New Milton public works plans await congressional action

In the game of federal congressional chicken over appropriations, funding for a proposed new public works facility in Milton is on hold until a larger agreement is reached.

The town has been discussing for about a year and a half the idea of building a $6.4 million public works building on a 10-acre plot of town-owned land on Sam Lucas Road. Town Manager Kristy Rogers presented a concept plan for a new facility during discussions of the fiscal year 2023 budget. That plan proposed a facility with two buildings, one that would serve as office and meeting space, and another for equipment and materials storage. Since that presentation, the town’s finance committee has discussed various funding strategies. Rogers said the timetable on when the town would begin to pursue the project is dependent on funding.

The town acquired the land in 2018 when Loblolly LLC gave the town 10 acres of an 80-acre tract of farmland it owns there. The original deal was that five of those 10 acres would be used for a new wastewater treatment plant and the other five would be given to the town for a then-unspecified use. Since then, Artesian Wastewater has purchased Tidewater Utilities, the town’s wastewater provider since 2007, and is planning to build a new plant at its Sussex Regional Recharge Facility on Route 30. Artesian has expressed its intent to pump Milton’s wastewater to that plant. As part of a negotiated settlement with Artesian related to that Tidewater purchase, the land originally slated for Tidewater’s plant will revert back to the town, and Artesian will provide sewer service to the new public works building free of charge. 

Town officials have said the reason for moving the public works headquarters is because the department has outgrown its current facility on Front Street and has increased storage needs. 

One source of at least partial funding has been around $2.5 million from Delaware’s federal congressional delegation. Both Sen. Chris Coons and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester have requested federal grants through congressionally directed spending. On Coons’ side, that would be money distributed through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Program, with money accessible in as few as six months.

“This project is so important because Milton is growing, and its public works office is desperate for more space that they need to continue providing for their residents,” said Coons. “It’s a well-thought-out, well-designed project and an investment that will help Milton continue to grow for years to come. Milton is a small town with real needs, and it can be hard for towns of Milton’s size to meet those challenges on their own. I am proud to have gone to bat for Milton in Washington in an attempt to secure this funding, and I hope it receives the necessary funds for a project that will be beneficial to so many.”

On Blunt Rochester’s end, money for the project, $500,000 worth, was requested as part of community project funding included in the federal agriculture bill for fiscal year 2024. However, that bill became a casualty of larger fights in Congress. House Democrats balked at a version of the agriculture bill that included severe cuts to social programs such as the supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children, renewable energy programs, and inserting riders related to abortion access. Eventually, House Democrats and Republicans were able to agree on a stopgap plan to keep the government open and kick the can down the road until January. 

The agriculture bill is one of 11 bills on Congress’ plate that would need to be resolved before Friday, Jan. 19, when the current funding bill runs out. How that gets resolved is still to be determined. The best-case scenario for Milton’s public works building is for the agriculture bill to pass in some form, or for the passage of an omnibus spending bill. A worst-case scenario is for a continuing resolution that would keep the government funded at current levels with requests for projects such as Milton’s having to be resubmitted next year.

Andrew Donnelly, spokesman for Blunt Rochester, said, “The congresswoman will continue to push for community funding because she recognizes how important it is, not just for Milton, but all communities in Delaware.”