MILTON — Resident Robert Little approached the City Council at Monday’s Executive Committee Meeting to request the use of the city’s lobbyist.
Little’s home is located on Locklin Lake, a body of water positioned between Dogwood Drive and Park Avenue in Milton. He and other residents from his neighborhood joined forces to attempt to remedy the pollution that has affected the lake over the past several years.
“Locklin Lake is a retention pond,” Little said. “It’s not a lake, it’s not a pond, it’s a swamp now.”
Little said he would like to use the city’s lobbyist in Tallahassee to request funds from the state to fix the Locklin Lake issue, because 80 percent of the runoff that goes into the lake is from the city of Milton.
According to Little, the city is 10 years behind in dredging the lake. The group of residents will request $800,000 from the state to dredge the body of water and “make the lake livable.”
The Locklin Lake residents will also request another $2 million in the future, according to Little, to install approximately 13 catch basins to filter the storm water runoff and catch the trash from adjacent roadways. The city has already spent $200,000 to install one basin, but at least a dozen more are needed, according to City Manager Brian Watkins.
The costs were estimated in December 2016 and could vary depending on current construction costs, according to Little.
“I think this is an important project,” Mayor Wesley Meiss said.
Meiss said there is an economic side to this project, since there are approximately 50 homes around the lake and at least a hundred others on the adjacent streets; therefore, property values are affected.
Meiss asked Watkins if the group could request Triumph Gulf Coast funds; however, Watkins said this specific project isn’t aligned with the projects Triumph supports. The city has submitted Locklin Lake for other grants in the past, Watkins said.
According to Meiss, the issues with the lake have been occurring for approximately 20 years. One of the culprits of pollution was the sediment that washed into the lake when Dogwood Drive was widened into four lanes, he said.
Little said the water quality is currently good for wildlife but, unfortunately, it is a catch basin for trash. This project will protect the water quality.
Meiss advised the council to support the project. According to Little, the deadline to submit the request for funds to Rep. Jayer Williamson is Nov. 14, so he was pressed for time.
Councilman Jeff Snow made the motion to allow Little and his neighbors to use the city’s lobbyist, and Councilman Alan Lowery seconded the motion.
The motion passed unanimously.
Councilwoman Mary Ellen Johnson commended Little and his neighbors for continuing on with this project and taking the issue to the state.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: 'Locklin Lake is a retention pond'