying potential funding sources for the projects. And this is a map that shows the major projects that we've already identified. And again , we're working on putting those scopes and costs together. And I appreciate Council's time this evening. I know this is dry material , so I tried to make it brief. And I would like to open it up for any questions or comments . Any questions for Scott? I have a few . Councilmember Cookerly. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 30 Page 30 of 53 CM Cookerly: Scott Tkach: CM Cookerly: Scott Tkach: CM Cookerly: Scott Tkach : CM Cookerly : Scott Tkach: Mayor Jamison: Scott Tkach: Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Rob Dell Ross: Scott , thank you for this. Very comprehensive. So , years ago , we worked on ARC stormwater program, especially , drainage off the roadways , etc. And we found that success is only as good as the communication with the landscaping crews . And with so many of them speaking Spanish, do we have a Spanish version and are we meeting with all the different companies that do business within Milton of the logo or the decal that you're going put out? Mayor, Councilwoman Cookerly , I'm not aware that we meet with them individually. I appreciate the comment. I think one of the things that we can do is ensure that we have a bilingual element on our website to be able to reach out to those people . The other thing that we could do is revise our pamphlets . We have pamphlets at City Hall. We pass those out at various public events. And we could probably develop something that is bilingual. Is there a fine for any company that is blowing all their leaves into the drain? There is an ability for the city to go out and write a civil violation under the illicit discharge and the detection elimination system. And I believe that we have issued warnings under that program. And last but not least , I see that you've taken Cooper Sandy back to its proper name. Yes . I understand that there was some consternation about that , so hopefully, I got that right. Thank you very much. Thank you. Any other questions for Scott? Thank you, Scott. I appreciate it. Great. Thank you , Council. Okay. Will you please call the next item? Mayor, item D is the discussion of the 2023 Comprehensive Transportation Plan presented by our engineering project manager , Mr. Rob Dell Ross . Good evening , Mayor and Council. Give me one second to pull Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 31 Page 31 of 53 this up. Thank you, Sammy. Good evening , everyone. This item is an update for y ou on the status of our comprehensive transportation plan. This is a very similar presentation to the one you received at work session last month. The first half of the presentation is a lot of the same data and a lot of the figures that you've seen previously . Second half of the presentation is some updated project lists and recommendations for funding along with some policy recommendations . We don't do plans in a vacuum. The two large plans that have been adopted since our last comprehensive transportation plan in 2016 were the 2021 to 2025 strategic plan and the 2040 comprehensive plan. Those two documents very strongly affected some of the goals that we proposed in our comprehensive transportation plan update. I'm not going to read every word on the slide , but you can see those si x goals. Those will be important later on . Those are the factors we used to score our recommended projects . This is a slide from the strategic plan red arrows showing where we placed emphasis and where we'll be able to check off some boxes as far as things that we were asked to look at in the strategic plan. You'll be getting some more information about this at our next meeting in December. Sarah and I are planning a little bit more comprehensive look at which strategic items we feel like we're going to be able to check off. These next few slides map on the left shows you a relative look at where traffic grew faster than what we expected from 2016 and where traffic did not grow as fast as what we expected in 2016 . You'll notice a little bit of a trend with the red dots being towards the southern half of the city and the green dots being towards the northern half of the city. That, basically , represents traffic grew faster the farther south you went. Project implementation chart on the right showed you our progress and our ability to deliver TSLOS-1 projects. Not going to go i.qto every single map on the page. This is some of our existing conditions anal y sis we looked at in the plan looking at population density. We looked at average delay per driver at the intersections on the top right, a crash heat map on the bottom left, as well as a look at zone trips made by walking in the bottom right. Public input was a big lift on this effort . We did many different things , newsletter, social media, several surveys. We held four focus group meetings with volunteers from the city focused on the Crabapple area, the Deerfield area , the Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20 , 2023 32 Page 32 of 53 [inaudible] [01:16:56] community and HOA leaders. We had several in person intercepts. The picture on the right you see there is at the farmers ' market several months ago . We were also at Crabapple Fest. We were also at a Cambridge High School football game last month. Several online surveys got a lot of input. I think over 500 entries on our survey . These next two pictures are a summary of some of the input we got from that -some of the data we got from that input from residents . Looking at our six goals from the beginning of their presentation, ranking those six as far as which they thought were more important than some others , as well as an analysis and exercise that we did for them to take $1.00 or take $100.00 and decide of that funding , how they wanted to allocate it to specific types of projects. You 'll see the two most popular there on that pie chart on the bottom right. We're improving intersections and improving infrastructure for riding bicycles. Next two maps , top map on the left shows you where residents were proposing projects and proposing improvements , as well as on the right where those projects were as far as if they were transit or more bike/ped focused. This slide is really important. This directs what