Milton’s ‘endangered list’ issue is confusing

Dear editor,

In [the July 8-11, 2017] paper, Milton's “endangered list” article was quite confusing.

It started out with the Historic Preservation board, then the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation [and] then further down the article the Santa Rosa Historical Society.

OMG! The city council is jumping in.

This is crazy! The Planning and Development [Department] is involved.

I need a chart of what person goes to which organization. I only have lived here two years. I don't know any of the people involved, but Mr. [Vernon] Compton should have gone to a council meeting.

Does anybody talk to each other? Or [are they] just doing things behind everyone’s back?

Too many hands in one pot! Each organization has their own agendas!

Kathleen Miller

Milton 

Editor’s Note: We understand that this issue can be confusing. Here it is briefly:

The Florida Trust for Historic Preservation is a Tallahassee-based nonprofit organization that aims “to promote the preservation of the architectural, historical and archaeological heritage of Florida through advocacy, education and historic property stewardship,” according to its website. The FTHP annually puts out a list called “Florida’s 11 to Save” for so-called endangered sites. The FTHP added downtown Milton to this list.

The Santa Rosa Historical Society is a local nonprofit organization “dedicated to the identification, documentation and preservation of Santa Rosa County, Florida’s unique historical legacy,” according to its website. According to its spokesperson, Vernon Compton, the SRHS applied for downtown Milton to be on the FTHP’s endangered list. Compton said he believes the designation is warranted, as the Florida Department of Transportation studies possibly four-laning Highway 90 through the area.

Compton was out of town when Milton Councilwoman Sharon Holley raised the issue during a June 13 council meeting, but Compton did attend the next meeting and approached the council, explaining why the SRHS applied for Milton to be on the endangered list.

 Milton’s seven-member Historic Preservation Board, which aims to preserve and protect buildings of historic significance, wrote a letter to the FTHP in late June, asking to be removed from the list. The letter challenged the reasoning behind Milton’s position on the list, stating FDOT is still studying the proposed widening of Highway 90 and the work is not complete. The letter was signed by the preservation board’s chairman, Michael Lewis, but was drafted by Milton’s Planning and Development Department. 

We hope that helps.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Milton’s ‘endangered list’ issue is confusing