What to expect in 2013? Too much to fit in one letter.

Here we are; another year has passed. Milton has been able to accomplish so much it almost seems impossible we were able to fit everything into 365 days. I know I’ll be saying the same thing next year, but any time you can expand your parks and recreation offerings (and save residents a lot of money while doing so), build a new park, complete your first road project and win multiple awards for environmental efforts and financial excellence, it’s been a good year.

But we’re not here to talk about last year. We’re here to look into the next. And guess what? You’ll see more of the same fiscally responsible expansion of services and infrastructure.

Here’s a very quick list of what to expect in 2013:

1.Construction of intersection improvements at Ga. 140 (Arnold Mill Road) at New Providence Road and Ga. 372 at both Providence and New Providence roads. After years of planning, this year you’ll see the City of Milton begin work on these much needed infrastructure projects.

2.Prioritized funding for a number of public projects, including design and construction of a police, fire and court building on Ga. 9, a Bell Memorial Park redesign and a Deerfield Parkway park space design. This year we’ll narrow down the project list and move money where it needs to be to responsibly get these projects off the ground.

3.Deployment of a severe weather/emergency siren system throughout the city. The fire department will take a multi-phased approach to this project, with improvements coming after attainment of a baseline of service.

4.Continued work on the Crabapple village concept, including working with Fulton County to build the library and instituting our form-based code principles for new construction. We’ve got the pieces in place to build a complete downtown area for the City of Milton, and this year you’ll see us begin to create the space residents want to see.

5.Full implementation of the City of Milton/Alpharetta Parks and Recreation parks partnership. The partnership might have kicked off Dec. 1, but throughout 2013 you’ll see your prices drop for all recreation programs utilized by both Milton and Alpharetta residents outside their home cities.

6.City Council meetings going paperless. For a fraction of the printing cost per meeting, we’ve been able to give each City Council member an iPad. This means not only paper and ink savings, but a fairly substantial environmental impact, as well.

This is but a fraction of the work we’ll complete in 2013. If you have any questions about what’s happening in City Hall give me a call or come by.

Sincerely, Mayor Joe Lockwood