Milton public safety officials weigh in on Granary annexation

Milton’s police chief has estimated that over the proposed 20-year development of the Granary at Draper Farms on Sand Hill Road, the town will need to add six new police officers to service an area that would eventually add 1,350 residential units to the town.

Chief Derrick Harvey told the special review committee Aug. 25 that the department would need two to three people per shift to serve the Granary development. He also encouraged the use of security cameras in the neighborhood’s central park area and around an underground tunnel proposed to run under Sand Hill Road to connect the Granary to the existing Rails to Trails. Harvey said speed limits on Sand Hill Road in that area should be dropped, along with the installation of a traffic signal or circle at Sand Hill Road and Lavinia Street. He also suggested truck routes should be changed to not include Sand Hill Road but instead use Gravel Hill Road up to Route 9. 

Developer Convergence Communities has proposed annexing 450 acres between Sand Hill Road and Gravel Hill Road into Milton and building a community that would be called The Granary at Draper Farms, so named because the land has been owned by the Draper family for 80 years. Convergence Communities has proposed phasing in the proposed 1,350 units over a 20-year span. Besides residential units, the development would also include public parks, a public walking trail and space for light commercial activity. Convergence Communities has requested a zoning of R-2 residential with a large-parcel development overlay, which would allow for more freedom in how the parcel looks and is developed. 

The committee is taking expert and public testimony to help develop a report to Milton Town Council as to whether it should annex the land. Previous meetings featured presentations by Colby Cox, head of Convergence Communities, and utility providers including Delaware Electric Co-op, the town and Tidewater Utilities. The Aug. 25 meeting was focused on public safety, with testimony from Harvey and Fire Chief Johnny Hopkins. 

Milton Police Department currently has eight full-time officers and one part-time officer. Town council has proposed adding at least one more officer in the fiscal year 2022 budget. Harvey said by adding six officers over the course of the lifespan of development, the department can have adequate coverage for both sides of town. One idea bandied about during the committee hearing was that of adding a new officer every three years, which would cover the life of the Granary build-out, although it wouldn’t cover for retirements of current officers. Harvey said it would cost $30,000 to $40,000 to train and outfit a new officer, in addition to having one car per officer. He said grant funding help is available from the state and occasionally the federal government for new equipment, which can help ease the burden on Milton taxpayers.  

“If we plan correctly now, in the future we can be better prepared when this comes around,” Harvey said. 

The town does have a tax mechanism in place that would allow it to tax the development at a higher rate to pay for services needed for the Granary, in addition to typical general fund revenues from things like property and transfer taxes.

On the fire department’s end, Hopkins said the main issues in serving the development are people and equipment. Milton is an all-volunteer department, and it will need more of both with so many new units coming in. He said the main impediment in recruiting volunteers is the time commitment required for being a firefighter. 

Hopkins said the department has had discussions with Convergence Communities representatives about having some sort of storage facility there for fire equipment, since the development is on the other side of town from the department’s main station on Front Street. He said the cost of equipment is significant; fire trucks can run around $600,000 to $700,000 and even more. Gear is around $5,000 for just one firefighter; radios are $5,000; air-safety packs are $4,000. Hopkins said the department does get funding from the state and the county, although overall funding is split with all other fire departments in the state and county. All this is in addition to the $4 million the department recently spent on renovating the Front Street station. 

“We need help; we’re going to need help for this development,” he said. 

The committee’s next meeting is set for 2 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 7, at Milton library. The focus of discussion will be on the town’s public works and utilities with testimony from Public Works Director Greg Wingo.