Milton council ponders plans for Magnolia street properties

As town officials do their due diligence on whether to purchase 2 acres of land between Magnolia and Broad streets, Milton Town Council has begun the process of determining what should go on that land should the town close the deal.

The town has signed a conditional sales agreement to purchase the land for $1.6 million, with the deal contingent on a 60-day due diligence period in which the town will conduct surveys and soil sampling to see what could be done with the property. 

To keep the ball moving forward, council held a public workshop meeting March 17, to start brainstorming what it would like to do if that land could be used for municipal purposes. Town Manager Kristy Rogers said the purpose of the meeting was to begin doing site-plan work and planning for different uses at the site. 

The bulk of the land is zoned TC, town center, which opens up a wide variety of uses. Two parcels on Broad Street included in the package are zoned residential and have a historic district overlay, meaning uses of those parcels are limited.

Councilman Fred Harvey started the discussion by saying he would like to see the Broad Street properties separated and sold, a sentiment Mayor John Collier agreed with. Collier said he did not think the town would want to be in the landlord business. 

Harvey said he would like the site to be used for a new police station with a town meeting space attached. Currently, town council meetings are held in Milton library. 

Harvey said the building should be two stories with a parking lot attached, and, if possible, a basketball court could be put up at the site. The idea of a basketball court in town has been kicked around before; most recently during discussions of what to do with the money raised by the Granary at Draper Farm special development district. The idea was not moved forward then because of the cost of land.   

“It would be a space where kids can have someplace to go, and it could be monitored with the police department there,” Harvey said. 

Councilwoman Randi Meredith was not able to attend the workshop but did send in written comments stating her ideas for uses of the parcel included a basketball court, a new police station and town meeting room, a sidewalk along the length of Magnolia Street and parking. She said her concerns are that the property is in a floodplain, and funding, as it would be unlikely the town would be able to get federal funds for any project. 

Both Meredith and Harvey said they would like to see the traffic pattern on Magnolia Street changed to be one way in and one way out. 

Councilman Scotty Edler identified a number of needs that could be filled by purchasing the property. For one, he said, the police department has outgrown its current space and needs an upgrade. Edler also said parking is a need; Rogers agreed parking is a need, and what kind of a parking lot could be put on the parcel will be determined by the surveys.

“If we could get 30 or 40 more spaces, that's massive for parking downtown,” Edler said. 

He said it would also be nice for the town to have a dedicated meeting space and not be reliant on the goodwill of the library, Grace Church or Cannery Village to have meetings. 

Vice Mayor Lee Revis-Plank said while the town does need a new police station, parking and a meeting space, she has reservations about the property given it is in an area with a history of flooding. 

Collier agreed with Harvey and Edler on the idea for a police station and meeting facility, and that from his research, the flooding concerns aren’t as great as previously thought. He added that the soil and topographic studies will give a better picture. He said even if the town does close the deal, he does not expect anything to be built for five to seven years, given the time it will take to create plans and find funding. He said the property represents an opportunity the town might not get again.

“Opportunities like this don’t occur in town every day,” Collier said.