Milton hopeful to award parking lot contract in April

Milton officials are hoping to award the bid for a new parking lot at the corner of Union and Magnolia streets at April’s town council meeting.

Town Manager Kristy Rogers told council Feb. 2, that the town has received approvals from Sussex Conservation District for the project and is finalizing specs. She said the hope is that bid documents will go out later this month. 

Plans for the parking lot have been quiet since June, when council tasked Rogers and town staff with reconciling two designs for the lot, which will have 9-by-18-foot spaces and a sidewalk. The design of the lot was subject to lengthy debate by council last summer, with council members divided on the initial design. Eventually, council was given the choice of five plans before settling on two, one with 39 spaces and the other with 49 spaces. In both designs, the entrance and exit to the lot would be on Magnolia Street. 

The town acquired the land adjacent to the Lydia Cannon Museum by entering into a 10-year lease with Milton Historical Society to use the vacant lot for more parking. Under terms of the lease, the town will pay $36,000 annually over the life of the lease. It also has an option to extend the lease five years. Payments are due by June 10 every year. The town will be responsible for installing the parking lot. In the past, the historical society had been reluctant to use that land for permanent parking, as the lot has had flooding problems. The town will also install signs for the lot. The town has commitments from local state legislators for $120,000 toward the cost of improvements at the lot.