City Council - Regular Meeting

I would like to welcome Jim Boyle with City Church who will lead tonight's invocation.

Thank you. I invite everyone to bow your heads. Heavenly Father, we're grateful for the opportunity to gather together. We're grateful for the staff and for this council that oversees the city. I pray that everyone in attendance exercises wisdom and good judgment and discernment. In your son's name we pray. Amen.

Amen. Thank you. I'd like to call the regular meeting of the Milton City Council for Monday, July 20th, 2026 to order. The city encourages you to review tonight's agenda carefully. Each citizen who chooses to participate in public comment must complete a comment card and submit to the city clerk prior to the agenda item being called. While the Milton rules allow a speaker to turn in their comment card up until the clerk calls the agenda item, once the agenda item is called, no more comments can be accepted. Will the city clerk please call roll and make general announcements?

Good evening, Mayor Pro Tem and Council. I'll be happy to call a whole. For the July 20th, 2026 regular meeting, I would like to remind those in attendance to please silence all cell phones at this time. As the Mayor Pro Tem mentioned, if you would like to make a public comment, you are required to complete a public comment card prior to that agenda item being called. All speakers will identify themselves with name, address, and or organization before beginning their comment. If you have not submitted your public comment cards to me yet, please do so now. Demonstration of any sort within the chamber is prohibited. Please refrain from any applause, cheering, booing, outbursts, or dialogue with any person speaking. Anyone in violation may be asked to leave. Mayor Pro Tem and Council, as I call roll this evening, please confirm your attendance. Mayor Pro Tem, Doug Haney.

Here.

Council Member Brian Dolan.

Here.

Council Member Juliet Johnson. Here. Council Member Jan Jacobus.

Here.

Council Member Phil Cranmer.

Here.

Mayor Pro Tem, for the record, Council Member Carol Kirkley and Mayor Peyton Jameson are absent tonight. Would everyone please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice forever.

Next is approval of the meeting agenda.

Bear with me, hold on just one moment.

Yeah, so we are gonna make one addition to the public hearing. Agenda item 207 has been canceled on staff's direction due to an issue with the applicant. I believe Ken has some comments.

Mr. Mayor Pro Tem. Mayor Perdue, I just wanted to mention that I will be asking for the council to add this evening an item that is not on the published agenda. It is a resolution that I have handed out to each of you, which would be an authorization for the city of Milton to join in a petition for a temporary collection order related to Fulton County Tax Digest and tax collections. This is a piece of litigation that Fulton County filed on Friday. And that's the point I wanted to make, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, in this discussion, is that this just occurred on Friday. That's why it was not on the published agenda. So I will be asking the council to consider this resolution as an added item under new business. that will require it to be added by the mayor pro tem and then voted on by the council. I'll discuss further the ramifications of the resolution at that time.

Thank you. And so we will add new business item 26211, a resolution authorizing the city to intervene in Fulton County's petition for temporary tax collection relief.

For the record, can I just clarify? But the first one that was canceled is the public hearing item for the alcohol business license. Right. And so I just want to make sure that's the first one that you mentioned. Correct. The cancel 26207, and then we'll add 26211. Okay.

Very good. Is there a motion and a second to amend?

Mayor Pro Tem, I'll make a motion to approve the agenda with the removal of agenda item 26-207 and the inclusion of the additional resolution under new business as proposed.

Second.

Wonderful, so I have a motion from Council Member Cramer with a second from Council Member Dolan to approve the meeting agenda as amended. Please cast your votes. And that passes unanimously, thank you. Next is general public comment. Madam Clerk, do you have any general public comment?

Mayor Pro Tem, I do not have any general public comment tonight.

Moving on to the consent agenda. Will the city clerk sound the items?

Mayor Pro Tem, that first item is an approval of the July 6, 2026 regular city council meeting minutes. It's agenda item number 26199. Our next item is approval of the financial statements and investment report for the period ending April 30, 2026. Agenda item number 26200. Next, we have an approval of Task Order No. 3 with LJA Engineering, Inc. for Construction Engineering and Inspection, CEI, at the Morse Road Widening Project. It's Agenda Item No. 26201. Our next item is approval of a Professional Services Agreement with Hatley Plans, LLC, for the 2026 Capital Improvement Element Program. Annual update of the city's development impact fee program. It's agenda item number 26202. Our next item, approval of an intergovernmental agreement between the city of Milton and the city of Alpharetta regarding land acquisition for the State Route 140 at Arnold Mill Road at Green Road intersection improvement project. It's agenda item number 26203. Our final consent agenda item is approval of subdivision plats and revisions. The development is 14750 Hopewell Road. It's Landlot 679, District 2, Section 2. It's a minor plat to subdivide an existing 2.93-acre parcel into two parcels consisting of 1.51 acres and 1.42 acres. It is a total of 2.93 acres and a density of 0.68 lots per acre. It's agenda item number 26204. Mayor Pro Tem.

Thank you. Do we have a motion to approve the consent agenda as read?

I make a motion to approve the consent agenda as read.

Second.

