The “SPLOST VII Agreement” has been drafted among the county and the local cities, but it isn’t quite done yet, you can’t see what they’re still considering, and there was no mention of any public hearings. A local engineering firm is apparently going to get two no-bid contracts, one for the Alapaha Water Treatment Plant and one for the county’s Land Application Site. A local attorney represented both a bond refinancing and Moody Housing. Many renewal contracts were presented, and the long-running juvenile justice item saw some progress. They ended with an Executive Session but didn’t say what for. Chummy lot, those Commissioners and staff and attorneys and engineers.

Here’s the agenda, with links to the videos and a few notes, including a few links to related posts.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 2013, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2^nd Floor

1. Call to Order
2. Invocation

   That’s only in the Regular Session, which is 5:30 PM Tuesday 13 August 2013.

3. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag

   That’s only in the Regular Session, which is 5:30 PM Tuesday 13 August 2013.

4. Minutes for Approval

   Chairman Bill Slaughter said: “Please take a look at those before tomorrow night.”

   1. Work Session — July 22, 2013
   2. Regular Session — July 23, 2013
5. Resolution for Refunding Revenue Bonds

   The county’s sound was working, but County Manager Joe Pritchard’s microphone was a foot to the left of his face. Crank it up and you can hear him say Attorney Bill Holland of Coleman-Talley was representing the South Regional Development Authority. Holland said this refinancing of some 2004 bonds would save VSU some money, and the Authority was asking the Commission as the underwriter to approve it.. Commissioners had no questions.

6. Public Hearings
   1. REZ-2013-08 MFH Tract ‘A’ Rezoning Roberts Rd, Wilbanks Ave, and Bemiss Rd MAZ I to Residential PD, LC Water and Sewer, ~123 acres

      As we already knew, it had been withdrawn. So County Planner Jason Davenport said there was no action to be taken and they took none. Background at the Planning Commission.

   2. REZ-2013-09 Moody Housing, Val Del Rd R-1 to Residential PD, LC Water & Sewer, ~64 acres

      County Planner Jason Davenport said it was “in the Nelson Hill neighborhood” and there were some updates, but the County Clerk declined to reveal them without an Open Records Request that may not be satisfied until after the Commission votes tomorrow evening. Commissioners did have questions, which you can see in the videos in the separate post.

   3. REZ-2013-10 Stubbs, Stubbs Ln E-A to R-1, Well and Septic, ~1.19 acres

      See background from the Planning Commission. Davenport didn’t say much new, other than noting that staff (concerned about precedents) and Planning Commissioners (concerned about the family) didn’t agree, and while two people spoke for nobody spoke against. There were no questions from Commissioners.

7. For Consideration
   1. Engineering for the Alapaha Water Treatment Upgrade

      Utilities Director Mike Allen said they were ready to present an engineering agreement to Lovell Engineering. What happened to they were only working with Lovell to get a letter submitted to GA EPD because of a deadline? Now they seem heading straight towards letting a contract to Lovell with no bid. It’s good they’re dealing locally, but were there no other local companies that might want to bid?

   2. Engineering Service for Sewer Plant Upgrade

      Another non-bid engineering agreement ready to submit to Lovell Engineering!

   3. Service Contract for the Logisys CAD System

      911 Director Danny Weeks said it was an annual renewal for a computer aided dispatch system that supplies caller’s name, address, phone number, recommendations for agencies to dispatch, etc. Commissioner Demarcus Marshall wondered about a potential future upgrade and whether there was “one type of solution that could fit all”. Weeks said there were some solutions that promised that, and some that did a similar job to the one they already had, but everyone was already trained on the current one, plus it had maps integrated. Marshall wondered about the various other recent 911 requests. Weeks said the most recent one had been for a telephone system, and others were for annual software renewals. Chairman Bill Slaughter noted with a new budget year there were many renewals. Marshall said he’s like to approve a single package at the beginning of the year. Slaughter noted that one size fits all didn’t really exist in software. Weeks said one reason they’d been seeing him so much lately was that he’d been trying to line them all up to be approved at around the same time.

   4. Johnson Controls Contract Continuation

      Public Works Director Robin Cumbus said this was another annual renewal, for maintenance of chillers and towers in the building where they were sitting.

   5. FY2013 EMPG Response and Recovery Award Application

      Emergency Services Director Ashley Tye said each year GEMA makes available this award, which in the past they’ve used to purchase furniture, computers, telephones, and the like. This year they want to buy laptops and tablets to help with their continuity of government program, for relocating key personnel if necessary. Plus a lot of the computers needed replacing anyway. And tablets for Mr. Fletcher’s Engineering Department for surveying roads and bridges, filling out damage assessment forms, etc.

      Commissioner John Page wanted to know if any other departments might benefit. Tye said Fire, Public Works, and some others. He didn’t have the list with him, but he said basically each department would need at least one. “If something happened to this building”. Perhaps he’s thinking of a tornado or a fire. But the Sheriff’s Department was pretty self-sufficient with computers in their cars.

   6. Evidence Based Associates Service Agreement

      Yet another phase of this long-running approval process. Ashley Tye said they weren’t awarded the entire $500,000 they requested, but they did get $200,000, and now a service agreement needed approval.

   7. SPLOST VII Agreement

      County Manager Joe Pritchard said they had a 15 page agreement between the county and the cities for SPLOST VII, including breakdowns of projects proposed by the various participants. Chairman Bill Slaughter said they had added about the airport, although not what the Airport Authority Executive Director had requested. Instead, VLCAA ED Jim Galloway had supplied a prioritized list, and the county was willing to make $150,000 available, so Commissioners should look at it before the following evening’s meeting. Commissioner John Page asked when they would get the list. Pritchard said he had a copy which he would get copied for them. Commissioner Joyce Evans thanked the Chairman for paying attention to the airport. Slaughter said they’d taken the $150,000 out of Water and Sewer.

      Chairman Page wanted to know if that change was reflected in that Exhibit A. Answer: “No it is not.” But Pritchard promised an amended Exhibit A, presumably by tomorrow’s Regular Session.

      Commissioner Marshall wanted to know whether the county could help the airport outside of SPLOST, “we as a Commission could give us finds to help out on a smaller project, right?” Chairman said for emergencies they could.

      Neither of these two documents were available to LAKE without an Open Records Request. Gretchen filed those ORRs, but responses were still not available at the end of the day. If the county takes the statutory three days, nobody will see it before the Commission votes tomorrow evening.

      Here are the County’s previous slides. See also two items about the SPLOST VII items about a boat ramp and pavillion in Naylor.

8. Reports-County Manager

   County Manager requested an executive session for attorney-client privilege, but didn’t say for what: aren’t they supposed to say? They went into Executive Session anyway.

9. Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address

   That’s only in the Regular Session, which is 5:30 PM Tuesday 13 August 2013.

Here’s a video playlist:

Videos: Moody, Moody, acre, water, and SPLOST VI @ LCC 2013-08-12
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 12 August 2013.

-jsq

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