Milton committee to undertake parks inventory

The Milton Parks and Recreation Committee is set to begin an inventory and investigation into existing conditions of the town’s parks.

Councilman Scotty Edler, the committee’s chair, said the plan is to use volunteer help with arborist and park management experience to help conduct the inventory. He said as the town continues to expand and grow, the idea is to see what is already in the town’s parks in terms of trees and infrastructure. The ultimate goal is to create a master plan that ties into the town’s comprehensive development plan.

The town’s two main parks are Milton Memorial Park and Mill Park, but part of the reason for the inventory is in anticipation of the town gaining 55 acres of dedicated park space as part of the Granary at Draper Farm development. 

“We’ve designed this as a first step,” Edler said. “The end result will be four things: what we have in town, what we lack but need, prioritize future acquisitions, and finally, probably the most important thing, to create a capital improvement plan so the town manager has guidance.”

Edler told council July 1 that, in his opinion, the inventory will take around six to seven months, wrapping up in February or March. Not wanting the committee to be rushed in its work, council agreed to a July 2025 deadline for the inventory to be complete. Council’s main input into the inventory was for the committee to document current conditions as part of the inventory. 

“This is the first step in a long process,” Edler said.