We have a motion from Council Member Jacobus with a second from Council Member Johnson. Please cast your votes. And that passes unanimously, thank you. Next is reports and presentations. Will the city clerk please sound the first item?

Mayor Pro Tem, that first item is going to be the recognition of appreciation to Nan Buckner for service on the Milton Equestrian Committee. Mayor Pro Tem?

Thank you. Council Member Cramer will make a few remarks. Yeah, thank you, Mayor Pro Tem.

Good evening, everyone. It is my distinct honor and pleasure this evening to recognize an individual whose passion, dedication, volunteer service have made a lasting impact on the City of Milton and helped preserve one of our defining characteristics of our community, our equestrian heritage. Tonight, we recognize Nan Buckner for her outstanding service as a member of the City of Milton Equestrian Committee. Volunteer service is one of the greatest gifts a person can give their community. It requires time, expertise, commitment, and above all, genuine desire to make a difference. Nan has exemplified those qualities throughout her service to the city of Milton. Her contributions have been both meaningful and far reaching. Nan developed educational resources to increase awareness of the effects of fireworks on horses and to provide horse owners with practical safety and emergency preparedness strategies. She created Milton's first comprehensive farm and horse population census, providing an invaluable resource that supports thoughtful planning and preservation efforts. She also developed and personally led horse handling education for Milton's police officers and firefighters while organizing a fire safety seminar for horse and farm owners to improve safety throughout our equestrian community. Nan's leadership was also instrumental in elevating the city's annual Meet the Neighbors events, helping transform them into vibrant celebrations that strengthened community connections while showcasing the unique equestrian character that makes Milton so special. What makes Nan's service especially remarkable is not simply the impressive list of accomplishments, but the passion behind each one. For more than two decades as an owner of Milton's only equestrian tack and horse supply store, she has been a trusted advocate and ambassador for our equestrian community. The impact of volunteer leadership is measured by the legacy it leaves behind. Nan's legacy is one of education, preservation, public safety, and an unwavering commitment to protecting the equestrian heritage that defines the city. Nan, on behalf of the mayor, my fellow council members, the equestrian committee and the citizens of Milton, thank you for your exceptional service your countless volunteer hours and your steadfast dedication to our community. It is with great, it is with our deepest gratitude and appreciation that we present you with this plaque as a small token of our thanks. While it cannot fully capture the impact of your service, we hope it serves as a lasting reminder of the difference you have made and the enduring mark you left on the city of Milton. Nan, would you please join us at the podium so that we can present you with this plaque in recognition of your outstanding service to the city of Milton. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in congratulating Nan, thanking Nan for her outstanding service.

Thank you.

Will the city clerk please sound the next item?

Mayor Pro Tem, that next item is the presentation of Fulton County's new behavioral health and human services facility in the North Fulton area. It's agenda item number 26205. Mayor Pro Tem?

