Milton moves forward with cell tower

After a years-long wait, Verizon finally has its building permit to construct a 140-foot cell tower at Milton’s public works yard on Front Street.

Project Manager Tom Quass said Verizon is free to start construction at anytime, but his understanding is that building will start toward the end of the year.

Verizon first proposed building the tower back in March 2019, and in December of that year, town council approved a land-lease agreement with the company that would allow it to build a new tower at the town’s public works yard at 210 Front St. The justification from Verizon has always been that a freestanding tower is the best way to provide improved coverage in the Milton area. Plans for the tower immediately became controversial, with citizens saying a tower would be an eyesore in what the comprehensive plan calls a gateway to the town, and because the tower would reside in a flood zone.

A special-use permit was granted in March 2021, which was appealed by resident Barry Goodinson a month later. Council affirmed the permit in August 2021. Preliminary site plans were approved by planning and zoning in November 2021. That approval was also appealed, this time by resident Allan Benson. Town council again ruled in Verizon’s favor. Council approved final site plans for the tower in March 2023. Milton resident Steve Crawford appealed final site-plan approval to Delaware Superior Court in April 2023, and the case was dismissed in January.

Parking resolutions passed

Milton Town Council passed two resolutions regarding parking impact fees, sending the matters to the town’s finance committee for review, but not without objection to the proposals from organizations that would be affected.

While the finance committee has not yet announced any meetings to begin discussing the two proposals, the committee will have until Monday, Feb. 3, to deliver a report. 

Town council told citizens during its Sept. 9 meeting that just because the items are being discussed, that doesn’t mean they will be implemented, and the committee will have the authority to not recommend moving forward.

The first resolution regarding parking is asking the finance committee to perform an analysis on revenue impacts of a parking impact fee of $1 per ticket sold for any show or event held within Milton town limits. This would include, but not be limited to, ticketed events at Milton Theatre, Milton Historical Society’s bus tours and Milton Garden Club’s garden tours. 

The committee will be asked to develop a proposal to enact the fee by ordinance, which would be added to the town’s fee schedule, with the fee to be paid to the town at the end of each quarter. The resolution specifies an exception for entities that provide their own parking on their property, such as Dogfish Head and Milton Fire Department. 

The second parking resolution would task the finance committee with an analysis of possible revenue that could be raised by a parking impact fee to all sales via retail merchant and/or hospitality establishment of one-half of 1% of gross sales. The committee would also develop ordinance language for such a fee that would be paid to the town every quarter.

At the Sept. 9 meeting, Milton Theatre Marketing Director JP Lacap said the theater strongly opposes the proposed parking impact fee. Members of the Milton Garden Club also expressed concerns about the fee, saying it could negatively affect events for what is a nonprofit organization. Councilman Larry Savage, who chairs the finance committee, and Mayor John Collier encouraged representatives from both organizations to attend the committee’s discussions and provide input. 

Meanwhile, the idea of metered parking in downtown Milton is still being explored. 

In a 2022 report by an ad hoc parking committee, one of the long-term recommendations was to explore the possibility of installing parking meters with two-hour limits on Union and Federal streets from Broad Street to Mill Street. The idea would be to use the funds raised to build a parking facility in town. Meters would utilize a parking app, such as ParkMobile, which is used in Lewes, Georgetown and Rehoboth Beach.

Town Manager Kristy Rogers and Vice Mayor Lee Revis-Plank, who chaired the ad hoc committee, have been meeting with representatives from parking app Flowbird. Nothing has been decided at this time and meetings are still ongoing. Revis-Plank said the possibility of metered parking in town is still being investigated.