Milton Public Works lists 2024 capital improvements, outlines park, sidewalk and street plans

Milton Public Works Director Madden and Public Works Project Manager Val Buzanov presented a summary of capital projects completed in 2024 and projects now in design or construction during the City Council study session on Feb. 10, 2025.

The presentation covered completed work such as three wayfinding/welcome signs around the city, approximately 340 feet of sidewalk on Nineteenth Avenue, a second sidewalk project on 20 Third Avenue with associated road widening and frontage improvements, interior renovations at the MAC community center, replacement of four garage doors, new chairs and tables for the MAC, LED and focused lighting for the sport court, and repairs and leveling at multiple parks and ballfields. Val Buzanov said the city “ground all the asphalt in place and used that as our subgrade prep,” describing a demo of an Asphalt Zipper machine used on the Interurban Trail that reduced disposal and prep steps.

Why it matters: the projects are intended to reduce trip hazards, improve recreational facilities and extend pavement life across Milton. Officials said the street-scan pavement-condition index (PCI) will help prioritize future repairs and support grant applications.

Key completed and in-progress items - Sidewalks and road work: about 340 feet of sidewalk on Nineteenth Avenue; a 20 Third Avenue project in design that includes sidewalk installation, road widening and a water-main replacement. - MAC Center renovations: ceiling tiles, interior painting, floor replacement with walk-off tiles at entries, three accordion walls replaced, new ceiling fans and 60 new folding chairs rated to nearly 1,000 pounds. - Parks and ballfields: topo/grade repairs and hydroseeding at community ballfields, playground replacement parts installed at Olympic View Park, and ongoing work on a community park outdoor meeting venue (main slab poured; remaining pours expected the week after the meeting). - Lighting and infrastructure: LED and focused court lights, replacement of six VFW memorial lights, and replacement of electrical panels in a public building utility closet. - Street work and paving methods: staff ran an Asphalt Zipper demo on the Interurban Trail with six neighboring municipalities; the city used the ground asphalt as subgrade prep and later overlaid it, a method staff said saves disposal and prep costs. - Pavement inventory: Staff completed a street scan producing a PCI map and backlog estimate to prioritize corridors and support grant requests. - Illegal dumping response: Hundreds of tires were removed from Birch Street; staff installed guardrails and surveillance cameras at the site to deter future dumping.

Council discussion and next steps Council members asked for design clarifications and cost context. A council member asked whether converting upper-field parking to diagonal stalls was feasible; staff said the initial design preserves cost-control and that switching to diagonal parking at the upper field would require a “significant retaining wall” and would add substantial cost — staff provided a ballpark figure during discussion (transcript: “5 to 800,000”) and offered to provide a magnitude-of-cost estimate. Staff also said the project team is looking for grant opportunities but city funds will likely cover much of the work.

On the Interurban Trail demo, staff said the machine was provided at no cost for about a half-day and that the city invited Orting, Bonney Lake, Puyallup, Sumner, Buckley and Fife to observe; Tukwila was cited as an example of a nearby city that owns and uses the equipment frequently. Staff said they will discuss a joint purchase or shared-purchase agreement with neighboring jurisdictions at a quarterly public-works directors meeting.

Other directions captured in the meeting: staff will present the street-scan data in a future council briefing so council can see PCI details and backlog estimates; the park-board will review recommendations to translate three-dimensional sculptures from the 9/11 memorial into a 2-D plaque, and staff will return to council with cost estimates for alternate parking configurations and for potential sign improvements (neon-to-LED conversion or paint/restoration) if council directs funding.

Quotes "Good afternoon. My name is Val Buzanov. I am a public works project manager," Buzanov said when introducing the project images and completed work.

"We ground all the asphalt in place and used that as our subgrade prep," Buzanov said of the Asphalt Zipper demonstration on the Interurban Trail.

Ending Staff asked council whether they wanted a fuller presentation on the street-scan PCI and backlog figures; councilmembers encouraged that a follow-up presentation be scheduled. Several councilmembers praised the breadth of work completed in 2024 and asked staff to return with refined cost estimates for specific design choices in 2025.