I would like to welcome Dr. Pamela Rochelle, Chief Operating Officer for Fulton County Government, who will share more about the facility. Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem. Good evening, Mayor Pro Tem and Council. As Mayor Pro Tem indicated, I am Pamela Rochelle. I'm the Chief Operating Officer for Fulton County. It is my pleasure this evening to share information about a brand new investment that Fulton County has made to bring health and human services closer to the residents that live in the northernmost part of our county. Next slide, please. So with our health and human services planning, the Board of Commissioners has invested over $25 million in the acquisition of a property located at 4700 North Point Parkway and standing up operations for this facility. Under one roof, you have behavioral health outpatient services for children and adults. You have and will have and do have an intellectual developmental disabilities training center for adults. We also have senior services to include adult day health and a multipurpose program. We also have a full suite of programs Behavioral Board of Health Services to include a brand new vital records offering. We also have customer service support as well as a recovery treatment court. Next slide. So now I will just share a bit more detail about each of these offerings and really want to make sure that constituents understand what this facility is and what it is not. What you'll find here are outpatient behavioral health and substance use disorder services, developmental disabilities training support, wellness and caregiver programs, preventative health and screenings, immunizations, customer service and county navigation, vital records, and court supervised treatment for DUI. Individuals who are... faced with a DUI charge. What this facility is not, and it's very important that constituents understand what this facility offers, which is all of these services during traditional business hours and some after hours and on weekends. What it is not, it is not a homeless shelter or a housing facility. So there is no overnight accommodations. This is not an acute care emergency receiving facility, and it is not a crisis center. It is also not a divergence center for public law enforcement or any sort of inpatient facility. Next slide, please. A little bit more about our comprehensive behavioral health services. You see here that we do offer outpatient services for children and adults. Again, we have a training center for intellectual and developmentally delayed adults. We also have reentry and diversion services and opioid treatment. If constituents are interested in any of these services, they can simply call our main number at 404-612-6520 for the general behavioral health services and specifically for the developmental disability services, 404-612-8400. We have capacity to receive new constituents who are in your community. service areas and we look forward to serving them. Next slide please. Our adult day service, so the closest adult day service for constituents that live in Milton right now would be the Dorothy Benson Center in Roswell. So we're very excited that we're adding this additional capacity right in Alpharetta, which will be accessible for your constituents. A host of wellness programs, training for fitness and wellness, as well as computer classes, and other lifelong learning classes adult day health if you have constituents that have a loved one who they would like to maintain at home but they want that individual loved one to be socialized and have some time away to also give them some respite this program will offer adult day health service and it includes transportation and a lunch offering If constituents in your area would like more information, they can call 404-613-6000. We're accepting again, new constituents. We have plenty of capacity and look forward to providing this service. Next slide. We are also offering a host of Board of Health services. I'm most excited about the fact that in partnership with our state Board of Health, this facility has a brand new vital records element. In the past, your constituents had to travel all the way to 141 141 Prior Street for vital records. They now can access those records right at this facility at 4700 North Point Parkway, so making it much more convenient. So in addition to those vital records, you see here a host of other services from children's dental services, nursing. We also have are offering travel services. So if you need vaccinations for traveling out of the country, you can get those services right at our facility. For more information, 770-520-7500. Next slide. And accountability court, again, individuals that may have had the unfortunate circumstance of the intersection with the law due to DUI. This is an alternative sentencing program that provides group therapy, substance abuse testing, and a host of other programs. And so we're delighted to be offering this service at this facility. It includes many after hours components and we really want to see constituents restored and in the community where they belong. 404-612-2400 is the number you can call for more information. We're also offering early voting at this facility. And so we look forward to all of our upcoming elections and offering early voting at this facility as well. Next slide. In general, this is just giving information about all of the ways we can help your constituents navigate not only the services that are offered at 4700 North Parkway, but throughout the county. Next slide. And coming soon, we are... excited to be opening our second behavioral health crisis center. So Fulton County as the largest county in Georgia did not have a behavioral health community-based crisis center for crisis care. And in 2024, the board directed us to construct a brand new behavioral health crisis center that is currently located at Oak Hill. Because of the success of that facility, the State of Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities has provided funding for a second facility that will be providing crisis care in a separate location, but on the campus of this 4700 North Point Parkway facility for crisis care. This is a tremendous offering and impact for the community. So constituents don't need to be transported to a hospital setting. They can receive crisis care right in the community. It will provide crisis beds as well as temporary observation chairs and the state is funding the full construction and the ongoing operations of this facility. So this new behavioral health crisis center will be located on the same campus in Alpharetta and it is an approximately 2.5 year project at 24 million investments. We also want constituents to know that we have released a funding opportunity for opioid treatment through the opioid settlement funds. The county has received dollars to provide programming in communities across the county. And so we invite any of your constituents that provide care and programming for individuals experiencing opioid abuse disorders to please apply for this funding. The deadline is August 12th and there is an information session on Wednesday where they can get more information about the application process and all that they can expect as a part of this program funding. Next slide. And finally, I've said a lot today, and for constituents who want more information, not only about the brand new Health and Human Services facility, but all of the services that are offered in Fulton County. We have a brand new mobile app called Fulton Cares. It will provide a host of information about every service that we provide in the Health and Human Services portfolio, and you can even make appointments through the app. So Mayor Pro Tem, that concludes my remarks, and I'm happy to take any questions if there are any.

Thank you, Dr. Rochelle.

That was great. Thank you. Quick question. Is this facility up and operational right now?

Yes. Thank you for that question. We opened the facility in April. And so we have been up and running for a few months. We invite any of you for a tour. We'd love to host you there for a tour. You can bring constituents along. If you have families you want to refer to us, we're happy to do that. I'm personally happy to answer any questions after today, meet you there for a tour. We're super excited to bring this level of service to North Fulton. is there a way in which municipalities should be promoting these services just to drive awareness throughout the community thank you for that comment absolutely we can provide not only today's presentation for you to post on your own web page we also have other collateral if you have town hall meetings we're happy to be a part of that but yes we will make sure that all of you receive all of the collateral information phone numbers and everything you need to help us promote this. We would really appreciate the help. Thank you.

Great. Thank you for these services. Thank you.

Thank you again. Will the city clerk please sound the next item?

Mayor Pro Tem, our final reports and presentation item for tonight is going to be a fiscal year 2027 budget discussion and feedback. It is agenda item number 26206. Our deputy city manager, Bernadette Harville.

