Milton Council Bids To Expand City's Green Space

MILTON, GA — The Milton City Council last week approved a contract to purchase another 109.6 acres of green space. The Aug. 6 contract approval begins a 90-day due diligence period for the city to officially complete the purchase of the Wolff property, consisting of four parcels in the southwest portion of Milton.

During the due diligence period, the city will conduct a survey and environmental assessments of the property. The purchase price is $3,835,650, or $35,000 per acre, and if approved, it would bring Milton's total green space acquired to 241 acres.

The Wolff property is Milton's second green space purchase, following the city's initial purchase of the Milton Country Club earlier this year. The Wolff property was recommended by the Milton Greenspace Advisory Committee (MGAC), a citizen-led panel created by the city last year to facilitate the property evaluation process for Milton's 2016 citizen-approved $25 million green space bond referendum.

"Our committee has worked extensively with the Georgia Conservancy over the last year to carefully evaluate and prioritize possible greenspace options within Milton," MGAC Chair Colt Whittall said in a statement. "This is a beautiful tract of land that met a number of key selection criteria, including water resources, natural areas and wildlife habitat."

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According to Assistant City Manager Carter Lucas, the Wolff property includes 6,000 feet along a Little River stream tributary, a 2.5-acre pond, serves as a migratory path for numerous species of birds, and includes a partial soft-surface trail infrastructure.

In addition, the Wolff property is within a regional area where threatened or endangered species have been spotted, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"We applaud the efforts of our citizens serving on the greenspace committee," Milton Mayor Joe Lockwood said in the statement. "They've dedicated countless hours of their personal time to evaluating properties and working to ensure that we're maximizing our limited greenspace bond funds for our citizens."

Release: City of Milton, Ga.

Image: City of Milton, Ga.