you're going to see in the following slides. We had to make some assumptions for our financial framework for our TSLOS-2 list. So , this matches what this body approved in 2021. Level 1 represents the TSLOS-2 , which is the funding cycle we're in right now that was passed and started collections in early 2022 and will go through 2026. The recommendations from Fulton County and the I don't want to call them rules , but the guidelines that the cities have followed since TSLOS-1 was to take Tier 1 and program that at 85% of the projected revenue that the economists predicted we would receive over the next five y ears and Tier 2 being the remaining 15%. So , we were expecting over five years for TSLOS-2 would collect $36 million in TSLOS with $30 .6 million being Tier 1 and $5.4 million being Tier 2. Fulton County also recommended to programs and projects for Tier 3. We're showing that in Level 2 at the bottom , but those would be projects that if we were to deliver the entirety of Tier 1 and deliver the entirety of Tier 2, those would be the projects we would move on to and look for. At this time and to my knowledge , not a single city got to their Tier 3 in TSLOS-1 . Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 33 Page 33 of 53 We're not anticipating that happening , but we have a plan just in case it will based on our track record TSLOS-1 , based on how our revenue is coming in. We are confident that we'll be able to start some of the Tier 2 projects just like we did in TSLOS-1. However, it's uncertain that we'd be able to construct all of the Tier 2 projects for TSLOS-2. This next slide shows you how that $30.6 million and that $5.4 million are divided up into set asides and individual line items. The set asides are buckets or programs that we use to be a little bit more flexible to meet the priorities that your guidance and our residents ' guidance are telling us they want to see projects for. But we need the flexibility to keep them a little bit more vague than an individual project. So , for example , for Tier 1 $30.6 million, you'll see $14.1 million in program set asides and $16.5 million in indi vidual line items for projects. I'm not going to read the rest of the numbers , but y ou can see how that math works. How did we select projects? You've heard me talk about the universe of projects before . This is every idea that we've ever looked at in any plan to date as of today. We talked about the previously planned project. We look at new projects based on where our technical analysis is pushing us towards. We also receive new projects from public input from you , from residents , from people that take our surveys. And we also have a small, not discretionary , a small input from staff. There may be something on our radar that we've heard about in past meetings that aren't being necessarily included in the public input, but we've heard them previously and we try to interject those as well. How do we score those projects ? The goals you see on the left of the screen, we took those six goals and we defined measurable data and numbers . We're engineers. Of course, we like numbers. We looked at , again, each of those goals. We tried to narrow it down into something that we can score against, not that scoring is 100% the reality. We always want to make sure that we're not just onl y trusting the scoring. We want a little bit of oversight from you and from the residents . But we very much wanted to be data-driven in the analysis and in this project list wanting to try and make sure that the projects that are scoring well in these goals are part of our recommendations to you. So , here's Level 1 short range draft project list. This is some Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 34 Page 34 of 53 CM Cookerly : projects that are already underway that we funded from 2021 up until now, usually in the design phase. Some of this funding is building some of those projects that have already started. Some of this funding is starting new projects and finishing that as far as construction goes . So , you'll see a project list in a second with an associated map. But you'll notice Level 1 short range. We're looking at approximately $9 . 7 million of roadway corridor projects , little over $7 million of intersection projects with a little under $4 million towards bike and ped. These next two pictures are the maps of what we 're recommending for Level 1. This , basically -and I'm going to jump out of the presentation at this point and show you something that is important. Most of you will remember this . This is the project list that this body adopted in May of 2021 prior to the TSLOS referendum. So, you'll notice this is what was included in the intergovernmental agreement with all the cities and Fulton County. So , you'll notice a lot of these project descriptions were pretty vague. Intersection efficiency improvements , intersection safety improvement s, local road safety , community trail prioritization. What we're doing tonight is proposing a modified version of the list you see on the screen. We will , unless we receive any guidance to make further changes tonight , you will see in December a revised version of this document you have on the screen with these projects . The map you see on the left and the right , the map on the left, being that $30.6 million number that we talked about before and the map on the right being the $5 .4 million number for Tier 2 making up the total $36 million. I'm going to pause on this page for a couple of minutes because I anticipate there might be some questions. This is the TSLOS-2 project list. This is everything that we have already started that we plan to start design and plan to build working through the funding that we will be receiving through 2026 . That does not mean we will have everything constructed by 2026 , but we will be making significant progress towards this entire list. If are there any questions at this point before I move forward? I have one please. So , knowing that the Crooked Creek exit entrance on Highway 9 is with GDOT , I understand that. Are we having to put any money aside for what looks like to be a future Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 35 Page 35 of 53 Rob Dell Ross : CM Cookerly : Rob Del Ross: CM Cookerly: Rob Dell Ross : CM Cookerly : Rob Dell Ross : CM