Good evening, Mayor and Council, Mayor Partan and Council. As we discussed last meeting, our internal budget process officially kicked off earlier this year, and staff has been working with the city manager to prepare forecasts for continuing operations, as well as detailed requests for new initiatives. We met last meeting to begin our series of public input meetings, and tonight is meeting number two in that process. Over the past three years, Council has provided prioritization timelines and feedback on topics including sustainability, public art, land use, transportation and mobility, and parks and recreation, as well as existing major capital projects. This feedback has been incorporated into our budget forecast work, and tonight we are holding meeting number two to ensure staff are in full alignment with Council feedback and to provide Council with an opportunity to see the budget in preparation for the millage rate process that will take place in our upcoming meetings. Here you can see our agenda for this evening. We will go over the main objectives for the budget discussion meetings, as well as a timeline for the budget process. We will then go over some considerations that have been taken into account by staff when drafting the five-year operating and seven-year capital forecasts. And then we'll move into an overview of the five-year operating forecast, including revenue anticipations and expenditure projections through fiscal year 2031. We will also have time for any additional council feedback that you'd like to provide staff. The overall objective of these budget discussion meetings is to connect with council on the budget forecasts that our team has put together with our city manager. These meetings allow us to break up the conversation into smaller segments and receive council and public feedback as we approach the military hearings and the budget workshop where we will present the proposed budget in its entirety. On this slide, you can see the anticipated timeline for our additional budget meetings. Dates related to the military hearings will be determined once the preliminary digest is received from Fulton County. Additional information related to the digest will be discussed this evening during the added new business item. On July 6th, our team presented new operating initiatives and capital requests for fiscal year 2027. We also reviewed any changes to the capital improvement plan pay as you go program for existing projects. Tonight, staff will present an overview of the five-year forecast for revenues and expenditures in the general fund. At the August 3rd council meeting, we will have the budget workshop where the proposed budget will be presented in its entirety. In September, we will hold our two public hearings on the proposed budget, and a final adoption will take place on September 21st, 2026. staff always takes a holistic and conservative approach to the budget process this year certain notable considerations were addressed when preparing recommendations which were also discussed at the july 6th meeting these considerations include significant city plans which are currently being updated or coming to an end of their life cycle These include the comprehensive plan update and five-year short-term work program that is currently underway, the five-year strategic plan update, which will follow the comp plan update, and the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which was projected through 2027. Parks and Recreation Director Tom McElveen presented a new capital request to update this plan at the July 6th meeting, and that will be included in the budget presentation on August 3rd. This plan also takes into consideration prioritization feedback from our boards and council provided during the fiscal year 2024, 25, and 26 budget feedback meetings, where we held 14 council meetings plus additional board meetings to gather feedback on those topics we discussed earlier, including sustainability, public art, land use transportation, and mobility, parks and recreation, and capital projects. TSPLOS III will be on the ballot this November. The last two rounds of TSPLOS have passed, so we did proceed with an anticipation that this will continue in the recommendations we spoke about at the last meeting. Should this initiative not pass, staff will return to council for discussions on revenue forecasts related to categories like property taxes, as well as potential reprioritization of PAYGO projects and other discretionary spending categories in the budget. Please keep in mind, fiscal year 2027's plans were made with the consideration of the final TSPLOS II revenues, and any contemplation of receiving TSPLOS III funding will only impact the FY2028 through 2033 forecast, not the actual budget being recommended for adoption. Finally, an item that will impact both the five-year operating and seven-year capital plans is the market study, which is currently underway. Milton currently conducts a market study related to compensation every other year. Preliminary data shared by our third-party consultant conducting the study and recent vacancies in public safety will be taken into consideration when making final recommendations. Data shows that comparative jurisdictions are leading Milton with a high impact in the areas of police and fire pay, and we will discuss this further this evening when we present the five-year operating expenditure forecast. BEFORE YOU IS A SUMMARY BY CLASSIFICATION OF THE GENERAL FUND REVENUE ANTICIPATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027 THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 2031. YEAR-OF-THE-YEAR COLLECTION VARIANCES AVERAGE 3.4% WITH THE LOWER END OF 2.7% AND THE HIGHER END OF 3.8% IN GIVEN YEARS. ALL YEARS SUPPORT A BALANCED BUDGET INCLUDING MAINTAINING THE REQUIRED FUND BALANCE RESERVES OF 25% OF THE SUBSEQUENT YEAR'S REVENUES. Revenue forecasts are based on a combination of historic trend analysis and economic condition forecasts. We will now go over some of the assumptions specific to our larger revenue sources. Here you can see the forecast by revenue source. Current year real, personal and motor vehicle taxes in fiscal year 2027 are based on historical growth in the digest and then applying the current 4.193 millage rate. As we discussed earlier, the city has not yet received the preliminary digest from Fulton County, so these figures will be updated once that data is available. Projections support balancing the budget and a final millage rate will be adopted annually based on updates to expenditures and other revenue sources along with the availability of that year's digest data. Title ad valorem tax or TAVT revenues are based on vehicle sales. The instability of vehicle pricing along with consumer spending in this category has yielded an inconsistent trend with collections increasing by 10% and then decreasing by 1% in recent years and not showing a steady trend as of yet. OUR FORECAST IS BASED ON AN ASSUMPTION OF VALUES CONTINUING TO STABILIZE IN THE USED CAR MARKET AND INTEREST RATE FAVORABILITY LEADING TO LOAN AFFORDABILITY COMING A LITTLE LATER THAN ORIGINALLY ANTICIPATED AND A CONSERVATIVE GROWTH RATE OF 1% THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 2031 WHICH CAN BE ADJUSTED WHEN MARKET ACTIVITY RETURNS TO A MORE CONSISTENT PATTERN. LOCAL OPTION SALES TAXES ARE MILTON'S SECOND LARGEST REVENUE SOURCE. This is based on purchases made throughout Fulton County. Our forecast anticipates a drop of approximately $575,000 from fiscal year 26 to 27, based on one-time impacts from World Cup activities held in the county, which will not recur in fiscal year 27. A similar result was seen after the Super Bowl was held in Atlanta. The subsequent years do not anticipate significant changes in overall consumer spending. Based on recent data, we have forecasted a 3% annual increase for fiscal year 28 through fiscal year 31. Insurance premium taxes are another significant source of funding for Milton. The state distributes these funds utilizing a population-based formula at the end of our fiscal year, so actual trend data is a year in arrears. Our projection shows a 2.5% growth rate in 28 and 29, increasing to 3% in fiscal year 30 and 31. In this forecast, building permit revenues are projected to increase approximately 2.5% to 3% annually over the five-year period. As developer interest in the Deerfield implementation plan turns into working application, these forecasts will be adjusted accordingly. Investment income collections reflect interest rates decreasing slightly in fiscal year 27. I want the assumption that we will have fewer idle dollars on hand to invest once construction on Fire Station 45 and the active park in Deerfield are underway. Please note this five-year forecast has been updated with the construction occurring throughout fiscal year 2027 and the staffing and operating costs for Fire Station 45 and the new active athletic complex on Deerfield Parkway beginning in fiscal year 2028. And that wraps up our discussion on the larger revenue sources. Does anyone have any questions before we move on to the expenditure projections?

