Update 2014-09-09: Board packet via LAKE open records request.
Twelve minutes. When do they actually talk about things? They vote Tuesday at 5:30 PM. “Hahira’s Extraterritorial Request” is for water and sewer for John Bailey. “Rezoning case REZ-2014-15” is also about water and sewer. The other obscure public hearing is to fix something county staff didn’t do correctly back in June.
Yes, it’s the old white guy to replace the young black woman on the Planning Commission, and it’s Commissioner Joyce Evans for the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. And yes, it’s the annual renewal of hiring prisoners from Valdosta State Prison.
Here’s the agenda with links to the videos and some notes.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
- Call to Order
Video. One minute late.
- Invocation
Only in the Regular Session, 5:30 PM Tuesday.
- Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
Only in the Regular Session, 5:30 PM Tuesday.
- Minutes for Approval
- Appointments
- Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC)
Video. GLPC put up only one name to replace departing young black woman Diondra Nichols: old white man attorney Brad Folsom. The County Commission can instead choose to appoint whoever it wants to.
Nope: only Brad Folsom. He spoke, saying he was a local attorney in a business-related practice. His law firm bio says:
Areas of Practice:
Banking; Commercial and Business Litigation; Commercial Transactions and Real Estate; Foreclosure and Collection Law
Commissioners had no questions.
- Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
Video. We still don’t know which of the two possible positions, but the nominee is Joyce Evans. County Manager Joe Pritchard said:
Recent legislative changes uh…. now allow and actually encourage, uh, service of an elected official on this board.
She did not speak and Commissioners had no questions for her.
Is this for the Region 4 Regional Planning Board (current Lowndes County members Dr. Sheila Crowley Cook and Dr. Linda Floyd) or for the Valdosta Behavioral Health Crisis Center (current Lowndes County members Ms. Cindy Vickery, RPh Pharmacist, SGMC, Ms. Sheila Wakeley Retired LCSW, Chair Mr. Shamb Purohit, Robert Woodward, Lowndes Co. Manager)? Which seat is up?
- Public Hearing
- Rezoning Case REZ-2014-15
Video. County Planner Jason Davenport said the current owners want to remove the 2005 condition requiring use of county water and sewer. The new owners want to put in a community well or do some kind of partnership with neighbors for water and sewer.
Commissioner Joyce Evans wanted to know, considering the location, whether annexation (by Valdosta) would be likely. Davenport said that was one of the developer’s concerns.
Commissioner Crawford Powell wanted to know the viability of water and sewer. Chairman Bill Slaughter said they were looking into that, and for neighboring subdivisions. Powell wanted to know whether they’d know the answer before voting on this. Answer: probably not.
Commissioner Clay Griner wanted to know where was the closest water and sewer. Utilities Director Mike Allen answered, but I’m not sure what he said.
Chairman said he thought septic systems were acceptable to the developer at the time, or community water, and of course septic would require approval by health department.
Um, of course those would be acceptable to the developer: it’s what the developer is asking for. Why is the Chairman acting as agent for the developer?
Here is the same item in the most recent GLPC agenda:
REZ-2014-15 GP Investments
Property Location: Copeland Road, Inner Perimeter Road, and U.S. 41 South, Valdosta, Georgia
Request to remove rezoning conditions approved by the Lowndes County Board of CommissionersAccording to the Tax Assessors database, the owner of parcel 0166 008 is GP INVESTMENTS OF VALDOSTA LLC, which is a Lake Park company with agent Giovanni Panizzi, and the GA Sec State’s office says that’s not the same as GP INVESTMENTS, L.L.C., which is an Atlanta company. So even the GLPC agenda is wrong.
Here’s the beginning of a lengthy item in the 8 February 2005 Regular Session minutes of the Lowndes County Commission, which is presumably the source of the restrictions the current owners want changed:
Public Hearing – Rezoning Ordinances for Adoption
#04-1260 – LO-2004-64 – Charles Bennett, A-U and C-H to R-10, 92.684 Acres, Inner Perimeter, Hwy 41 & Copeland — Jason Davenport, Associate Planner, explained that there were actually two issues connected with this request. One issue was to consider the rezoning request and the other was to consider extraterritorial delivery of water and sewer services. Each of these issues would require a separate motion.
- ULDC Text Amendments, Zoning Map, & Fee Schedule
Video. County Planner Jason Davenport referred Commissioners to a summary document that he said was included in the ULDC back in June, but they didn’t include the actual code changes in the ULDC. Also they need to get a draft zoning map dated the same day they want to adopt it. Oh, and the text changes to go into the code are modified slightly from the ones they adopted in June. Apparently he’s referring to TXT-2014-01 Special Events, Fee Schedule, Pre-application Meetings, and the Zoning Map from the 9 and 10 June 2014 meetings. Commissioners had no questions this time.
I have a question: why didn’t the County Manager check staff’s work back in June?
According to the most recent GLPC agenda, this is TXT-2014-2:
TXT-2014-2 Lowndes County Board of Commissioners
The adoption of the ULDC that completes amendments previously approved by the LCBOC- For Consideration
- Georgia Department of Corrections Contract Renewal
Video. Maybe we’re not supposed to remember that every year they renew their contract for three prison details from Valdosta State Prison, because they think it’s such a good deal to hire prisoners for cheap even though local people need jobs. Yep. Public Works Director Robin Cumbas said:
This is an annual renewal with the Georgia Department of Corrections for three prison work details, each detail $39,500. Um, they’re used by Public Works and Engineering for various road work.
Commissioners had no questions.
- Hahira’s Extraterritorial Request
Video. Utilities Director Mike Allen said:
Mr. John Bailey has requested from the City of Hahira water and sewer service to his property located on 5720 South Hagan Bridge Road. Per the SDS[?] agreement Hahira needs to come to the county since this falls outside of their existing service area, and is requesting an extraterritorial service agreement. Commissioners had no questions.
I have a question: would it have been so hard to put that name and address in the agenda item?
And another: why did Mr. Allen say 5710 Hagan Bridge Road when the Tax Assessor database shows 5710 Hagan Bridge Road?
And another: what if Lowndes County stopped encircling Hahira and instead assisted it in taking care of its own people?
- Reports-County Manager
Video. No report, so they adjourned at 8:43 AM.
- Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address
Only in the Regular Session, 5:30 PM Tuesday.
Here’s a video playlist:
Videos: GP Investments and Hahira’s Extraterritorial Request
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 8 September 2014.
-jsq
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Mr. Allen said 5720 S Hagan Bridge Rd, which is the agenda address I was also given by one of the County Commissioners Tuesday afternoon. 5710 S Hagan Bridge Rd is the address in the Tax Assessors records and also the address that was approved by the Hahira City Council in previous meetings. So where did the 5720 address come from and I also agree that the correct address and owner name should have been published for public record. The 5710 property owned by John Bailey was purchased in February 2014 and almost immediately the Hahira City Council was approached about furnishing water/sewer to the property. The 1.83 acre piece of property which was listed as a mobile home sale seems a pretty innocuous water/sewer request. However, once the water/sewer is furnished by the city it would not be hard to imagine another seemingly innocuous request to annex said property into the city which could make a profitable gateway to possible annexation of some or all of the 200 plus acres of adjacent properties currently vested in a lifetime estate and probably open for investment. Just a thought to go with the address confusion already cited. Wouldn’t it be nice if all the cards were always just laid out on the table so we did not have to guess and speculate. I’ve been told the lack of information is just good strategy on the part of developers. I personally would like to go back to the days when integrity and honesty were more important than strategy.