Mohrig: CM Cookerly : CM Jacobus : cluster? So , we've put aside -Project R3 on the right if I can pull up my cursor right here , we have identified a project for State Route 9 streetscape enhancements at $2 million . We've discussed with you in the past efforts by staff to enhance what they're building. We've talked about -with the design review board last year, we talked about options for looking at the walls that they're going to be building. No , it was reall y just mobility , not really the esthetics because you have to go right to go left and you have to go pretty far to swing back. The last design I saw for Crooked Creek , actually , has a medium break at Crooked Creek , but there is not a traffic signal there. So , you 're still going to be able to left. There's no signal. There's no roundabout, right? Correct. There's not a traffic signal. There is not around about, but you'll still be able to make lefts in and you'll still be able to make lefts out. Yeah , I understand that. Thankfully , we 're only going to be able to go right. Yeah. They changed it from the year before. To be continued. Thank you. But I do have a question about the $2 million. And I wonder whether that's really sufficient to do what needs to be done on 9 after the state comes through and demolishes the whole area. My concern is , and I think you and I chatted just briefly about the cost of doing the wall work , which is a large chunk of that $2 million , mine is going back and planting trees and taking some of the areas where they're going to remo ve a road like in Bethany. So , we'll be able to put some sort of pocket and do something there. I'm not sure that what's left is going to be sufficient to be able to do that. So , my ask would be that we take a deeper dive into that and see if there's funds that we can shift some way so that when 9 gets going , Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20 , 2023 36 Page 36 of 53 Steve Krokoff: CM Jacobus: Steven Krokoff: Rob Dell Ross : Steven Krokoff: CM Jacobus : Rob Dell Ross: we're ready with a plan that's a little bit more comprehensive , but also allows for us -they're going to remove almost every tree along 9. So , for us to come back and do it right is going to take , in my opinion , a chunk of change. Following our last meeting , Councilmember Jacobus , I approached both Public Works and Community Development to discuss a comprehensive approach , not just the walls , but a comprehensive approach from city line to city line that will include trees , lighting , everything that we've discussed in the past. We may be coming before you with the potential for a consultant. We spoke with the consultant that initially worked with Alpharetta on their Highway 9 area. So , they're working through that now to see what that can look like and I anticipate something would be before you in the next couple of months . So , we'll still have the opportunity to shift funds at that point? It won't be too late type of deal ? You always have the ability to shift funds through your capital program. I'll look at what Steve just said. The numbers you see on the screen are estimates at this point. They are not there - you shouldn't be thinking for Project R3 , "I cannot spend more than $2 million." But there are budgets and there's something that as we go through each of these processes and we talk about options , obviously, we 're going to want to be keeping the budget in mind and show you options that wouldn't be say double your budget. Nor would they likely be TSLOS dollars . They'd be coming out of other buckets. Thank you. Other questions before I move on? So , again , TSPLOST -2 , everything that we will be building in the next five years , projects on the screen. Level 2, this is the next five years. Som what types of projects are we going to be looking for if the cities in Fulton County decide to renew TSPLOST. So, 2026 and future are kind of that second five year window. We're looking at $22 million of projects , again , roughly $8 million [inaudible] [01:30:15) corridors , a little more than $8 million in intersections , and about $6 million in bike/ped. Those adding up with the program set Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 37 Page 37 of 53 asides to get us to the $38 million that we project in the next 5 year window. The maps you see on the screen left being the remaining 15% that what were to happen 100 to 115% of collections from TSPLOST- 2. Those would be the projects we'd be looking at. Le vel 2 , Tier 3 and then , the remaining 85 % is the map on the right. The next slide are the projects that correspond to those maps. And last but not least , we took a stab. We did not completely flush out this project list yet, but this is a long range plan. This is what year 11 to year 20 could potentially look like , again , if the cities and county chose to renew TSPLOST projects that we'd be looking at towards that long range plan. These are the set asides the program buckets that go with the projects that get us to the total $36 million for TSPLOST -2 , that get us to the total of $38 million for TSPLOST -3. So , you'll notice the cursor you can see on my screen. That's our magic number for TSPLOST-2 that $36 million. It includes $500 ,000.00 in technology and signal upgrades that we're talking to public safety about , another $800 ,000 .00 in planning response , $500 ,000.00 in sidewalk gaps , $7 million towards resurfacing and pavement, $700 ,000.00 for guard rail improvements , $5 million towards bridges. That's likely a bridge replacement that will be advancing over the next five years. And other at $645 ,000.00. I'm not going to read every single one of those numbers for the next windows , but you can see how we got our numbers to work. Lastly , policy considerations. So , in our plans , we shouldn't just be looking at projects. We should look at what's on the horizon, what types of ordinance changes , what types of policy topics should we be thinking about as a city. One thing that came up very commonly in our input both in surve y and in person was bicycle safety, not just if you're the bicycle , but if you're the dri ver working with them. One idea that we haven't completely fleshed out and wanted to , obviously , move forward with yet, but we wanted to introduce would be a bike priority network. The