No.

On this slide we have the five year forecasted expenditure budget by department. Our team has projected costs through fiscal year 2031 using historic trend as well as taking escalators in current contracts and projected needs in the future into consideration. Overall expenditure variances year over year including continuing operations and inter-fund transfers are forecasted to grow by an average of 3% with a low of 1% and a high of 3.7% in given years. We will go over a detailed variance conversation department by department at the August 3rd budget workshop. Tonight we will highlight some of the more notable items that help explain the forecasted requests. The fiscal year 2027 budget includes an overall increase of 8.7% or $1.6 million in salaries and wages and 12.5% or $912,442 in anticipated employee benefit expenses from 2026's amended budget to the forecast for fiscal year 2027. These figures include a tiered placeholder for market adjustments by department ranging from 5% to 15% based on preliminary data provided by our third party consultant working on an independent compensation analysis, as well as data from our neighboring jurisdictions. You may recall that our current salary strategy involves the employment cost index in even fiscal years and a market analysis in odd fiscal years. So fiscal year 2027 will reflect trends in the market based on similarly situated jurisdiction and those that the city competes for with staffing. These salary figures also include savings from position reclassifications that will be discussed in more detail in just a moment. We are also anticipating cost increases related to health insurance, workers' compensation, and other employer-provided benefits which have been included in this forecast. Subsequent years include a 4.5% placeholder for market adjustments and a consideration for continued cost increases in the several health insurance categories ranging from 4% to 6%. CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT HAS EXPENSES SUCH AS NATIONAL COMMUNITY SURVEY THAT ONLY OCCUR EVERY OTHER YEAR SO YOU WILL SEE THAT FLUCTUATION OVER THE FIVE-YEAR PLAN IN THAT MANNER WITHIN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT WE HAVE FORECASTED A THREE PERCENT INCREASE ANNUALLY OVER THE FIVE-YEAR PROJECTION Beginning in fiscal year 2027, we will also be accounting for the employer portion of the defined benefit pension funding under the Human Resources Department, as opposed to across the departments with employees who are still in the plan. This plan was closed to new hires in July 2014, and as staff begins to leave service, it was determined that is a more fitting expense under the Human Resources Department. You will also see increases in fiscal year 2028 for fire and parks and recreation as we anticipate the opening and first year of operation costs for Fire Station 45 and the active athletic complex on Deerfield Parkway. This expenditure also includes a 1% contingency in the operating fund as required by City Code, the impact of current maintenance and operating initiatives over the coming five years, and the forecasted inter-fund transfers, which include a transfer out to the City Events Fund, which will supplement funding from the Hotel Moto tax revenues and private sponsorships to fund annual events sponsored or co-sponsored by the City of Milton, This transfer ranges from $161,250 in fiscal year 27 to $206,355 in fiscal year 31. There is also a transfer out to the revenue bond fund to cover debt service due on the 2019 series revenue bonds in the amount of $1.65 million annually. And the largest portion of this category is the PAYGO transfer to the capital projects fund that we looked at in detail at the July 6th meeting. The next slide shows the same expenditures by category as opposed to by department. We discussed the changes in the personal services and employee benefits category earlier. No future guarantees in market adjustments or benefit changes are made in this forecast and final decisions will be based on council guidance in each fiscal year. We will further analyze variances by category at the August 3rd budget workshop, but this gives you an idea of how the proposed expenditures are distributed across salaries and benefits, maintenance and operations, and other financing uses over the five-year period. The last item for discussion this evening is related to internal position reclassifications. These moves yield a net reduction of one part-time position and overall savings to the five-year forecast. The official position release and updated headcount will be part of the fiscal year 26 amendment that will come before council in September, but we felt it was important to discuss this due to the impact on the five-year forecast. The internal changes include outsourcing architectural services and community development, eliminating the need for a full-time architect position. This has been underway and has been a success. reclassifying the director of special projects position in community development to a deputy finance director position, and reclassifying the part-time revenue specialist position to a full-time administrative services coordinator position that will work within finance and HR. These changes yield an average annual savings of approximately $85,000 when taking the positional moves and the third-party architectural services into account. Council will only need to approve the headcount change to release the part-time position in the amendment in September. And this concludes our discussion for this evening's portion of the input meetings. And I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. And again, we'll be back for the full view of the budget and the variances between 26 and 27 at our August 3rd budget workshop.

