Milton’s City Council on Monday is set to vote on reviving the Trails Advisory Committee to offer insights and guidance on trails, sidewalks, multi-use paths and other projects for pedestrians, bicyclists, equestrians and really anyone who enjoys the outdoors.

This is just one of many agenda items when the Council meets on April 25 at 6 p.m. in City Hall’s Council Chambers. Citizens can attend in-person or watch the meeting live online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwDdEFoduU0.

As is standard at a Regular Meeting, the one on Monday is divided into distinct sections – each with their own ground rules. They are:

• The CONSENT AGENDA, which is for routine items that the Council votes upon collectively in a single up-and-down vote
• REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS, the place for resolutions, proclamations and presentations after which the Mayor and Council can give direction to City staff but don’t take definitive votes
• FIRST PRESENTATION, for items appearing on a Council agenda for the first time that cannot become official until being voted upon at a subsequent meeting
• UNFINISHED BUSINESS, home of items that have appeared on a previous Council agenda (under First Presentation) that the Council can conclusively vote upon

Below are summaries of every item on the April 25 meeting agenda.

• Approval of the April 11, 2022, City Council Meeting Minutes.

  The City Council will vote on approving the “minutes,” or official written record, from its last “Regular Meeting” on April 11. During this meeting, an applicant from Mayfield Oaks Senior Living withdrew their proposal to add 4,100 square feet of living space as part of a project to create 15 private suites for residents age 55 and over who need assistance with daily activities. This “Alternative Senior Housing” proposal pertained to a 1.5-acre, T-2 zoned property on Cogburn Road. Also at this meeting, the Council recognized Earth Day and graduates from the City’s latest Citizens Government Academy class. This meeting’s recap is available HERE: https://www.miltonga.gov/Home/Components/News/News/1250/1351. And you can watch it on video via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=latqNU3uzHg.

    

• Approval of the April 18, 2022, Special Called Council Meeting Minutes.

  At the Special Called meeting that took place last Monday, the City Council officially formed an Election Feasibility Committee consisting of two citizens, two City staff members and two Council members to examine and make recommendations “as to whether it is feasible, both practically and financially, for the City to conduct its own municipal elections.” The Council also unanimously approved three items related to the Solicitor, or prosecuting attorney, for Milton Municipal Court – a position that Milton will now share with the City of Alpharetta. This meeting immediately preceded a Work Session at which the Council discussed creating an Adopt-A-Roundabout program, landscaping and lighting at the Freemanville at Birmingham roundabout, and more. You can read a recap of both these meetings HERE: https://www.miltonga.gov/Home/Components/News/News/1256/1351. Click HERE - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvNjnvKSnNY -- to watch video of these meetings.

    

• Approval of an Annual Exclusive Facility Use Agreement Between the City of Milton and Birmingham United Methodist Church to Permit Recreation Programming at the Portwine Baseball Field.

In March, the Council approved a temporary facility use agreement between the City and Birmingham United Methodist Church for use of the Portwine Baseball Field on the church’s campus at 15770 Birmingham Highway. Monday’s agenda item is for a longer-term agreement so that the City of Milton’s baseball program can use the BUMC field.

• Approval of Change Order #1 to Task Order for BM&K to Provide Construction Inspection Services for the Hopewell Road at Bethany Bend/Way Intersection Project.

Last year, the City Council approved a "task order agreement" with BM&K related to TSPLOST-funded intersection improvements where Hopewell Road meets Bethany Bend and Bethany Way. That task order was purposefully limited in scope and budget, knowing future change orders – like the one to be considered Monday – would be needed. This particular “change order” would cover inspections for this ongoing project until it is complete. You can learn more about it at https://cleargov.com/georgia/fulton/city/milton/projects/1210/hopewell-road-at-bethany-bend_or_bethany-way-_-tsplost.

• Approval of a Construction Services Agreement with Gracie Gray Contractors, Inc. for Guardrail Replacement on Francis Road at Thompson Road.

  This construction services agreement is to replace a guardrail on Francis Road (at Thompson Road) that had been damaged in an accident. The insurance company of an individual involved in this accident will reimburse the City for the cost of this guardrail replacement.

    

• Approval of a Public Sector Software as a Service Agreement between the City of Milton and TargetSolutions Learning, LLC, d/b/a Vector Solutions, for a Learning Management System (LMS).

This service agreement is for the City of Milton to use Vector Solutions for its virtual Learning Management System.

The Milton Fire-Rescue Department currently uses Vector Solutions, so this agreement would extend that relationship and the program’s benefits to all City employees. With this system, City staff can assign, track and report on courses, certifications, mandatory training, and licenses. It can also be used to establish a City employee intranet to share information, data, forms and more. Having a learning management system and an intranet are both part of the City’s Strategic Plan (found HERE: https://www.miltonga.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/4517/637514874051970000.)

• Approval of a Professional Services Agreement between the City of Milton and Heath & Lineback Engineers, Inc. for the Crabapple Road Streetscape Design.

