News and Information for Milton, Georgia

Tim Enloe to Run for Councilman of District 4 !
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New City of Milton Georgia 4th District Candidate Tim Enloe Hello! Thanks for taking the time to visit. My name is Tim Enloe and I am one of the candidates running for the councilman position in district 04 for the special Milton, GA election this upcoming November. I suppose the burning question most folks might have regarding my campaign is "Why vote for Tim Enloe instead of someone else?" That is a great question and I hope that I can give you some good reasons to justify your vote and support.

First off, I thought it might be best to tell you about myself. I am a 28 year resident of the area / city. This past July, I celebrated my 36th birthday. My family moved to Bethany Road from Dunwoody in 1978 when I was just eight years old. At that time, the "Alpharetta Area" was compromised of roughly 3,500 to 4,000 residents; a far cry from the 23,000 plus who call Milton home today. Needless to say, I have many wonderful memories from those days of innocent youth. It was not uncommon for my dog Sarah B. and I to jump a barbed wire fence here or there to go fishing or hiking. Another fun thing to do was to bike up to Crabapple Corners with my siblings and friends for a soda and candy. These wonderful memories will resonate in my heart forever. I believe your family can have such hometown experiences as well; all we have to do is use patience, focus, and understanding.

I attended Alpharetta Elementary, Haynes Bridge Middle School, and then graduated from Milton High School in 1989. College came to me in the form of Young Harris College in the North, GA Mountains and then Kennesaw State University where I attained a B.A. in Communications and a minor in Southern History. Since that time, my energies have steered me towards the wonderful world of E-Commerce. Earlier this year, my wife and I along with some business partners created Magnolia Media, LLC; an online advertising company.

Today, I live on Bethany Road with my wife and high school sweetheart, Ginger and our two pups; Caesar and Sydney. My mother Pat Enloe still lives in the home that I was raised in just a couple of doors down. With any campaign, candidates are supposed to relay their vision of what can be as well as their opinion on current concerns / problems. Here is mine:

My Vision for Milton, GA:

My vision for Milton, GA is very simple: A Rockwellian township with a Mayberryesque feel. If our eventual look and feel is to become synonymous with surrounding cities, then why did we incorporate in the first place? What was the point if the ideology was the same? People tend to flock to and respect cities that are unique and forget those that are not. Such cities also tend to harbor higher property values than surrounding areas. Today, Milton, GA is home to some of metro Atlanta's most beautiful golf courses. In addition, not one metro city can hold a flame to our equestrian air. These characteristics should be encouraged, protected, and nurtured for the benefit of all. There are more horses in the city of Milton than in the city of Alpharetta, yet Alpharetta yields such taxable activities due to the Wills Park Equestrian center. Golf is one of the fastest growing sports in the country and we currently have eight fantastic courses; yet Milton is not known as a competition Golf Tournament city. These are not only two great avenues for taxable revenue, but also a great way to define Milton, GA from others.

On Residential Growth:

The subject of growth is always a delicate matter; a balancing act if you will. I have heard many times that the city of Milton " only has 23,000 residents in 44 square miles" and that we have "plenty of room to grow." Do the math; that is 522.72 residents per square mile. I don't find such numbers small at all. I actually find them pretty healthy. If our residents wanted high density, they would have chosen a city such as Johns Creek to reside. They didn't - they chose Milton. These factors are also NOT considering land already utilized by new communities or businesses. I do encourage some growth with very specific guidelines. This aspect of a city not only has an impact on our green space, but it also affects our roads, schools, and our very way of life. Too many times, politicians focus on getting more people to move to a certain area and less time working for those already living there. I plan on being the exact opposite. My primary concern is for our current population and how those elected can make life in Milton that much better for all. Here are a few ideas that we could consider regarding new development:

1. Minimum lot size of acre plus per dwelling. Both Trotters Ridge, Champions View, and Brittle Road harbor properties of this caliber. In the long run, there would be less of a negative impact on our current citizens, our infrastructure, and public services.
2. For each five acres of land developed, the developer agrees to set aside one acre of land for green space.
3. A developer is allowed to utilize all land of a certain parcel but is required to contribute funds towards land that will be used for parks / green space either in that development or another area within Milton.

