City of Milton recently issued the following announcement.
Milton’s City Council offered direction Monday night on two items related to roundabouts – one for landscaping and lighting at Freemanville and Birmingham roads, the other potentially launching an “Adopt-A-Roundabout” program.
These were two of several items considered by the Council in what officially were back-to-back meetings, the first being a Special Called Meeting (at which formal votes were taken) and the second, immediately following, being a Work Session (at which recommendations were made without votes).
The roundabout items were the final two in the Work Session. The first related to a proposal to create an “Adopt-A-Roundabout” program in the same spirit of the “Adopt-A-Road” program in which volunteers from civic organizations, school groups, families and businesses clean up debris along Milton roadways.
An objective in Milton’s Strategic Plan calls for exploring the creation of an “Adopt-A-Roundabout” program “for citizens to further beautify roundabouts around the city.” Monday’s presentation was an opportunity to delve into key parameters for such a program, pose pertinent questions, and get the City Council’s feedback.
Public Works Director Sara Leaders said that her department would oversee such a program, just as it handles the planning, installation, and maintenance of roundabout plantings and potentially art already. Milton currently has seven roundabouts on local roads and three on state routes, with three more roundabouts in the works.
Leaders recommended that, if this program is adopted, there should be certain special requirements for “adopting” a center island for safety reasons as well as requiring the City to sign off on the removal of any existing plantings or items and, similarly, the addition of anything new. There was also discussion as to whether members of the public could participate or if only professionals, namely landscapers, should participate.
Council members and City staff had a healthy exchange of ideas that ended with general support for such a program, even with the acknowledgement that many details still need to be ironed out.
Right after that concluded, City Engineering Project Manager Rob Del-Ross laid out a proposal for the landscaping and lighting around a roundabout at Freemanville and Birmingham roads.
This plan called for minimal lighting requirements (as specified by the Georgia Department of Transportation) to meet safety needs and in line with most of Milton’s other roundabouts. Del-Ross also laid out a landscaping plan including a mound in the center, native plantings, and an oak tree in the middle.
The Council seemed open to the lighting plan. Members Jan Jacobus and Paul Moore expressed a preference for artwork in the middle of the island rather than the oak tree, with Moore saying that equestrian-themed art could be especially fitting given the horse farms in the immediate vicinity
ELECTION FEASIBILITY COMMITTEE OFFICIALLY FORMED
Last year, the City Council had several discussions related to Milton possibly conducting its own municipal elections. A group consisting of two Council members, two City staff members, and two members were charged with exploring this possibility.
During the Special Called Meeting on Monday, the City Council formalized this entity by a resolution creating an Election Feasibility Committee. City Attorney Ken Jarrard explained that doing so brings transparency and clarity to the group.
For example, the Election Feasibility Committee’s objective is clearly stated as being “to review and make recommendation to the Mayor and Council as to whether it is feasible, both practically and financially, for the City to conduct its own municipal elections, taking into consideration cost-benefit, process and execution, liability, and other considerations.” The resolution also includes a deadline of six months (from Monday) “to complete its work and provide a recommendation.”
The Council also unanimously approved three items related to the Solicitor, or prosecuting attorney, for Milton Municipal Court.
The City has historically employed its own Solicitor. But in recent years, the Milton has partnered increasingly on court matters with the City of Alpharetta – including sharing a Court Clerk and a courtroom (which is the Milton Municipal Court in Milton’s Public Safety Complex) – in the interests of better effectiveness and efficiency.
In votes Monday, Milton’s City Council revised its Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the City of Alpharetta to include the Solicitor position. Alpharetta would pay for 60 percent of this individual’s salary and would make the selection on hiring the Solicitor. (Milton would reimburse the City of Alpharetta for 40 percent of the cost related to the Solicitor position.)
CHECK-IN ON NEARLY COMPLETE LOCAL ROAD SAFETY PLAN
In other business, the City Council voted to institute an emergency moratorium to prohibit City staff from accepting applications for permits and other regulatory requests for businesses for which any part consists of adult novelties, books, and related merchandise.
City Attorney Ken Jarrard explained that City Code defines an adult business as those in which 25% of their stock-and-trade is dedicated to such merchandise. So, without action, a business with 20% of an “adult” inventory could be allowed.
The moratorium passed on Monday extends through May 16. The City Council could extend that at a future meeting.
The next item – and first on the Work Session agenda – was related to the definition of an “Outdoor Auditorium” in the City Code. While the term is mentioned, it is not currently defined in the Crabapple or Deerfield form-based codes.
After the Planning Commission recommended its approval at its March 23 meeting, City staff presented this definition for consideration: “Outdoor auditorium … means any privately owned property improved with an outdoor permanent structure used for outdoor entertainment and intended to be used for the gathering of people for public or private assembly.”
One property that this definition could apply to is the Stage on the Green, which is owned by Crabapple Market and in downtown Crabapple. City staff are currently formulating a special events process that, if the Council approves, could allow for 12 events annually at an outdoor auditorium like this one.
The Council engaged in a discussion that touched on private property and civic space, as well as whether there could be a minimum acreage for future Outdoor Auditoriums. There appeared to be general support, too, for having owners of an Outdoor Auditorium obtain a use permit. City staff indicated it may make minor revisions to the Outdoor Auditorium definition before it comes back to the City Council for a vote.
The other item on Council agendas on Monday relates to the creation of a Local Road Safety Plan, a proactive strategy “to make improvements to Milton’s transportation network through engineering, education and enforcement that respect Milton’s rural heritage, enhance its quality of life, and make our roadways as safe as possible.”
You can learn more about this document at www.cityofmiltonga.us/RoadSafety.
Sara Leaders, Milton’s Public Works Director, noted this this Plan is about 80% complete – with the City and its partner, at KCI Technologies, now in the “Solutions and Strategies” phase. These will involve educational campaigns, enforcement efforts and engineering safety measures as outlined in a 23-page draft report. You can view that draft report by clicking HERE.
Andrew Antweiler, from KCI, on Monday highlighted nine of the 38 engineering safety measures. These included things like developing Milton-specific speed limit zones, an engineering review of posted speed limits, raised median islands, sloping the edge of pavement, safe crossing areas for bicycles, as well as using electronic signage that allows for graphics and more words than Milton currently has.
The City Council is next scheduled to convene in a Regular Meeting on April 25.
Original source can be found here.
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