Last October, City staff shared plans to make Crabapple Road safer and better for pedestrians, cyclists, and businesses. (You can read about that meeting HERE: https://www.miltonga.gov/Home/Components/News/News/1045/1351.) That marked the latest chapter in a process that began a decade ago with a visioning study and has involved extensive discussions with the Georgia Department of Transportation, which has final control over this road since it is a state route (372). The item on Monday’s agenda is for Heath and Lineback Engineers to work on the streetscape design for this road running through the heart of Milton’s downtown.

• Approval of a Construction Services Agreement between the City of Milton and Big Oak Landscape, LLC for Fence Repair, Cleaning and Sealing at the Milton Public Safety Complex.

  With approval of this agreement, workers from Big Oak Landscape will repair, pressure wash and seal the fence along the north property line (bordering ‘Cue Barbeque) of the Public Safety Complex housing Milton’s Police Department, Municipal Court and Fire Station 44.  The cost includes all labor, materials, and equipment needed to complete the job.

   

  REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS

• Presentation of the City of Milton FY 2021 Annual Audit.

  Finance Director Bernadette Harvill and Adam Fraley – Governmental Practice Leader and Partner at Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC, an accounting firm – will discuss the City's annual financial audit.  This high-level overview of the City's financial standing and financial activity throughout the most recently passed fiscal year (FY 2021, which ran from October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021) occurs around this time every year. 

  Two documents chronicle the City of Milton’s finances for this time period. The Popular Annual Financial Report, or PAFR – which can be viewed HERE: https://www.miltonga.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/5842/637841392738000000 -- is in an easy-to-follow format featuring graphics, pictures and clear, understandable language. The Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, meanwhile, offers a more exhaustive, deeper, technical look at Milton finances; it can be found HERE: https://www.miltonga.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/5844/637841393010670000. For more about the City's financial activities and accomplishments from previous years, go to www.miltonga.gov/financialreports.

   

   

  FIRST PRESENTATION

• RZ22-01 – Consideration of a text amendment to Article XIX Crabapple Form Based Code, Article 6.1 Definitions – To define Outdoor Auditorium. (Agenda Item No. 22-147) (Robert Buscemi, Community Development Director)

   

• RZ22-02 – Consideration of a text amendment to Article XX Deerfield Form Based Code, Article 6.1 Definitions – To define Outdoor Auditorium (Agenda Item No. 22-148) (Robert Buscemi, Community Development Director)

These two items – one applying for the Crabapple form-based code, the other for the Deerfield form-based code – relate to the definition of an “Outdoor Auditorium” as defined in Milton’s City Code. Milton’s Planning Commission considered these text amendments at its meeting earlier this year, while the City Council discussed these after a presentation at a Work Session on April 18.

Although the “Outdoor Auditorium” use is listed as a potential in both form-based codes, there’s no definition given stating what exactly it is. The proposal is to define it as “any privately owned property improved with an outdoor permanent structure used for outdoor entertainment and intended to be used for the gathering of people for public or private assembly. The outdoor auditorium shall be located on a civic space as required.”

These text amendments – and thus the potential of “outdoor auditoriums” – would only apply to areas covered under the Crabapple and Deerfield form-based codes.

• Consideration of an Ordinance to Amend Chapter 2, Article V, to Add a New Division 8 Milton Trails Advisory Committee.

  The City established the Milton Trails Advisory Committee in June 2019 to work with City staff to update Milton’s then-trails plan. That group’s goal was to prioritize pedestrian-friendly access around the city and accentuate Milton’s natural beauty. Those efforts focused on Crabapple, Deerfield, Birmingham Park, the Cooper/Copper Sandy greenspace and the Lackey Road greenspace, culminating in the passage of the Milton Community Trail Prioritization Plan that can be found HERE: https://www.miltonga.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/2859/637329280499070000.

  This Committee disbanded following this Plan’s approval. But both the City’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan and 2021-2025 Strategic Plan proposed to create a standing Milton Trails Advisory Committee (MTAC).

  This item – which appeared under “First Presentation” at the April 11 Council meeting – would do just that. The revived committee would be charged with advising City staff on pedestrian, bicycle and trail project planning and development (as well as generally furthering Milton’s trail-related objectives).  “Division 8,” as referenced in the agenda line, refers to the addition of a chapter in the City Code to create such a new standing committee.

   

• Consideration of an Ordinance to Amend Appendix A of Chapter 34, Article II, Section 34-24 of the Milton City Code to Allow for Collection of Fees to Rent the Community Center at 1785 Dinsmore Road and to Reorganize the Structure of Fees.

At a City Council meeting in March, Parks and Recreation Director Tom McKlveen gave a presentation on City staff’s proposal to rent out the renovated clubhouse-turned-community center at the former Milton Country Club. He suggested that the entire building (rather than on a per-room basis) could be rented out for $150 an hour for Milton residents, and $225 an hour for non-residents, with a two-hour minimum. The Council signaled its support for that approach, leading to this agenda item (which also appeared under “First Presentation” at the Council’s April 11 meeting).

The community center is set to open this Saturday ahead of the City’s Earth Day Celebration at the former Milton Country Club. You can learn more about the renovation project HERE:  at https://cleargov.com/georgia/fulton/city/milton/projects/1254/former-milton-country-club-facility-improvements. And a recap of McKlveen’s March presentation to Council can be found HERE: https://www.miltonga.gov/Home/Components/News/News/1218/1351.