green lines you see on the right map on the screen. The first question I get from residents when I talk about a bike priority network is what is a bike priority network. We can tell you what it's not. It's not bike lanes everywhere. It's likely bike lanes maybe on one or two of the corridors. We need time to flush out what that recommendation Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 38 Page 38 of 53 CM Jacobus : ultimately is. Right now , we're envisioning a little bit of safety, a little bit of, not just safety on the road , but education and social media and communications . We're looking at probably some additional signage to make drivers aware which roads they should expect to see bikes. We're not looking at bike lanes on every road. We 're looking at in some locations , maybe some widening of a foot or two just to give them a little bit safer bike shoulder to be on. It may be just some signage. It may be some additional marking. We 're working through those recommendations based on , again , public input , the Strava bicycling data. It's actually data driven . We know where people are using bike . That affected the green lines we're showing on our map and the input we got from our focus groups based on bicycles and pedestrians. I don't want to hit every sing le one of the bullets , but the second one I also wanted to briefly introduce . What is a vulnerable road users ' ordinance? To my knowledge , I think it's either one or two cities in this state that has something like this . I'm familiar with Dunwoody. They passed theirs several years ago . It's , basically , an expanded version of the three-foot rule that the state has if you're familiar with that. It requires drivers to be observing a bicyclist on the road and slow down or get over to provide that 3-foot buffer when possible . Dunwoody's ordinance wouldn't necessarily have to be the exact same way we do . But we've spoken with our police chief. It's something that we're, obviously , not ready to talk about details yet. But when we look at these types of plans , we wanted to introduce the topic and then , have that conversation and have that discussion for details on another day. Next steps , any input on projects? Any put input at all? I hope all of you read your reports over the weekend. Any changes at all? I would love to hear those tonight. Otherwise , we are planning to put this document up for adoption in consent in December. And you'll see an item as well to modify the TSPLOST project list in December coming out of these recommendations for the project list. And I'm open to any questions you might ask. I got a couple of things . Some of it's just having you explain stuff to me. When you talk about increasing road capacity , when I think of that, I think of going from two lanes to four lanes . But reading Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 39 Page 39 of 53 Rob Dell Ross: CM Jacobus: Rob Dell Ross: CM Cookerly: Rob Dell Ross: CM Jacobus: Rob Dell Ross: the documents , it doesn't sound like that's always the answer there. Is that true? That 's true. Let's go back to our TSPLOST-2 project list and make sure. Let's actually take one step further back. Let's go back to this slide. We have strategic plan bullet at the very bottom of the red arrows on the outcome measures on the screen. Establish plan to analyze and develop a means to reduce red lines in Milton traffic by 2023. What is that? The red lines are where delay is. And typically, on a road, let's say Freemanville or Hopewell or 3 72 , typically , from an engineering perspective , if you're trying to solve that red line, you're thinking if it's a two-lane road , I'm going to widen to four lanes. You won't see widening from two to four lanes in our recommendations because we have heard pretty soundly pretty I don't want to say unanimously, but a pretty strong majority of input does not want to necessarily take our two lane roads and widen to four lane roads. The only widening that we have on our radar at this point someday will be State DOT likely widening 140 on our boundary . I can't see wi dening in our project list, either in TSPLOST-2 or TSPLOST-3 anytime soon. So , when you're looking at increasing road capacity , is it mostly through turn lanes and that type of thing? That's correct, yes. So , you're dispersing. We're trying to give -as best we can we're trying to give people multiple ways to get from Point A to Point B, not just wi dening the collector or widening the Archdale trying to give them two or three or four options. The other question I had was with the state takes certain action that you really don't have any control over. For example , adding the interchange on 400, which is going to dump over to Morris Road. But it's also going to have a big impact on Bethany -Bethany Bend. Are we going to move that project or consider moving that project up ? And I can't remember where I saw it? So , we currently have -I am looking at R54 on the screen. So, we have it on TSPLOST tentatively of course for TSPLOST -3. So , $8 Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 40 Page 40 of 53 CM Jacobus : Rob Del Ross: Mayor Jamison : Rob Dell Ross: CM Jacobus : million towards looking at corridor improvements along Bethany from east of State Route 9 to Morris Road. And we've talked about that a lot internally and are , of course, subject to change. But our current vision for that project would be something similar to what Rucker Road is in Alpharetta. Obviously , not all the pedestrian lights , but something where we're trying to slow people down and get more of a residential feel , not just a road as quickly as I can to get from Point A to Point B. And I'm wondering whether and I remember seeing that as a Level 2, and I'm wondering as quickly as that interchange is going to open up, that's going to change the traffic flow. For example, most people that live in Crooked Creek , myself included , would get off at that new interchange to go home versus the Windward one that we've all used now. And a lot of the people that get off at Windward that are going into Forsyth are going to get off and go to Bethany Bend. So , my concern is should this one be moved up into Level 1 and something else moved to Level 2 because of what the state 's done? So , if there's a consensus to move that project forward, that's , obviously , something we would do . We're financially constrained. So , if we wanted to keep that project funded at $8 million, which we think is a good number for right of way and construction needed , we would need to try and find $8 million off the project list on the screen that we would need to trade to get back to Level 2. That's something that if you want staff to look at in the next two weeks , we can. If there are any recommendations and guidance and sense from you tonight , we would love to hear which projects we may want to pause on and slow down instead of that one. And $8 million is a big number. It is. We don't have -it doesn't have to be $8 million [inaudible - crosstalk] [01:40:24]. It doesn't necessarily have to be $8 million. That's a number that , again , was an estimate . We have zero design work. We have zero survey work. It's what we thought we would need if we were looking at the entirety of the corridor from , let's say , Bethany Creek subdivision all the way down past the roundabout to Morris , what we thought to look at that entire corridor and do something similar to what Rucker Road looks like . Personally , when I look at -we've got $4 million at the Red Road Safety Study. Is that something that could be shifted in exchange? I Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 41 Page 41 of 53 Rob Dell Ross: CM Mohrig: Rob Dell Ross : Mayor Jamison: Rob Dell Ross: Rob Dell Ross: Rob Dell Ross: really don't know of a recommendation right off the top of my head , but I would ask that you guys take another look and see? That's definitely an option. Trading the Bethany project for those three projects you see on the bottom right , Red Road , Pedestrian Improvement Center Safety Study , roughly at $5 million. That's our Tier 2 15%. If we did that simple trade, that would give let's say $5 million to $6 million towards Bethany. I share Jan's concern. I mean , living off from Bethany Bend, I know we reduced it down to 40 mph. I'd like to see that even go lower because it is primarily -that's a residential corridor. I will even be more so. But the concern , I think we were told GDOT is not going to do the realignment of Bethany Bend until we do the four lane expansion by the time it gets up there. So , that does mean , like what Jan had said , we're going to see more and more traffic directed instead of going down Cogburn Road to get to Windward for the people coming from the west side or Hopewell Road and that direction, we're going to see that traffic funneled right onto Bethany Bend because they will start using that instead of using the Windward exit. Given that the interchange is now a couple of years under construction, and given that the State Route 9 project hasn't started yet, I agree. We're likely going to be in a situation in a couple of years where the interchange is open and pouring those cars into Milton and we won't have those offset intersections on 9 to help alleviate that. I completely agree. Yeah . And I think part of the issue is like I see the two big ticket items here , the $4 million. I think that's where we have a lot of the traffic accidents now. And that's probably a safety issue. I know at least Cox Road and Red Road. So , maybe y'all can take a stab at what Councilmembers Mohrig and Jacobus are kind of thinking , which is they're thinking outside -into the future , which could be a problem. But yeah, that's like I said , that's a big ticket number to kind of remove some other items for. So. I don't know. We'll take a look. We'll do our best. Yeah . Thank you. Thanks . And no other questions ? Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 42 Page 42 of 53 Mayor Jamison : Rob Dell Ross: Mayor Jamison : City Clerk: Mayor Jamison : Anything else ? Y'all are gonna be busy. Appreciate it. We are . So , are we doing presentations? We are . All right. So , there's no first presentation item. We'll move on. The public hearing is deferred to the December 18 , so no action required there. There's on zoning agenda items . We'll move on to unfinished business. Will City Clerk please sound the items? UNFINISHED BUSINESS City Clerk: Kelsey Maddox : Kelsey Maddox Mayor Jamison Kelsey Maddox: Mayor, that item is consideration of an ordinance to amend Article 8 of Chapter 14 Pretrial Intervention and Di version Program of the Code of the City of Milton , Georgia. It's Agenda Item No. 23-294 , Captain Jason Griffin. Good evening , Mayor and Council. In light of Chief Austin being on PTO , I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce to you our city solicitor from our Municipal Court. She's going to talk about this agenda item. She's much more well versed and it affects her side of the house. Today 's your first time , right? I think so. All right. And last time I was before you guys , I guess somewhat virtually and was under Kelsey Maddox . I'm now Kelsey Spade. So , if you were wondering , who is that person, that is me still. So , thank you , Mr. Mayor and Council , for having me here today . I'm here to request an amendment to Article 8 of Chapter 14, which is currently in our Milton Municipal Code covering pretrial diversion, pretrial intervention, and diversion program. We are unique here in the city of Milton that we have an ordinance that covers pretrial intervention and diversion. It is not a required code section for municipalities to have that sort of program. That program is actually governed by state statut e, Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 43 Page 43 of 53 Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Mayor Jamison: CM Cookerly: CM Jacobus : CM Cookerly: Mayor Jamison: which can be found in OCGA 15/18/80 and here in the Milton Municipal Court, we have pretrial diversion. And in order for us to better help the citizens that come before the court, we would request that the ordinance that currently is 14-182 be reserved. It's simply an administrative type function that talks about how someone enrolls and gets into the program. It's not required by statute. It's not necessary. It just exhausts court resources and takes up time before the court, which we don't have to do . And then , as 14-181 is just talking about the existence of the establishment of the program. And we just ask for a revision just to the last line, which just talks about someone making