Any questions from council? Yeah, the headcount for the new fire station, would that be accounted for in 2028?

It has already been approved, and it is in here. I'll have to get you which fiscal year it was approved in, but the positions have been approved, and the cost for them will show up in 2028. So you will see fire's budget go up in 2028. Okay.

Do we actually hire in anticipation of it being built, getting them on board before the actual firehouse is built or as it's getting built or actually as built and then hiring the staff? Do we know?

There will be some lead time after that to make sure that we are ready and fully staffed in order to open the station. And the same thing, I believe the original parks manager position was about a quarter before the parks open. They'll come on board as well. So we have people in place before those operations begin.

Thank you. We'll see the variances on the August 3rd meeting. Yes. Okay.

And we'll go department by department and talk about what has changed significantly and why. Okay.

Thank you.

No problem.

Thank you. Thank you.

I appreciate your time.

There are no first presentation items and moving on to the public hearing. Will the city clerk please sound the next item?

That public hearing item is going to be consideration of a resolution of the city of Milton, Georgia, extending for up to 180 days a moratorium barring the acceptance of applications for rezoning land disturbance permits, building permits, special use or conditional use permits. business licenses, certificates of occupancy, or other permits for the placement, siting, construction, establishment, expansion, or operation of data centers, such as will allow the city to consider amendments to the City of Milton's Unified Development Code and for other lawful purposes. It's agenda item number 26208, our city attorney, Mr. Ken Gerrard.

member tim and member of the council thank you this is a public hearing uh and the next item you would consider would be the resolution i put in front of you which would be a moratorium that would extend for up to 180 days now the council will recall We first imposed this moratorium on June 15th. That is a very typical trajectory that I recommend, which is to go ahead and close the door, which is what a moratorium does. Let me back up. A moratorium is a planning and procedural tool that allows local governments to sort of stop and maintain the status quo with respect to certain types of regulatory permitting, zoning approvals, et cetera, while we take an inhale and then think about maybe modifying our zoning codes, in this case, the Milton UDC, to address a particular sort of land use. In this context, that land use is sort of the colloquial data center. We have actually defined data center in this resolution, so we have a very grander definition of it. But the will of the council based upon public feedback and also just based upon council sentiment was to take a pause with respect to land use approvals related to data centers, to have staff do a full deep dive into our code to make sure we're hitting all the right regulatory notes that we want to hit to make sure it's regulated appropriately, to make sure that what is reflected in the UDC of the city council and the community. And so the best way to do this is just to take a timeout. And that's what we did on June 15th. It was a short timeout. That is what I think is the appropriate play. We do a short timeout. We set up a public hearing so citizens can come and speak. Then we have a public hearing. At the end of that public hearing, which is tonight, you can then impose a much longer moratorium when this would be up to 180 days. So literally getting us into January of 2027, if you can imagine what we're already talking about. january of 2027 but nonetheless that's what this would do so a couple things to think about number one again you have a resolution that would that would that would place that time out to allow staff if they identify that our code needs beefing up or new regulatory restrictions there's plenty of time to follow the zoning procedures law and put those in place all the while permitting will be shut down if you want to lift this moratorium earlier you would have every right to do that before 180 days and if we do a udc modification during this 180 day period the moratorium automatically lifts the day after you impose

Very much a prophylactic measure just to make sure that our code meets your desires and your objectives.

Mayor Pro Tem, you do need to call the public in. Thank you. Madam Clerk, do we have any public comment for or in opposition?

We do, sir. We have two public comment cards in opposition. And as a reminder, that will be 10 minutes per side. So just wanted to put that out there. But we do have two.

Can I call the first? Yes.

I'd like to invite Mr. Sanford Roth to the podium, please.

And what you're saying about public moratorium is special council meeting with the public to discuss this very important issue about a data service center. This type of

Data Service Center. Mr. Roth, do you mind stating your name and your address for the record, please? My name is Sanford Roth.

I live in Atlanta National Golf Course. And I came to this meeting to discuss the I guess the, well, I guess it's a moratorium issue right now of the data center that the city council is discussing that is in moratorium right now. So I don't know if you want me to continue on my thoughts on it or are you waiting to have a public meeting on this?

Continue your thoughts now, please.

