City Council recommended Monday that Milton make conditional requests to the State to align with its vision for bridge replacements along Hickory Flat Road and Clarity Road – a next step that could eventually lead to millions of dollars in outside funding.

No official votes on this matter were taken at the meeting. But the Council did offer direction to Public Works Director Sara Leaders ahead of the December 16 deadline for the City to formally respond to the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) on these possible projects.

This Stat agency had identified the two bridges as potentials for replacement. If GDOT would be involved going forward, the City would provide $50,000 for each bridge and the State covering the balance of the costs – $3.5 million for the Hickory Flat bridge and $1.6 million for the one on Clarity Road. Both bridges span the Little River bordering Cherokee County.

On Monday, Leaders explained GDOT’s role in bridge inspections and replacements (both on State routes and local roads). She noted that one of the agency’s primary goals is to reduce the number of “load posted” bridges, which limit how much weight (thus the size of vehicles) can safely traverse them. Leaders went through one slide detailing ages and inspection measurements for bridges and culverts around the city.

Clarity Road is a 25 mph gravel road that carries a few dozen vehicles daily to-and-from Cherokee County across a one-lane bridge with a current 5-ton weight limit. The Hickory Flat Road bridge is 24-feet wide and 90-feet long, with a 35mph speed limit on the Cherokee side and recently lowered 40mph limit in Milton.

After extensive discussion, the Council recommended that City staff respond to GDOT that it would proceed with the State’s funding if certain conditions are met.

For the Hickory Flat Road bridge, those include a steel truss side barrier along the bridge deck, an as-narrow-as-possible bridge deck based on a 35mph speed limit, brown guardrail treatments, and an asphalt taper very near the end of the bridge structure. The Clarity Road request would be for a single-lane bridge.

The City plans to send an official communication to GDOT requesting that all its conditions be met. In that same letter, Milton will ask to relate the State agency’s positions on these requested conditions to the City Council, which can then make a final decision.

MILTON SENIOR CENTER PARTNERSHIP CONTINUES

Monday’s meeting began with Councilmember Carol Cookerly – presiding as Mayor Pro Tem in the absence of Mayor Peyton Jamison – pointing out a Christmas tree in Council Chambers containing ornaments handmade and placed by Milton schoolchildren.

After the agenda’s approval, a pair of general public commenters – one speaking in person, the other through a submitted email – shared their views on the two potential bridge replacements along Hickory Flat and Clarity roads.

The Council then voted unanimously to approve the meeting’s Consent Agenda that included agreements with:

• Maxair Mechanical for their professionals to maintain HVAC systems and provide related on-call services in City buildings
• Mill Springs Academy so the City-affiliated basketball program and Milton’s Camp Joyful Soles (for those between ages 13 and 22 with special needs) can use the school’s facilities, including the basketball court
• Karen Fraser to provide human resources-related services for the City government
• Senior Services North Fulton to continue a partnership in which that non-profit provides lunches, services, and programs for elders at the Milton Senior Center in the historic City-owned and maintained Thomas S. Byrd Sr. house

DEERFIELD MORATORIUM EXTENDED 2 MONTHS

The Council later approved an alcohol beverage license for the new owners of Brookyln Joe’s, the Italian restaurant and pizzeria in the Highway 9 Target plaza.

Then came a Public Hearing, followed soon after by a vote, extending through February 3, 2025, a moratorium on new applications for use permits, rezonings, and zoning condition amendments for properties covered under the Deerfield Form-Based Code. This action comes as efforts continue to create a Deerfield Implementation Plan charting a dynamic vision for this area. (For more on this pivotal project, go to www.miltonga.gov/Deerfield.)

City Attorney Ken Jarrard explained such moratoriums are “very common” to allow governments, like that of Milton, to formulate new code provisions without a rush by developers.

The Council also formally dissolved the Milton Greenspace Advisory Committee (MGAC) on Monday. After voters overwhelming approval of a $25 million greenspace bond, this committee was instrumental in guiding City leaders – and, in so doing, making a long-lasting positive impact on Milton – to steer investments in the purchase of eight properties of more than 400 acres set side exclusively for passive uses.

“[MGAC] did a wonderful job,” Cookerly said. “…Thank you for your leadership.”

The night’s final two agenda items included another minor revision to the final plat for the new private Lyndon Creek subdivision off Cogburn Road. The other authorized the City to join a program so Milton first responders diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder will get specific benefits. The latter is an initiative provided under a State law that takes effect on January 1, 2025.

Milton’s City Council will next convene the evening of December 16 for a Regular Meeting (as there will be no Work Session, as once scheduled, on December 9).