The Roundabout, Milton, GA

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 · Issue No. 61 · 9 min read

Milton just bought the Verizon campus

Plus: the first full Blotter, next year's $64 million budget, and what 23 of you said about camera renewals.

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In this issue

The Verizon campus. Council voted unanimously Monday to buy it for $26.25 million. The next 60 days decide whether the deal closes, and the board that will study selling parts of it meets for the first time today.

The Blotter. Our first full week of police and fire calls worth knowing, by street.

Your answers. More than half of you want at least some camera contract renewals put to a Council vote, and most of you are going to Crabapple Fest for the vendors.

And. Next year’s budget passed, Cambridge softball won its ninth straight, and the week turns cool after today’s storms.

Top of Mind

the one thing to know this morning

Milton's park district is no longer a proposal. The City Council voted unanimously Monday night to buy the 51-acre Verizon campus off Windward Parkway for $26.25 million, the deal The Roundabout reported Sunday. Nobody signed up to speak on the item during public comment.

The vote does not close the deal. The city puts down $100,000 now and has 60 days to do the homework it has not done yet: an environmental review, a demolition estimate, an independent appraisal. If Council votes a second time to proceed, another $500,000 is due within three business days and the sale closes on or before Dec. 1. Walk away before then, for any reason, and the deposit comes back.

Two related votes, same meeting. Council enacted a 30-day moratorium on new zoning, land-use and development applications in the area around the campus, bounded by Highway 9, Webb Road, GA 400 and Windward Parkway, while the city figures out what a South Deerfield park district actually looks like. Staff said no pending applications there would be affected. And Council authorized an application for a federal outdoor recreation grant that could cover up to $15 million of the land and park costs, matched dollar for dollar by the city; Georgia's DNR decides first whether to advance it, with a National Park Service decision expected by next May.

What happens next starts today. The Development Authority, the seven-member board the city will lean on to study selling parts of the land, holds its first meeting at 4 p.m. in Council Chambers. It is an orientation: introductions, the board’s duties under state law, and when it will meet again. The public is welcome.

Sources: City of Milton, City Council Regular Meeting, Sept. 21, 2026 (full video); the city’s Sept. 21 release on the Development Authority.

Reader poll · One tap

Should Milton sell part of the Verizon land to private developers?

The city’s plan keeps a recreation core and has its new Development Authority test whether other pieces could be sold to lower the cost and add to the tax base. Any sale would need its own Council vote.

Yes, sell what the parks don’t need
Only once the park plan is set
No, keep all 51 acres public
Not sure

Results Thursday.

Council Watch

what the city decided, and what it is about to

Council adopted next year's budget Monday, unanimously. The fiscal year 2027 budget runs about $64 million across every city fund; the operating general fund is $50.2 million in revenue, up 0.8% from this year. It includes tiered raises of 5% to 15% based on a new market pay study. The fund balance carried into the new year comes to $12.95 million, which clears the city's own policy of holding 25% of the next year's revenue in reserve. FY27 starts Oct. 1.

Council also amended the current year's budget: this year's general fund moves to $53.6 million in spending against $49.9 million in revenue, leaving a projected balance of $13.5 million, also above the 25% floor. That passed unanimously too, along with two Georgia EPD grant applications, for tire recycling and for general recycling and waste diversion, neither of which drew discussion.

Two first readings, no discussion. The 2027 tax rate and the ordinance taking the Trails Blueprint out of the development code both moved to final votes in a single motion, read by title only; no alternative rates were shown. The city has advertised the rate at 4.193 mills, the same as last year, for adoption Oct. 5.

Source: City of Milton, City Council Regular Meeting, Sept. 21, 2026.

The Blotter

police and fire calls worth knowing, Tuesdays

Last week’s calls worth knowing. This is The Blotter’s first full week, Sept. 14 to 20, drawn from police and fire dispatch traffic. A dispatch call is a report, not a finding, and we write it that way. Streets, not house numbers. No names. Most of the week’s Milton calls were routine.

