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OKs plan City responds to elections board complaint City for disabled, Counsel for state democrats speaks at council meeting
elderly home
By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com
By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com
MILTON, Ga. — Since Milton began preparing for its first self-conducted municipal election, officials have been relatively silent on the scrutiny they have faced regarding their administration. That changed Wednesday night with an official statement drafted by Milton’s city attorney office. City Councilman Paul Moore read the statement into record at a Milton City Council meeting Sept. 6. Before doing so, Moore described a number of “attacks” on the city by an “angry” blogger, the Milton Herald and others. “It’s been unfortunate that we don’t have an opportunity very often to correct the record, and we’ve been pretty quiet as a city in doing so,” Moore said. “What came to my attention recently is that there was another attack on the city by an attorney.” The city’s statement was a response to allegations raised in a complaint filed to the State Elections Board by Bryan Sells, an Atlanta lawyer who specializes in voting rights, election law and redistricting. “There is no merit to the suggestion that Milton’s process has been compromised, or anything other than front-facing, transparent, thoroughly vetted and legally compliant,” Moore
MILTON, Ga. — A house on Hamby Road in Milton will soon become a home for seniors with disabilities, following the Milton City Council’s unanimous vote of approval Sept. 6. Tammy Urey, with DAUFY Adult Community Services, was granted a use permit that would allow one full-time employee to support four seniors, 55 and older, with intellectual and developmental disabilities at the 5,081-square-foot home. The building sits on 2.15 acres of land zoned agricultural. James Urey stood with his wife, the applicant, at the podium during the public comment portion of the zoning item. He said Tammy had the vision 23 years ago to start a company to help these kinds of individuals. “I would hate to see that Milton is in opposition to something we’re trying to be inclusive to,” James said. The project received some pushback. Around 20 people in opposition, several residing on Hamby Road, signed a petition primarily concerned with the precedent the permit would set for future use. Any approved use permit is in perpetuity, and succeeding owners of the building would be allowed by right to use it
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AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA
Milton City Councilman Paul Moore reads an official statement at the Sept. 6 Milton City Council meeting, responding to a complaint filed to the State Election Board by an Atlanta elections lawyer. That night, officials also approved three Election Day polling locations at City Hall, the Community Center at Milton Park and Preserve and the Milton Public Safety Complex in addition to precincts. read from the letter, then read again for emphasis. Sells’ complaint is not the first notice filed to the state questioning Milton’s municipal election process. Another was a letter sent in August by Milton Families First, an independent expenditure committee which raises money to influence elections. Sells levies state election code for his argument, alleging Milton didn’t have the authority to change the number and boundary of voting precincts. In an interview with Appen Media last month, Sells offered his own interpretation of Georgia law.
“Polling places in Fulton County can only be changed by the Fulton County Commission,” Sells said. At the Wednesday meeting, Milton officially approved three polling locations for Election Day, one in each council district, for its Nov. 7 election. Votes can be cast at City Hall, the Community Center at Milton Park and Preserve and the Milton Public Safety Complex. Before this year, Fulton County provided eight polling locations. In an August interview Appen Media questioned Milton City Attorney Ken
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