Well, you know, I'm looking at this, I've lived in this city for over 35 years, okay? And looking at this, and I think a public meeting where we can get more people involved would be extremely important to have a larger showing of the people, the residents that live here. Personally, I was listening to this young lady on the finances of the city, but going forward, on something like this scale, which six to seven other counties and cities are debating about building these data centers, the expenses are in the billions, okay? Not millions, billions. And you have to have certain services to be able to sustain this type of situation, okay? You're talking about three to four football fields on size. You have to have infrastructure in place, which is a very expensive proposition. The only winners I see in this situation are the people that own the property, the people that are gonna develop the property, and the owners of the facility, okay? Unfortunately, coming up with figures right now, if you do your due diligence on the cost of putting one of these facilities in, it will be very prohibitive because the services you have to have, 911, police, fire, water, sewer, are extremely expensive. And there's no guarantee that a developer is going to put the money up to cover all these services. And usually, like Fulton County Stadium, we're paying a 1% tax to have the stadium in Atlanta on our backs as an additional tax. So I think the City Council ought to have time on the due diligence to look over the expenses involved. And one of the things that I really am considering, I look at the emblem up here where it has horses, okay? You don't want to turn this beautiful city into a Jimmy Carter Boulevard or a Mountain Industrial Boulevard or a South Cobb Industrial Boulevard. People move here for the amenities and the facilities. And if you start building this type of facility In this city, the people that have subdivisions around a facility like this, their property values are going to go down, not up. And these people are going to be looking to move out of Milton into Cumming or into Johns Creek or into other areas because people don't want to sustain Milton. a area where their children and grandchildren will have the fiduciary responsibility and the legacy of supporting this type of situation. So I think it's up to the city council to spend time and look at the overall expenses involved in building a facility like this, which is going to cost billions of dollars. And I seriously doubt whether the developer or the owner are going to put forth a 100% of the costs to put such a structure in the city limits. Yes, it'll bring jobs. Yes, it'll bring revenue to the city, but you got to weigh that against the costs that are involved, not only the financial, but the environmental costs. People move here because I moved here many years ago, back in 1980, because it was not a congested area. You don't want to support thousands of people working 24-7. OK, around subdivisions that are being built around this facility, because you want to see people's property values increase, not decrease to support the financial services that this city is going to require. So I think you need to step back. on this moratorium and do a lot of due diligence to see what the expenses are involved and put it forth on a city vote where the people that live here can have some type of input into whether they want to go forward with this or not go forward with it. And I'd like to speak again when you are having another moratorium meeting on this particular subject. Thank you, Mr. Roth. Okay. Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Mayor Pro Tem, I invite Richard Nasnick. I hope I got that right. To the podium.

Good try.

I appreciate that.

I messed it up. My name is Richard Nasnick. I live at 2693 Francis Road. I've been a resident here for 26 years. And I am rising today to ask you not to continue the moratorium. And I'll give you a couple good reasons why. And I'm actually really glad I came here today because what I saw there about the need for additional expenses that are going up, the need for additional revenue taxes going down. You need more money coming in. You need industry coming into this area. And you want industry as the industry of the future. You want to make an investment in the future of our city. You want to make it in the right way. I don't want chicken farms. I'm being, obviously, going to an extreme there. You want friendly industries. And data centers are one of those. I don't know if everybody knows this. We're in the next industrial revolution. AI and robotics are going to change society forever. It's not hyperbole. It really is next industrial revolution. Everything, everything people do daily relies on a data center. This meeting today could not take place without a data center. I've been doing this for 40 years. I've been through the internet. I've been around when there weren't really data centers. And the data centers of today are not what the data centers were of the past. They're not using evaporative cooling. They're not building it in a very inefficient way. Use things like closed-loop cooling, which is like your car radiator. Once you fill it, it keeps running as long as it's maintained. It doesn't need billions of gallons of water. It doesn't need millions of gallons of water. And the new systems that are coming out don't even use water. So when it comes to infrastructure, the modern data center, which is the only thing that's going to be built here, if land is even available for it, is going to be very, very efficient. It's going to do, it's not going to tax our water supply. We're going to use the latest technology, which is, forgive me, I just don't remember exactly what it is, but it's basically a liquid that runs roughly below what boiling water is, and it still cools. This is the advancement in science that's taking place. And the data centers are moving away from liquid cooling to air cooling. Companies like NVIDIA probably have heard of it. Major advances in what they're doing here. So what we have here is the situation where we can bring additional revenues to the city, relatively low environmental footprint. I mentioned water. I should probably also mention electric. Every one of these data centers, gladly build on-prem dedicated electrical service why because the electrical service on the public grid is highly unreliable and it's very dirty dirty in the sense of the power it provides provide and i'll even say it because it's so green this you may have heard of small nuclear reactors that are available today They are incredibly safe, and they're incredibly clean, but they're not the only source of power that these data centers would bring in. But they will bring all of this in at their own expense. So the time to act is now, as the gentleman mentioned earlier, for different reasons. Other cities, other locations are cashing in on this gold rush. The time is now to act. The time is now to let people put applications in. It's time to allow them to make proposals. It doesn't mean you have to accept them, but to put a moratorium in place that takes us into the new year potentially, where plans have already gone down the road. You may miss out on a great opportunity for the city. That's what I have to say today. I appreciate you letting me speak. Thank you. Thank you.

Public hearing is now closed.

Thank you. Yes, that concludes.

Is there any council discussion? Good. Hearing none, is there a motion?

I make a motion that we approve agenda item number 26-208. Second.

