North Fulton Today

City of Milton recently issued the following announcement.

City Council on Wednesday night approved three alcohol beverage licenses for downtown Crabapple establishments, including two unique concepts for Milton.

One relates to the New York Butcher and Wine Shoppe, which combines a traditional butcher shop and deli featuring meats and cheeses, a craft beer and wine market, prepared food sales, as well as a wine and craft beer bar. This same alcohol beverage license request had appeared on a Council agenda earlier this month, but was deferred in light of questions posed by Council members.

On Wednesday, Deputy City Manager Stacey Inglis gave a presentation that addressed those questions and more. She explained, for instance, numerous requirements that the New York Butcher and Wine Shoppe must meet such as that at least 50 different beer and wine types must be offered and that sales of these and prepared foods – and not on-premises consumption of alcoholic beverages – must be the establishment’s primary purpose. In addition, no more than 40% of gross sales can come from on-premises consumption of alcoholic beverage while grocery sales (including shelving and displays), food preparation, and retail sales of such beers and wines for consumption off-premises must account for at least 60% of the interior floor space.

The Council also looked at the floor plan with features like the kitchen, retail area, and wine bar. Some 1,500 square feet of the space’s 2,500 total square feet will be devoted to retail, and table service will be offered.

“The presentation is terrific,” Council member Paul Moore, who as Mayor Pro Tem presided over Wednesday’s meeting, told the applicants. “You guys have done a wonderful job.”

The Council also paved the way for another new establishment that meshes a sushi restaurant (Roll On In) and desert shop (Buzzed Bull Creamery) where adults have the option of fusing alcohol with their frozen treats. It is expected to open this spring in the former Henry and Pearl location with joint seating for both concepts and permitted Sunday alcohol sales.

Wednesday’s other vote involved an existing business, Kathleen’s Catch. Its proprietor sought a license to provide some, but not all, elements of the alcohol beverage license that had previously been offered inside its locale by Milton Wine and Crystal.

All three establishments are in, or will soon be part of, Crabapple Market.

RECREATIONAL AGREEMENTS, LARGE-LOT SUBDIVISIONS APPROVED

Earlier in the meeting, the Council approved a lengthy Consent Agenda, doing so – as is customary – in a collective up-and-down vote. This included items such as:

• The purchase and installation of an asset locker management system for the Milton Police Department to safeguard valuable, sensitive assets such as firearms, RADARs, and Tasers
• The repair and replacement of sidewalks around several Milton neighborhoods, as well as on part of Heritage Walk in downtown Crabapple
• An expansion of medical services offered by SiteMed to members of the Milton Fire-Rescue Department, specifically to include cancer prevention health screenings
• Adding more square feet to the grassy area at the Cox Road athletic complex that will be turfed, which will create three full-size turf fields for various sporting activities

The Council also gave its OK to two “large lot” – meaning each parcel is at least 3 acres – subdivisions, one creating four lots spanning 16.83 acres off Freemanville Road and another splitting 10.89 acres in Hickory Pass in northwest Milton into three lots. The City Code, and specifically its zoning guidelines, defines what the City can do in limiting subdivisions; much of Milton, for example, has AG-1 zoning in which parcels can be 1 acre. However, City staff have worked extensively to try to encourage large-lot subdivisions as a way of helping to preserve Milton’s rural heritage.

Nine agreements between Milton’s Parks and Recreation Department and program providers were approved Wednesday as well. Eight of these continued existing relationships with partners offering recreational activities at City facilities and to City residents for everything from basketball to dance to online gaming to goat yoga (yoga classes in the company of meandering goats). The exception was a new partnership with the YMCA of Metro Atlanta for youth and adult fitness classes, as well as school-break camps, out of the renovated former Milton Country Club clubhouse-turned-recreation center.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, PARKS AND REC UPDATE COUNCIL

Wednesday’s meeting also featured an update from Milton’s Community Development Department, which oversees a wide range of services and duties from permitting to development reviews to City construction projects.

Director Bob Buscemi began by introducing Emily Schnarre, who was recently promoted from Permit Technician to Planner I spearheading the Department’s GIS (Geographic Information Systems) initiatives. Schnarre and Land Development Manager Tracie Wildes later outlined efforts to expand what the public can or will soon be able to find online using the City’s GIS, or mapping, tools; these may include the character area, waste collection days, nearby equestrian farms, or road projects for a given locale.

“Milton is on the map, figuratively and now literally,” Wildes said.

Buscemi also discussed the ongoing rollout of CityView, Milton’s new paperless online plan review and permitting program. The City plans next month to offer public training on how to use this software to everyone from veteran contractors juggling multiple projects to a solitary citizen redoing her back deck.

The Community Development Director updated the Council, too, on progress (as well as construction delays related to supply issues and inflation) on the former Milton Country Club clubhouse renovation and rebuilding of Fire Station 42. The City had sought new bids on the latter after the first set came in well over budget. Buscemi explained that he had managed to shave off considerable costs with value engineering though rising costs did end up limiting the total savings to about $400,000.

Later in Wednesday’s meeting, Parks and Recreation Director Tom McKlveen shared news on high participation and satisfaction (87% in the most recent survey, well over the 75% benchmark) in his Department’s programs.

He mentioned successful efforts to have a unified registration date launch for multiple programs, rather than the previous “wild, wild West” approach of every program having different dates. This set the stage for Milton to produce a Parks and Activities Guide – accessible online at www.cityofmiltonga.us/ActivitiesGuide -- the first of which debuted on February 15 to showcase camps and other summer offerings.

McKlveen also thanked Girl Scout Troop 16217 and the Milton Equestrian Committee for helping drive the creation new signs with equestrian-inspired names at Birmingham Park. (You can read more about that here: https://www.cityofmiltonga.us/Home/Components/News/News/1174/1351/.) He also teased plans to soon launch a new Junior Ranger program at three Milton parks, including Birmingham, to encourage youth to get outdoors and foster environmental stewardship.

The Milton City Council will next convene for a Regular Meeting on Monday, March 7.

Original source can be found here.