Milton Council decides on sewer map

A majority of Milton's City Council said Sept. 15 that they were done with the sewer issue that has split the small community since early 2007.

However, Fulton County said it's not done yet.

In a bitter, highly contested 4-3 vote, City Council passed a staff-built and approved sewer service map and intergovernmental agreement (IGA).

Fulton County said it won't accept the map without further review, so now it's up to the city and county to figure out a solution.

There were only nine parcels on the city approved map that required council input based on expert research, and five of those could hook up to sewer based on their vote. That's because of Councilwoman Karen Thurman's motion to service them based on information provided by the Crabapple Master Plan that calls for the areas to be built with higher density.

"Our staff is frozen," said Mayor Joe Lockwood, who defended the map all night. "We need to come up with something cut and dry. We've lost some good people because of this, and our staff sits around and twiddles their thumbs all day."

It was a meeting that saw nearly an hour of public comment, angry public outbursts, the 60-plus people in attendance cheering, booing and jeering their elected officials, open and candid council bickering and at least one audience member sobbing as the vote passed. In short, it was high drama in a town known for high drama.

In the end, though, the results are clear: 84 percent of Milton will remain unsewered — about 20,798 acres. Of the 16 percent that will be serviced by Fulton County's lines, 3 percent will be in the Little River Basin and the remaining 13 in the Big Creek Basin.

As to whether the plan constitutes an "extension of sewer," that emotionally and politically charged expression that's colored the whole issue, well that's up for debate.

If you ask the four who voted for the map, it does not.

"A lot of people are going to be mad at me," said Lockwood. "I do not feel it is adding sewer — it is defining the service area."

Council members Burt Hewitt, Bill Lusk and Thurman made similar statements.

To the three who didn't vote for it, the map and IGA constitute a sewer extension.

"We did a disservice to the community," said Councilwoman Julie Zahner Bailey. "I'm ashamed it was even on the agenda."

Her sentiments were echoed by Tina D'Aversa and Alan Tart, who sent out an e-mail Sept. 16 saying that the city's Web site, which included an article on the decision that said the map does not extend sewer, was erroneous.

According to Director of Community Development Alice Wakefield, the map says projects that have some sort of implicit agreement for sewer service, such as a land disturbance permit for a development that would require service lines, or that fall into a clearly serviceable area, will get sewer. That means staff should be able to issue permits without council input, a procedure that had virtually ground the Community Development department to a halt.

"It only shows where sewer should be," said Wakefield, who weathered a barrage of comments from council over the map.

It might not be what everyone wanted, but a lot of work went into making sure it was thorough, said Lusk.

"Nothing is ever perfect," he said. "This is probably as close as we can get to nailing down service.

"I understand the emotions involved and I respect them, but we're not here to cram anything down anybody's manhole."

Lockwood agreed, saying he woke up the next morning knowing he'd made the right decision by forcing the issue, even if it cost him some community ties to candidates he supported in November.

"I've learned that to be a leader you have to make the right decisions, not the popular ones," he said.
- www.northfulton.com

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