Milton — The Milton City Council on Sept. 25 approved directing designers to pursue an eastern access route and a proposed land swap to serve the city’s new wastewater treatment plant and effluent disposal system, and unanimously voted to terminate the city’s contract with contractor Gator Boring for convenience, council members said at a special called meeting.

The actions followed a presentation from Rick Delp, the project engineer working with consultant firm BDI, who updated the council on permitting progress and construction-routing options. Delp said the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) returned requests for additional information that delayed the 60% design submittal by a few weeks but did not change the March final delivery date in the design contract. “We are on target for that,” Delp said.

Why it matters: The access-route decision and contractor termination are intended to reduce construction complexity and lower the overall project cost. Delp said rerouting the access and avoiding a long access road could save “as much as 5 or $6,000,000” compared with the originally planned 2.5-mile access, and the design team believes adjustments made during permitting downtime could reduce the overall cost estimate by “at least $10,000,000.” Those savings and the reuse of materials already purchased were cited by staff as reasons to reconfigure the work and close out the existing contractor agreement.

Permitting and schedule: Delp summarized the DEP permitting timeline and recent exchanges. The city submitted separate DEP applications for the treatment plant and for the effluent disposal (spray-field) system on May 23. DEP issued Requests for Additional Information (RAIs) on June 20 (plant) and June 13 (effluent disposal); the project team returned responses on Sept. 12 for the effluent disposal RAI and within the DEP timeframes for the other RAI. Delp said the DEP process required new answers about stormwater on nearby sod farms that were not part of the prior permitting round. On the design schedule, Delp reported the 60% drawing package will be about 30 days late from the original date but the March final deliverable date in the contract remains achievable.

Access route and land swap: Staff presented two eastern-access options, both involving easements near an existing power-line corridor and one that curves around a pond on property owned by a private landowner, identified in the meeting as Mr. Lindsey. The council heard that the city would acquire an 8-acre parcel in a swap that would provide contiguous property for both parties and create a preferred eastern access corridor adjacent to the intended plant site. A council member identified in the meeting as a relative of Mr. Lindsey excused themself from discussion of potential financial benefit. City staff said any property transfer would be handled at arm’s length through the city’s realtor.

Council members moved and voted to authorize BDI to design the eastern approach and to proceed with the proposed land swap; that motion passed unanimously. Council members and staff said the change shortens the access route substantially compared with the previously considered 2.5-mile route and reduces the scope and cost of road construction.

Pipeline routing and federal review: Delp and staff also reported unresolved permitting questions tied to a planned pipeline alignment near Peter Prince Airfield. That alignment would run inside the field boundary and prompted review conversations with county engineers and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Delp said FAA inquiries raised issues such as change-of-use, aircraft-safety setbacks and potential federal processes that “could require the NEPA process” for the pipeline route if it affected airfield property or uses. Because of those complications, staff requested and received council consensus to pursue a longer west-side routing that stays on flatter ground and avoids the airfield-related review; staff said the west-side route increases pipe length but reduces hydraulic and pump requirements and is expected to be simpler and cheaper to build as part of the larger effluent-disposal project.

Contract termination and materials: On the separate agenda item concerning Gator Boring, Delp told the council that the contractor had experienced delays and had not begun construction on a change order, and that the city and contractor agreed terminating the contract for the city’s convenience and incorporating that work into the larger effluent-disposal procurement would be more cost effective. Delp said the materials Gator Boring had purchased—pipe, fittings and valves—are already in the city’s possession and will be usable on the project. Councilman Powell moved to terminate the Gator Boring contract for convenience; Councilman McKee seconded, and the council voted unanimously to approve the termination. Staff recommended closing out the contract paperwork and applying the purchased materials to the city’s ongoing project work.

Construction sequencing and clearing: City staff discussed possible advance clearing and grubbing of the 116-acre spray-field parcel and the potential for the city’s public-works crews to install some of the pipeline segments using pipe already on hand. Joe, a public-works staff speaker, said city crews could begin clearing and start installing some 16‑inch pipe while the remaining design and permitting steps continue; staff said that work would shorten the construction schedule and produce cost savings. Delp told the council DEP had confirmed clearing and grubbing could proceed with or without the construction permit, and staff asked council members for consensus to prepare bid documents or task orders for clearing; the council indicated consensus to move forward with those preparations.

Technical studies and next steps: Delp reported environmental due diligence for a new site (referred to as Site 4) is complete, wetlands along the west boundary were identified for exclusion from the purchase, and cultural-resource fieldwork found no issues; the geotechnical work is about 75% complete with the final report expected in roughly two weeks. On timing for a DEP permit, Delp described the standard process: an intent-to-issue triggers a 30‑day public-notice period, and he said DEP typically has about 30 days after public notice to issue the final permit, making a roughly 60-day interval possible between notice of intent and a permit in hand.

Votes at a glance:
- Authorize BDI to design eastern access route and proceed with proposed land swap — Motion: (maker) Councilman McKee; (second) not specified in the transcript; Outcome: approved unanimously by members present. Notes: action also authorizes staff to recognize projected savings from the eastern approach; 8-acre parcel swap described.
- Terminate contract with Gator Boring for convenience — Motion: Councilman Powell; Second: Councilman McKee; Outcome: approved unanimously by members present. Notes: City retains materials purchased by contractor for use on project; staff to finalize closeout documents.

What remains unclear or not specified in the meeting: the exact council roll-call vote tally (the meeting recorded unanimous approval but did not read a roll-call list in the transcript), final dollar amounts for all savings beyond the estimates provided, and the precise date the city expects a DEP permit to be issued (Delp outlined the process but did not provide a firm permit date).