On Commercial Growth:

It is not realistic to believe that Milton, GA will be immune to some commercial growth. However, I have no desire to see our landscape scarred with strip centers at every intersection. Provided we keep our population in check, there wouldn't be a need anyway. We currently house two "commercial" areas; that of the Crabapple & Birmingham Crossroads. These areas need to have architecture that follows strict guidelines; a rustic "Milton" look if you will. Our city is home to many business owners who headquarter their companies out of Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, as well as other surrounding areas. We need to encourage such citizens to set up shop in their hometown within the areas referenced above. By doing so, we keep more of that tax money here and I doubt these folks would mind a smaller commute. Even with all of the above, our taxable commercial base will still be low compared to others. To balance that concern and keep that promise of no higher taxes, we must look outside of the box...

On Taking Full Advantage Of Our Character:

As referenced earlier, Milton has many unique characteristics that no other local cities can boasts. We have equestrian, golfing, cycling, and others; all of which need to be taken full advantage of. The sooner we court such tournaments; the sooner we bring in those much needed tax dollars that would normally come from the commercial industry. By utilizing our flavor for profitable gain, all benefit in the long run and we keep and protect what is true to ourselves; our unique character.

On Parks:

As many of the surrounding cities grew, they put such wonderful aspects of recreational parks on the back burner.When all was said and done, there was little or no land left to pursue for such purposes and everyone lost. Milton has the opportunity to become THE CITY when it comes to recreation parks / functions and lots of them. We havemore Equestrian properties than any North Metro city and yet we don't even have a park to show off this wonderful fact. Recreation fields are at a minimum; one of which is owned by the city of Alpharetta. You get the point. How we would fund our Milton Parks system is a definite concern. Here are some suggestions to consider:

1. Create an aggressive campaign for sponsors to donate monies to our park system. Make this department a priority.
2. Channel some of the money generated from our tournaments.
3. Fees received from softball, soccer, golf, cycling, equestrian, and other recreational events.

On Traffic:

I never have understood why the powers that be approve more construction when the road system can't handle the current load. This action shows no concern whatsoever for the citizens residing there. I am also not an advocate of road widening or turn lane construction. Such actions will affect some of our residents in a negative manner; they will lose some of their property through no fault of their own. When this action transpires, it is not uncommon to see that resident selling which in turn can lead to a domino effect with others following suite. The above scenario relays the prefect ingredients for SPRAWL and everyone suffers in the long run.

I have had the honor of getting to know two veteran North Fulton Police Officers over the years; Officer Greg Warren and Officer Trey Farran. In speaking with these two public servants, I have received quite an education regarding the problems of traffic as well as the remedies for it. From their knowledge, I have become a big advocate of a traffic light / camera enforcement system in areas that are experiencing severe congestion. Hopefully, this type of set up would alleviate some of the problems our citizens deal with daily and allow our officers an additional enforcement tool.

Speeding in our communities as well as on our two lane roads is a daily problem. I worked with the Fulton County Police, Fulton County public works, and my neighbors in addressing this problem on Bethany Road. Speeds in excess of 70 mph in our 35 mph zone were clocked on a regular basis. Many of these individuals are commuters from areas outside of Milton. By having an enforceable citywide speed limit, our citizens are safer. In addition, some of the revenue generated from citations can be channeled to cover some of our emergency services costs. This action would also help in keeping the promise of no higher taxes a reality.

On Police, Fire, and Public Works:

These departments are essential to the success or failure of a city. Those in such positions protect us, support us, and encourage us and are always ready, willing, and able. I want the best of the best for Milton and believe we must implement impressive employment packages to make that happen. I have no desire for other cites to land that officer or that firemen or that public works official because Milton wouldn't make it happen. We can and we will.

I also believe that we will need to consult with all of these departments in regards to possible changes that might come to our city. Who better to provide input that those who work the streets everyday? These public servants can provide our citizens with insight that very few can challenge and their experience is undeniable.

In Closing:

I want to thank you for taking the time to read about myself and the vision I have for Milton, GA. Life is full of unexpected change and those given power must be able to steer such facts in the right direction for the betterment of our entire community; from White Columns to Providence Road. However, our city is at a crossroads. We can either succumb to the monotony of sprawl or we can truly become something unique. The choice is up to you.