February 22, 2018
Last night, citizens witnessed the first tangible benefits of the new composition of Council resulting from the addition of Laura Bentley and Peyton Jamison. The extension of sewer on the south side of Hamby Road was denied. I am quite sure that this extension would have been approved in December–before Bentley and Jamison were elected to Council. Bentley made the motion to deny; Jamison seconded the motion. Council denied the extension. It was a beautiful moment for citizens.
I believe the sewer extension would have been approved in December under the previous council. And in fact, Laura Bentley’s opponent in the election, Mr. Bill Lusk, was lobbying for approval of this sewer extension, even before the facts were known. Last night’s vote was 6-0, but don’t be fooled by that. I believe both Councilmen Kunz and Mohrig would have voted for this sewer extension in December. I base this opinion on their previous voting records, their questions and comments last night, and my experience with both council members. And Kunz’s video (discussed below) provides clues to his true views on this matter. Having said that, I think any rational person, perhaps including Mr. Kunz and Mohrig, would have had a difficult time voting for this extension, considering that citizens and City staff blew gaping holes in the developer’s plan last night.
Three of us spoke last night in opposition to the sewer extension. Thanks to Cleveland Slater and Julie Bailey for their impassioned and fact-driven arguments. We are truly blessed to have citizens that invest copious amounts of time to understand these complex issues and advocate for their fellow citizens. Both Cleveland and Julie do so motivated by nothing more than a love for their community. Following are videos of both citizens. (I am intentionally leaving out my video as I cannot hold a candle to these two.)
By the way, it takes a lot of courage to address Council. A lunatic fringe in Milton, supported by current (Kunz) and former council members, have used various bullying tactics to abridge the exercise of basic political freedoms in Milton . . . but alas, to no avail.
Warning! The Hamby Road sewer issue is not fully resolved. Council only denied the request to extend sewer to the portion of the Hamby Road development where the developer acknowledged he did not have a right to sewer. The issue of whether he is entitled to sewer on the 18-acre parcel that is/was part of the Manor must still be decided. The City Attorney is currently analyzing this issue. However, it should be noted that our same City Attorney advised Council 10 years ago when Council passed a motion to ban sewer in all unplatted areas of the Manor.
Now to Councilman Kunz’s video.
Kunz’s video demonstrates that Mr. Kunz either lacks a basic command of the facts or else he is showing his long-held bias towards sewer . . . or probably both. Mr. Kunz contends that sewer is “already allowed” in one area (18 acres) south of Hamby. This is 100% false. Whether sewer is “already allowed” is the question that the City Attorney is researching and the question the City (perhaps Council) must ultimately answer. Later Kunz actually refers to this 18-acre area as “sewered.” Again, this is 100% false. No part of the south area of Hamby is sewered. NONE. Period.
Mr. Kunz justified his no vote by stating that he was “confused” about the issue. And he characterizes staff’s objections to the developer’s site plan as “questions.” This is a disingenuous description of staff’s comments, which were generally definitive and specific. Staff was clear that the developer’s 10-lot and 8-lot proposals were higher density than existing zoning laws would allow. My sense is that the developer could legally only build 5 homes on the site, so half the number of homes he claimed were possible. Furthermore, the marketability of some of these lots/homes would be questionable. (BTW, I applaud Mr. Kunz’s for publishing these post-Council wrap-up videos, but he has an obligation to not misstate the basic facts, especially in his position as an elected official.)
Lastly, former Councilman Bill Lusk was a no-show at last night’s council meeting. Mr. Lusk’s opinion is that Milton’s development should be “left to the professionals.” Because of their professional degrees, licenses, and certifications, Mr. Lusk believes these so-called professionals are beyond reproach. Well, last night, we saw a “professionally prepared” site plan (once again) thoroughly discredited by a few lowly citizens. And we saw a new city council that expertly sorted through the issues, squarely deciding in favor of citizens and against reckless development . . . proof that elections matter.
Tim Becker
Milton Coalition 