By Annie Piekarczyk / STAFF

At Milton’s City Council meeting last Monday, two members were appointed to the North Fulton Comprehensive Transportation Plan Stakeholder Committee: Clyde Johnson, a committee chair on the Transportation Stakeholder Advisory Committee, and Matthew Marietta, Assistant to the City Manager. 

The Comprehensive Transportation Plan has been in the works since December 2000 when Fulton County adopted the idea, intending to develop a list of transportation projects to meet unincorporated Fulton County’s transportation needs through the year 2020. “This plan is being administered by the ARC and part of the plan – an integral part – is the establishment of a stakeholders committee,” said Carter Lucas, Principal Engineer.

The Stakeholder Committee, established by the Policy Committee (comprised of all the mayors of North Fulton’s cities) is to be made up of a diverse set of stakeholders intended to reflect each city government and the city as a whole. Milton had been assigned two seats on that committee based on current population and after short discussion, Clyde Johnson and Matt Marietta were named Milton’s representatives to the Comprehensive Transportation Plan. 

Lucas said the Stakeholders Committee will be comprised of a total of 31 members; various members of each principality, members from the GOT and other similar boards. He also said Johnson and Marietta will take part in sharpening the plan along with the other stakeholders and they will also do a lot of in-depth reviewing. “They will be the sounding body through the plan,” said Lucas.

Johnson and Marietta were suggested because they best represent the views of Milton. While Councilwoman Julie Zahner Bailey had no problem with Clyde Johnson being suggested as an appointee – because of his experience with transportation, she did have an initial concern about Marietta as she said she did not think he was well-versed amongst transportation topics. City Manager Chris Lagerbloom assured her that while Marietta does not have an ideal amount of transportation experience, he does have critical thinking skills that will be very beneficial for him as a Stakeholder Committee member, and that he will work very well paired with Johnson. 

According to Lagerbloom, it was also important to the city to appoint one city staff member and one non-city staff member so as to remain accountable.

The first meeting of the Stakeholders Committee will be in August.