We have a motion from Council Member Jacobus with a second from Council Member Dolan. Please cast your votes. I'm not refreshing. That passes unanimously. There are no zoning agenda or unfinished business items. Moving on to new business, will the city clerk please sound the next item?

Mayor Pertin, that new business item is consideration of a final plat revision at Bridlefield Phase 3. The development is Landlot 181-182. It's District 2, Section 2. It's a final plat revision. to add column easements to lots 103 and 114 and the water bill of material lists to the cover sheet. The number of lots will remain at 22. It's a total of 45.464 acres and a density of 0.484 units per acre. It's agenda item number 26209, Ms. Sandra DeWitt.

Thank you. Good evening, Mayor Pro Tem and Council. I am here to present tonight the final plot revision for bridal field phase three. And just as a reminder of the location of this, this is the very northeast corner of Milton. To the north, you have Cherokee County. To the east, you have Forsyth County. In the west side, you have Manor View subdivision. And to the south is the Manor. If you remember, this came to council for approval back in March, and the final plat was approved. This is a large development that spreads over three jurisdictions. Phase one is in Cherokee County, phase two in Forsyth, and phase three, which we are looking at tonight, is in Milton. So this plat is just a revision that's very minor. The number of lots and the overall layout of the final plat is not changing. The only thing that's changing is we are adding column easements to lot 103 and 114. This was to provide addresses for a column sign entry that they are putting up as you come into the Milton section of phase three of Bridlefield. and to add a water bill of material list table that was added to the cover sheet. So these are the only changes to this plat revision. If you have any questions, I'm happy to take those.

Thank you. Is there any public comment?

There are none, sir.

And is there any council discussion?

No.

Do we have a motion and a second?

Mayor Portem, I'd like to make a motion to approve agenda item number 26-209. Second.

We have a motion from Council Member Dolan with a second from Council Member Johnson. Please cast your votes. And that passes unanimously.

Thank you.

And can you please sound the added new business item?

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem. The added new business item is a resolution of the City of Milton City Council authorizing the city's intervention in superior court proceedings to obtain temporary authority for the collection of municipal ad valorem taxes. It is agenda item number 26211. Our city attorney, Mr. Ken Gerard.

Mayor Pro Tem and members of the council, once again, thank you for adding this. I didn't make it clear enough when we began, but this is in response to Fulton County filing a petition on Friday. So that was July 17th. So it literally just happened. Seeking what's called a temporary collection order. This is based upon, it's based on some irregularities with respect to the Fulton Tax Digest. Of course, we don't, utilize Fulton County for the collection of our taxes, but we very much rely on the Fulton County Board of Assessors assessments and their assembly of the digest. And that has been delayed. And because it has been delayed, it could potentially interfere with our own collections as well. City of Milton collects its own taxes. So Fulton County is gonna go to the courthouse and get what's called a temporary collection order to mitigate any uncertainty and to make sure continued funding of the county is forthwith while we otherwise have to get their tax digest in order. Milton needs to join that now. I will go ahead and tell you, the Fulton petition sort of contemplates cities like Milton, cities like Alpharetta do their own collection and billing. But I got to tell you, I want to be sure that when a court, a superior court in Fulton County enters an order granting the temporary ability to go forth and collect taxes in a normal and ordinary way, I want to make sure that we have a seat at the table in that order. Just to make sure that no one can come in later and say, you know what, you collected taxes and you didn't. but I do think that is the most prudent course. What this resolution would do would allow my team to go ahead and intervene in that case. There will be a hearing set within 10 days of July 17th, so this is fairly much a rocket docket. It's going to go fairly quickly. I believe Alpharetta is likely going to do the same thing. In fact, I sort of have a hint. I know they are, and I would submit to you that this is the right play. Just make sure it takes out any ambiguity to make sure we have a seat at the table. Mayor Pro Tem, that's my request to open for any questions. Great. Thank you.

Do we have any public comment?

We do not, sir. And you'll have to do old school. I don't have this. Right.

And is there any council discussion?

What was the agenda item number? 26211. 211.

No discussion. So we'll go old school. Do we have a motion and a second?

I'll make a motion to approve agenda item 26-211. Second.

I was like, I get to choose here. So we have a motion from Council Member Cramer with a second from Council Member Dolan. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. That passes unanimous. Moving on to Mayor and Council reports. Does anyone have anything To report on? Nothing to say? Well, that concludes the regular city council meeting. Do I have a motion and a second to adjourn?

Make a motion to adjourn.

Second. Do I have a second? We'll go with a motion from Councilmember Jacobus and a second from Councilmember Dolan. Please cast your votes. Is it in the system or are we doing it? Oh, I'm sorry.

No, no, no. You can go ahead and do that. Let me turn this on for you. There you go. Oh, mine's stuck.

Just go ahead and hit it and then go through it again. Yeah. Now you need to go.

Water tower meeting.

It's coming. Just two, just Jacobus.

SENT TO YOU AT SOME POINT. COUNCILMAN JACOBUS, DO YOU WANT TO VOTE? I DID VOTE.

I GOT A REFRESH. GOT IT.

THESE ROOKIES.

IT WAS DONE. AND WE ARE ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.