a motion or something like that , which would also require going before the court, which is not necessary. But the establishment of the program and the first line is fine. So, that's all we're asking here today. I'm here to answer any questions you may have about the program. We appreciate Chief Austin's participation in the program. Obviously, they're the ones that make the cases that come before us. And again, pretrial diversion is truly an opportunity for first time offenders , people with low le vel crimes who are eligible for the program. Eligibility is based on criminal history , drivers , history , those kind of things and are very limited circumstances. So , just want to give first time offenders and city resi dents an opportunity to keep their history clean. So , that's essentially pretrial diversion . But if you have any questions , I'm here to answer them. Do we have any public comment? We do not , sir. Okay. Close the public comment. Any questions? No? Hearing none , I will open it for a motion. And I lost our place . Mayor , I make a motion that we approve Agenda Item No . 23-294. Second. Okay. I hav e a motion from Councilmember Jacobus , second from Councilmember Cookerly to approve Agenda Item No. 23-294. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 44 Page 44 of 53 All in favor , please say aye. Councilmembers: Aye. Motion and Vote: Councilmember Jacobus moved to approve Agenda Item No. 23-294. Councilmember Cookerly seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0). Councilmember Johnson and Councilmember Moore were absent from the meeting. NEW BUSINESS Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Steven Krokoff: Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Mayor Jamison: CM Cookerl y : CM Verhoff: Mayor Jamison: Any opposed? That is unanimous. Thank you. We will move on to new business. Will the City Clerk please sound the item? That new business item is consideration of a resolution of the city of Milton, Georgia declaring the results of the November 7, 2023 , municipal general election. It 's Agenda Item No. 23-305 . Mr. Steven Krokoff. Good evening , Mayor and Council. The election results officially certified on Tuesday , November 14 , 2023 , have been submitted to the Secretary of State's Office. Pursuant to state law, it is mandatory to file and record a copy of the consolidated results as a permanent record in the minutes of the Superintendent 's Office. By adopting the resolution presented , the election results will be incorporated into the city's permanent minutes, thus satisfying that requirement. Please let me know if you have any questions . Okay. Do we have any public comment? We do not, Sir. Okay. I will close public comment and I will -any questions for Steve? Okay. We'll open it for a motion. Mr. Mayor , I make a motion that we approve Agenda Item No. 23- 305. Second. I have a motion from Councilmember Cookerly and a second from Councilmember Verhoff to approve Agenda Item No. 23-305. All in favor , please say aye. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 45 Page 45 of 53 Councilmembers: Aye. Motion and Vote: Councilmember Cookerly moved to approve Agenda Item No. 23-305. Councilmember Verhoff seconded the motion . The motion passed (5 -0). Councilmember Johnson and Councilmember Moore were absent from the meeting. Mayor Jamison : City Clerk: Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Mayor Jamison: CM Jacobus: CM Verhoff: Mayor Jamison: Councilmembers: Any opposed? That is unanimous. Will the City Clerk please sound the next item? That next item is consideration of a resolution adopting the 2024 city of Milton City Council regular meeting and work session schedule. It's Agenda Item No. 23-306 . Mayor and Council, in your packets tonight, you will see a draft calendar for 2024 that will reflect the council meetings and the work session for upcoming next year. And just as a reminder, any council meeting that might fall on the Monday, which is a holiday, we'll always move that to the Wednesday . So, your January is going to be two Wednesday regular meetings. Any questions, please let me know, but I'm keeping it short and simple for you tonight. Any public comment? There is none , Sir. Okay. We'll close it and open it for a motion. Mr. Mayor, I make a motion we approve Agenda Item No. 23-306. Second. Okay. I have a motion from Councilmember Jacobis and a second from Councilmember Verhoff to approve Agenda Item No. 23- 306 . All in favor , please say aye. Aye. Motion and Vote: Councilmember Jacobus moved to approve Agenda Item No. 23-306. Councilmember Verhoff seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0). Councilmember Johnson and Councilmember Moore were absent from the meeting. Mayor Jamison: Any opposed? That's unanimous. Will the City Clerk please sound Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20 , 2023 46 Page 46 of 53 City Clerk: Emily Groth: • the next item? Item C is consideration of a resolution to authorize an application for a Roadside Enhancement and Beautification Council , known as REBC Grant from the Georgia Department of Transportation, Agenda Item No. 23-307. Miss Emily Groth . All right. Good evening , Mayor and Council. Tonight , we'll be considering a resolution to apply for a Roadside Enhancement and Beautification Council Grant from the Georgia Department of Transportation. This has been an important cross departmental initiative with assistance from our Community Development Department, including Tracie Wildes , our land development manager and Sandra DeWitt , our city arborist. Tonight , we'll review the grant details , the proposed project site , and project elements. We'll review the funding for this opportunity and a potential timeline. If there's interest in the project , we'll look to approve the resolution that acknowledges future mowing and maintenance needs . This is a grant for landscaping improvements along state right of way through GDOT. There's no match required , and this is a reimbursement grant with a maximum award of $50 ,000.00. Eligible projects are listed here and include landscaping plant material , sod , topsoil and mulch , and labor associated with those items. Median or hardscaping improvements are not eligible. Our proposed project site is the Liberty Grove property at Liberty Grove Road and State