Two more from Wednesday ran in Thursday’s issue. Every item is pinned on our map. Something on your street we should look into? Reply to this email. How The Blotter works.

The Cameras

You want a vote, mostly. Sunday we asked whether Milton’s camera contract renewals should get their own public vote, and 23 of you answered. Ten said every renewal should get one and three said only when cameras are added, so 13 of 23 want at least some renewals in front of Council. Five called renewals routine and five weren’t sure. It isn’t a scientific poll, just the readers who tapped.

Today a renewal never gets a Council vote of its own. The city says it passes through the police chief and the city manager on its way into the budget, and the contract comes up again Jan. 1. The department’s written answers to us are posted in full with our first story.

Crabapple Fest

You’re going for the vendors. Thursday we asked what you’re going to Crabapple Fest for and promised the answer Sunday. It didn’t make Sunday’s issue, so here it is: of 30 of you, 13 said the vendors, 9 the KidZone, 5 the new stage and 3 the food trucks. The fest is Saturday, Oct. 3. Parking, shuttles and the map are in our guide.

The Scoreboard

every game, both schools, the night it finishes

Softball. Cambridge won 9-6 at Buford Monday for its ninth straight win and a 17-2 record. The Bears host Cherokee tonight at 5:30.

Friday. Milton football opens its region schedule at Johns Creek, 7:30.

Every schedule and score →

The Drive

roads, closures, and what to route around

GA 400 southbound at Haynes Bridge had its two right lanes closed Monday for road work. GDOT lists it as minor and gives no end date, so it may still be there this morning if you’re heading south.

Source: Construction on Road construction on GA 400 Southbound at Haynes Bridge Rd. 2 right lanes are blocked. s

On the Farm

Milton High student Saavan Ghelani built 60 cedar birdhouses for Eastern bluebirds as his Eagle Scout project. The houses are going up around the city now, with more planned for Milton's Earth Day event in April.

Eastern bluebirds nest in cavities but compete with invasive species for natural sites. Purpose-built boxes give them an edge. Ghelani's working through the Boy Scouts to get them installed on city property and private land where residents agree to host them.

Source: Boy Scout’s project aims to house Milton’s bluebirds

One More Thing

Milton mom and physical therapist Alyssa Rives is back for her third run at NBC's American Ninja Warrior. Rives, who previously competed in seasons 11 and 13, returns to the obstacle course for season 19 after knee surgery and two pregnancies. The Milton resident balances training with raising two kids and running her physical therapy practice.

Source: Milton mom readies for third ‘American Ninja Warrior’ run

The Roundtable

  • →Georgia's voter registration deadline for the November 3 general election is October 5. per the Secretary of State's office.

The Agenda

public meetings this week and next

This Week in Milton

the calendar, day by day

Storms are likely today and tonight, with a high of 89. Then it turns: 75 Thursday, sunny and near 80 all weekend, with nights in the upper 50s. Fall starts today.

Fulton County Schools are out through Friday for fall break. Nearly everything below is free.

Tuesday, September 22

Wednesday, September 23

Thursday, September 24

Friday, September 25

Saturday, September 26

See the full Milton calendar → · Got an event? Submit it

Last call: Saturday’s hazardous waste drop-off at Cambridge High, 8 a.m. to noon, takes a reservation first, at miltonga.gov/HHWCollection. It is free and only for Milton residents, and the city says slots have gone fast before. Paint mostly isn’t on the city’s list, but the Cambridge High theatre program’s paint drive, same lot and same hours, will take it for a fee with no sign-up.

Looking ahead: Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails has a murder mystery dinner on sale for Sunday, Oct. 25. It is $185 a person with dinner, drinks, tax and tip included, about $199 after Eventbrite’s fees, and there are no refunds.

Also going on in Milton: AR Workshop Adult/Teen Classes, AR Workshop Youth Classes, Adult Pétanque and Adult Soccer (free). Plus 26 more on the activities page.

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