Milton’s Council Chambers buzzed Monday night to celebrate excellence – first a trio of Super Bowl-winning youth football squads, then members of Team Milton’s City government.

The first grouping was younger, more vocal, and more numerous, not to mention the ones who could lay claim to outstanding regular and post-seasons on the gridiron. All belong to the North Atlanta Football League, or NAFL, a youth football program affiliated with the cities of Milton and Alpharetta playing out of Bell Memorial Park, Legacy Park, and North Park.

The teams honored on Monday were:

• The 2^nd grade Milton Eagles, which amassed 1,888 total yards to its opponents 198 and outscored them 173-20 while finishing as NAFL’s lone undefeated team at 11-0 – the final victory being over the defending champs
• The 4^th grade Milton Eagles, which snapped a Cartersville team’s 32-game win streak in their finals, avenging their lone loss and capping their first season in a more competitive league during which they outpaced other teams by 356-to-67 points
• The 5^th grade Cambridge Bears squad, also playing in a tougher league, which compiled 256 points to its opponents 65 in a season that climaxed November 23 with a dominating 16-0 shutout of a Marietta team that had not lost in four years

Players from all three teams, as well as NAFL’s second grade cheerleaders, joined Mayor Peyton Jamison and the Councilmembers for group pictures.

Before reading a proclamation honoring all three squads, the Mayor referenced the talent in the room Monday as well as how Milton High’s varsity squad – currently ranked #2 nationwide – will play Langston Hughes High at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Class 5A state high school title.

“I think Milton is going to be filled with a lot of championship teams in the future,” Jamison said.

MAYOR TO STAFF: ‘YOU ALL MAKE IT SUCH A SPECIAL PLACE’

After those dozens of players and their loved ones filtered out of City Hall, the Council honored a very different group – those marking 5-year, 10-year, and 15-year milestones working for the City.

Mayor Jamison called it a “special night” for the Council to formally “formally recognize the work you all do for us day in and day out.”

“There [are] a lot of people in this community who love living here,” he said. “And they love living here because you all make it such a special place.”

Those celebrating 5-plus years with the City include City Clerk Tammy Lowit; Sandra Dewitt and Shubha Jangam from Milton’s Community Development Department; firefighters Michel-John Dalton, Sidney Davis III, Wesley Korsch, Travis Long, Roberto Sanchez, and Robert Sells; Parks and Recreation Program Supervisor Thomas Rhodes; as well as Rudolf Cabral, Cynthia Earp, Jason Pannell, Daniel Williams, and Patricia Wolf of the Milton Police Department.

Four individuals, meanwhile, were recognized after recently reaching 10-year milestones with Milton. They are Milton Fire Training Capt. Greg Carter, Police Sgt. Seth Chaffee, Crime and Intelligence Analyst Jammie Peters, and Police Sgt. Chad West.

Police Sgt. Scott Mulvey stood alone in the 15-year category, meaning he was the last to receive his “pin” and join all those celebrating anniversaries for a group picture with the Mayor and Council.

REPUBLIC NO LONGER TO PROVIDE RESIDENTIAL WASTE SERVICE

These proclamations and pictures took place at the beginning of the meeting, after the Council agreed to revise the order of agenda items. After they were finished, the meeting got appreciably quieter and more businesslike.

After one general public comment related to two bridge replacements, the Council unanimously approved the meeting’s Consent Agenda. The latter featured agreements with:

• Porter Academy so that private school’s students can continue to use Legacy Park fields during regular school hours while those involved in City-affiliated athletic programs can use Porter Academy’s parking lot on nights and weekends
• Mauldin & Jenkins, an accounting firm, to once again serve as the City’s auditor -- conducting annual audits of the City of Milton’s finances, with the option of four successive reviews through the end of Fiscal Year 2029.
• Metro Trafix to comprehensively review Milton’s 16 traffic signals, potentially recommending updates to signals’ timing as well as coordinating with neighboring jurisdictions and the Georgia Department of Transportation as needed
• Brenda Holley to administer special evaluations, conduct coaching sessions, and generally guide City staff in developing personalized professional growth plans
• JQ AV Techs to oversee sound and video recordings (as well as livestreams) of events inside Council Chambers such as City Council, committee, and special community meetings
• Pond and Company to continue providing permitting, engineering, and other services related to the production of construction documents for the City’s Big Creek Greenway Connection project 

The Consent Agenda also included a list of City-approved waste haulers for next year. This group resembles those approved for 2024, except that Republic Services will no longer offer residential waste haul services in Milton though Waste Pro now will offer such services.

POLICE SWAT AGREEMENT REVISED TO INCLUDE JOHNS CREEK

The Council unanimously approved two “conflict waivers” so that Jarrard & Davis can represent Milton legally in specific matters along with other municipalities it also works with.

City Attorney Ken Jarrard described a waiver to represent Milton in an Ebenezer Road resurfacing project being done with the City of Roswell as a “win-win” that will not compromise the City of Milton’s interests.

He offered similar remarks regarding a different waiver – this time involving Alpharetta – related to a revised multi-jurisdictional Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding the North Fulton SWAT team. Jarrard noted that, in cases like these, having dual representation could end up saving the City of Milton money since legal expenses would be shared.

Police Chief Jason Griffin then spoke about the proposed revision to the North Fulton SWAT team MOU to bring aboard the City of Johns Creek (which previously had been part of a different SWAT team). Griffin noted that Johns Creek’s addition will give Milton and its SWAT partners in Alpharetta and Roswell more resources and lower each cities cost-sharing percentages.

“We all work so tightly together anyway it just made logical and regional sense,” Griffin said of the Milton, Johns Creek, Roswell, and Alpharetta police.

The City Council unanimously approved this revised SWAT-related Memorandum of Understanding.

GENEROUS DONATION FOR ALL-INCLUSIVE PLAYGROUND

The night’s final agenda item related to a roughly $176,500 donation from Children’s Charities to the City of Milton to offset the cost of inclusive playground equipment.

Parks and Recreation Director Tom McKlveen shared background on Children’s Charities, a non-profit that began in 2012 with the goal of helping young people – particularly those with special needs.  The group began raising money in 2017 aiming to help fund a new all-inclusive playground, ideally in Milton.

Those fundraising efforts slowed after 2020, after which the money raised sat in a money market account earning interest. Children’s Charities leaders, meanwhile, continued communicating with the City – conversations that led to Monday night’s presentation and vote.

McKlveen explained that about $151,500 from this donation can go toward adding an all-inclusive playground at a still-to-be-determined Milton park. This feature will include 60 bricks, five plaques, and two benches acknowledging some of the generous donations. While Children’s Charities figures can share their input on elements of this playground, the City would make final decisions.

The remaining $25,000 would help fund inclusive components of a playground planned for Milton City Park and Preserve. McKlveen noted that this donation counts toward the City’s match for a State grant for improvements in that park’s active component.

In response to a question from Councilmember Phil Cranmer, McKlveen said there is no time requirement as to when the City must use these donated funds.

Just before the Council’s vote to accept the donation, Mayor Jamison thanked Children’s Charities and its leaders – one of whom, Lauren Holmes, attended Monday night’s meeting.

The Council will convene for the next time in 2025 for a Regular Meeting scheduled for the evening of January 6.