Route 372, Birmingham Highway. This is the gateway property at the Fulton Cherokee County line. Our project would include native and Georgia grown plantings and materials as required by the grant. We would consider some land management improvements like overgrowth and underbrush removal and some grounds repair and maintenance . And this project would also create a refresh site ready for any future branding and place making opportunities. What you see here is the property survey with the project area highlighted in blue. Staff is still finalizing the proposed plantings and landscape design. We just know that we'll stay out of the visibility, the clear zone and set the items deeper into the property and create a nice gateway space as you come into Milton. So , in addition to this grant opportunity, we have city funding for some of the ineligible items like those hardscape improvements and some Regular Meeting of the Milton City Counci l November 20, 2023 47 Page 47 of 53 Mayor Jamison: CM Jacobus: Emily Groth : CM Jacobus: Mayor Jamison : City Clerk: Mayor Jamison: CM Cookerly: CM Mohrig: Mayor Jamison: Councilmembers: supplemental landscaping . This was a 2023 initiative allocating $30 ,000.00. And the grant would fund the traditional landscape , materials and labor at a maximum of $50 ,000.00. The application consists of these items listed here . The project description , a map , a site analysis , an initial preliminary landscape drawing , some cost estimates for the project, and a long-term maintenance plan. Our next steps would be to complete the application by December 1. And we would expect award by summer of 2024. And I'm open to any questions. That's good stuff. Any questions for Miss Emily ? Councilmember Jacobus? Why 'd you choose this site ? Well , it's a good one that we own the property right off of the state right of way . This grant is only open to state owned thoroughfare so we own the right of way off of it and we own the property directly adjacent to the right of way , so it can just feed into it directly . Thanks. Do we have any public comment? We do not , sir. I will open it for a motion . Mr. Mayor , I make a motion that we approve Agenda Item No . 23- 307 . Second. I have a motion from Councilmember Cookerly and a second from Councilmember Mohrig to approve Agenda Item No. 23-307. All in favor , please say aye. Aye. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20 , 2023 48 Page 48 of 53 Motion and Vote: Councilmember Cookerly moved to approve Agenda Item No. 23-307. Councilmember Mohrig seconded the motion . The motion passed (5-0 ). Councilmember Johnson and Councilmember Moore were absent from the meeting. Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Rob Dell Ross: CM Jacobus : Any opposed? That is unanimous. Will the City Clerk please sound the next item? It em D is consideration of a blanket right of way acqms1tlon approval for the Bethany Road at Providence Road roundabout Project, Agenda Item No. 23-308 , Engineering Project Manager Mr. Rob Dell Ross. Thank you , Tammy. And good evening , again, Mayor and Council. I do not have a presentation for this item , but I wanted to show you two graphics . This is an update for you on the status of the roundabout at Bethany and Providence. We have about 70% design complete. We're getting ready to start right away acquisition and we have all the appraisals in . The map you see on the screen is a little bit rotated. It's kind of difficult to get your sense , but Parcel 1 is the city own green space property on the southwest comer of the intersection. Parcels 2 through 6 you see numbered on the screen are privately owned. You see here list Parcel 1 through 6 with easement and right of way areas that we need to acquire to build the project. Interesting note about this project, a little bit different , Parcel 1 is city owned purchased by Green Space. That will be a reimbursement to the Green Space Fund similar to what we did at Freemanville and Birmingham. Parcels 2 through 6 , we took into account trying to balance impacts for all five of those remaining parcels . So , some of them have homes that are relatively close to the streets . Some of them , Parcel 4 , the home is significantly farther away from the street. So, we tried to ultimately balance , not wanting to inconvenience one parcel more than the other. With this approval tonight, we are asking for a blanket right of way amount of $299 ,200.00 to go towards acquisition of the 6 parcels. We're all up here trying to figure out which one is the green space again? Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20 , 2023 49 Page 49 of 53 Rob Dell Ross: CM Jacobus: Rob Dell Ross : Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Mayor Jamison:: CM Jaobus: CMMohrig: Mayor Jamison: Councilmembers: Parcel 1. So , actually let me see if I can rotate this. That's a little bit -nope , I'm reversed. That's a little bit closer to true north right there . Parcel 1 is the green space owned Cooper Sandy. Out of curiosity , I thought it looks like we 're taking more property from No. 4 than we are the green space I thought we were taking more from the green space . We are acquiring the most from the green space. So , the areas you see on the screen , we are acquiring about a little more than half an acre , Parcel 1 right away area, 33,000 square feet from the city's property. Parcel 4 , yes , we are acquiring 9,000. That is due to trying to take into account homes on and structures on Parcel 2 and Parcel 5 are relatively close to the road. So , if we took that circle and shifted it more towards the right , we'd be decreasing area on Parcel 4. We 'd be starting to impact structures on 2 and 5. That was something we were wanting to avoid. Any public comment? There are none , sir. All right , close public comment. I will -any other questions? Open it for a motion. Mr. Mayor , I make a motion we approve Agenda Item No. 23-308. Second . I have a motion from Councilmember Jacobus and a second from Councilmember Mohrig to approve Agenda Item No. 23-308 . All in fa vor, please say aye . Aye. Motion and Vote: Councilmember Jacobus moved to approve Agenda Item No. 23-308. Councilmember Mohrig seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0). Councilmember Johnson and Councilmember Moore were absent from the meeting. Mayor