Milton’s City Council on Wednesday moved forward with a key step needed to secure substantial federal funding to create a roundabout at the intersection of Crabapple and Green roads.

For years, the City has worked closely with the Georgia Department of Transportation (a necessity since Crabapple Road, at that point, is also State Route 372) to explore how to improve safety and alleviate back-ups at that southern Milton intersection. This includes agreeing to add a traffic signal on a temporary basis, which Deputy Public Works Director Rob Dell-Ross said GDOT will pay for and should be installed in the coming weeks.

Long-term, the City has advocated – and gotten the State agency’s approval – for constructing a new roundabout at that intersection.

Dell-Ross said Wednesday that such a roundabout should decrease the frequency and severity of crashes, especially for those turning left from Green Road onto Crabapple.

Wednesday’s vote authorized City staff to submit an application to the Atlanta Regional Commission so Milton can pursue federal funding for this roundabout project’s preliminary engineering phase. The City is seeking $1 million from the federal government, with its required 20% match coming out of TSPLOST funds.

The Council unanimously approved the request.

“As someone who passes and traverses that every day, it is well needed,” Councilmember Brian Dolan said of the planned improvements. “So I’m glad we’re getting to a resolution on this.”

AGREEMENTS TO REFINISH GYM FLOORS, PROVIDE JANITORIAL SERVICES

This Crabapple/Green discussion and vote came at the end of a meeting that began with a general public comment from a citizen recommending a pedestrian-focused improvement along Morris Road. The Council then approved the meeting’s Consent Agenda, which included agreements between the City and:

• Stevens Gymnasiums to do the annual refinishing of basketball courts at Hopewell Middle School, Mill Springs Academy, and Northwestern Middle School that Milton’s Parks and Recreation-affiliated basketball program uses for games and practices
• The Georgia Department of Transportation to allow the City to access federal funding for the multi-faceted Big Creek Greenway Trail Connection project, which will make it safer and more efficient for pedestrians to go to-and-from the Cambridge High School area and the Big Creek Greenway
• American Facility Services to provide janitorial services at City facilities such as City Hall, Milton Police headquarters, Milton Municipal Court, fire stations, as well as several park facilities and community buildings

2026 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE PROCESS KICKS OFF

The creation of Milton’s 2026 Comprehensive Plan Update kicked off on Wednesday night, with an overview of this process to revamp this pivotal guiding document. This presentation came as part of a Public Hearing, in accordance with State of Georgia requirements that every participating municipality and county must follow.

Local governments must update their comprehensive plans every five years. The City produced an in-depth Comprehensive Plan in 2021 that outlined a community-driven vision for what Milton should look and feel like in 20 years, as well as priority projects (in the form of a “short-term work program”) to get the City closer to that goal.

What will happen this cycle in Milton “is more of a status check” than a wholesale rewrite, explained Jon Tuley from the City’s partner at Kimley-Horn. In its 2026 Update, the City will incorporate elements of separately, recently approved plans (such as those for the Arnold Mill and Deerfield areas), as well as specify a list of priority projects for the City to focus on over the next five years.

A 16-member Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee will help steer the creation of this update, holding their first of five meetings (starting at 4 p.m.) on February 5. There also will be a public “open house” in early summer. The City already has a webpage – accessible at www.miltonga.gov/2026CompPlanUpdate – where people can learn about what’s involved in this Comprehensive Plan update, see meeting schedules, view supporting plans, as well as share opinions, insights, and questions.

The timetable calls for the Council to consider a draft 2026 Comprehensive Plan Update this summer, submitting it to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for review. There then should be a City Council vote in October on officially adopting this document.

FUNDING TIED TO COX ROAD ROUNDABOUT PROJECT APPROVED

Also on Wednesday, the Council voted to approve a “blanket” amount of funding to acquire right-of-way land and easements needed to build a new oval-shaped roundabout where Cox Road meets Etris and Ebenezer roads.

Milton has been working with its colleagues in Roswell on ways to enhance safety and alleviate congestion along Cox Road. These efforts spurred plans to create a pair of Cox Road roundabouts, with the other being at King Road. (More information can be found at www.miltonga.gov/CoxRoad.)

That collaboration is necessary since these intersections touch parts of both cities. For example, Wednesday’s vote allocated funding for Milton to acquire land from two parcels; Roswell, meanwhile, is responsible for doing the same for five other parcels.

The funding amount approved Wednesday covers the fair market value of impacted land under Milton’s purview. The Council will only be involved further if more money is needed.

The meeting ended with City Manager Steven Krokoff updating the Council on the City’s proactive preparations for the wintry weather predicted this weekend. He said that Milton is “well positioned” to deal with this storm, which could feature freezing rain, icy roads, fallen tree limbs, and power outages.

The City Council’s next Regular Meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 2.