You’ll never believe who reportedly supported building the City of Milton’s future new wastewater treatment plant at the East Milton location…well, according to multiple sources at City Hall, Jerry Mitchell supported it back when he served on an appointed city committee.
Since Mitchell’s current wife, Pam, lost her 2018 campaign for city council, they’ve seemingly focused attention on stopping the City’s much-needed new treatment plant project.
It’s very much a NIMBY (not in my backyard) issue for the Mitchell’s because after they sold their home within city limits back in 2020, they relocated to an East Milton home on Cooper Basin, where my family had lived for years.
The Mitchells have been involved in a group that calls itself Save Blackwater River, a disingenuous name, considering how the current plant sits in a flood zone in downtown Milton and discharges about 2 million gallons of treated wastewater directly into the river each day, and the new plant, they’re opposing will not discharge any effluent into the river.
The new facility will utilize spray fields and rapid infiltration basins. However, that fact didn’t get in the way of Pam sharing a misleading online petition which claims the new plant will “discharge into Cooper Basin.”
Any day now the City will receive the final permit needed to start construction.
City Manager Scott Collins’ last day with the city will be Friday, February 23, and retired City Manager Randy Jorgenson will be stepping back in to help the City meet a March 1 deadline to finalize paperwork required for two federal grants, totaling $8.8 million toward the new plant project.
We’ll keep you posted on how that effort goes…
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