Jamison: Any opposed? That is unanimous. If the City Clerk will sound the next item . And before , you sound that ne xt item , I, the gentleman that walked in the door, he goes , "Where is my item on the agenda?" I go , "You're all the way up front. You're on consent Regular Meeting of the Milton City Counci l November 20, 2023 50 Page 50 of 53 City Clerk: Tracie Wildes: Mayor Jamison: CM Mohrig: agenda." And unfortunately, you're at the very end . So , I apologize for that. So , please call the ne xt item. Well , Mayor , we've saved the best for last. It's consideration of a final plat, the developments Heatherton Mayfield Road , Land Lot 1030 , 1059 , and 1102 . It 's District 2, Section 2 , a final plat for 21 single famil y lots a total of 33 .99 acres with a density of 0.62 lots per acre. It 's Agenda Item No. 23-309. And our land development manager , Ms. Tracie Wildes. Mayor , Members of Council , I am presenting the final plat for Heatherton tonight. Heatherton is located on Mayfield Road. It's just east of Milton High School at Freemanville Road. And it's just beyond the roundabout at May field and Bethany Road. The subject site is outlined in gold. This is our sewer expansion map from our GIS system. It does identify the subject site in red , but you will see that the limits of the sewer expansion do bisect the property on the south side . That's identified in the striped arced area. The entire site plan for Heatherton is in the upper right hand comer, identified in red. It is 21 acres - 2 1 single famil y lots , my apologies , across 33.99 acres. The red front section of the development is thin and large so that y ou can see the existing limits of sewer expansion arc , which is identified in yellow. And of the 21 lots , 11 are eligible for se wer expansion. One caveat for eligibility is that the entire lot must be within the limits of the sewer expansion. So , Lot Nos. 7, 8, 15 , and 16 would all be septic . Similarly, the rear site plan highlighted and enlarged shows the remaining septic lots. It also identifies the common detention and water quality pond area that encompasses 6.64 acres. And at the end of the cul-de-sac is the common male kiosk for the development. A few site picture s of the de velopment. They are in the middle of completing landscaping now. We do have representatives from the development should you have an y questions and we welcome to take those now . Do we have any questions for staff? Councilmember Mohrig? Just a question. I know whenever we have a major subdivision , we require a rural view shed. Is that something that's going to be here ? Because it seems like we've taken everything out right up to the little monuments and the fence. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 51 Page 51 of 53 Tracie Wildes: CMMohrig: Tracie Wildes: Mayor Jamison: City Clerk: Mayor Jamison : CM Verhoff: CM Jacobus: Mayor Jamison : Councilmembers: We do. There is a substantial landscape plan going back in. So , that area , there was a lot of underbrush. There was some trees to the east of that site , predominantly pines that we're taking out. But they are in the process of vegetation now. The right of way itself, the road -so , anything beyond that roundabout is Alpharetta. So , at the property line and beyond , obviously is Milton . Right. So , the vegetation is going to meet what we need for the rural view shed to kind of protect as you look into the subdivision because that was a big thing we fought for. And I would think we want and with this subdivision have the same thing . So , in the future , you're not looking straight into the whole subdivision. You actually have more of a shelter along the front. That's correct. There is a substantial amount of vegetation going in , so there will be a buffer along the entire frontage. Any other questions for staff? Any public comment? There are none , sir. I'll close public comment and open it for a motion. Miss Mayor, !make a motion that we approve Agenda Item No. 23-309. Second . I have a motion from Councilmember Verhoff and a second from Councilmember Jacobus to approve Agenda Item No. 23-309. All in favor , please say aye. Aye . Motion and Vote: Councilmember Verhoff moved to approve Agenda Item No . 23-309. Councilmember Jacobus seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0). Councilmember Johnson and Councilmember Moore were absent from the meeting. EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Jamison : Any opposed ? That is unanimous . Thank you. Any staff reports ? Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20 , 2023 Page 52 of 53 52 No. Any Mayor and Council reports? No. Nothing to report on? Does Council have anything report on ? No. All right. Any staff? All right. With that , we will adjourn to executive session to discuss personnel, land acquisition , and potential litigation. Do I have? A motion? CM Mohrig: CM Verhoff: Mayor Jamison: Councilmembers: Mayor Jamison : Councilmembers: So moved. Second. Okay . That's Mohrig and Verhoff. And all in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That's unanimous. I know. So, just remember , it's Rick and Jan. All in favor ? Aye. Motion and Vote: Councilmember Mohrig moved to adjourn into Executive Session at 8:03pm. Councilmember Verhoff seconded the motion . The motion passed .(5-0). Councilmember Johnson and Councilmember Moore were absent from the meeting. RECONVENE Motion and Vote: Councilmember Mohrig moved to reconvene into the Regular Meeting at 8:56pm. Councilmember Jacobus seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0). Councilmember Johnson and Councilmember Moore were absent from the meeting. City Clerk: ADJOURNMENT Mayor Jamison : Mayor Jamison :: CM Jacobus: I know they're out of control. Out of control. Motion to adjourn. Jan , you got second? Second. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council November 20, 2023 Page 53 of 53 53 Mayor Jamison : Councilmembers: All right. So, Rick and Jan are also adjourning. All in favor? Aye. Aye. City Clerk: There we go. Motion and Vote: Councilmember Mohrig moved to adjourn the Regular Meeting at 8:56pm. Councilmember Jacobus seconded the motion. The motion passed {5-0). Councilmember Johnson and Councilmember Moore were absent from the meeting. Date Approved: __ D=......c..e=ce=m=b"-e=r_4'-'--=2~02=3~-----------