It’s a good idea. It would be an even better idea if there was time scheduled for citizen input and responses from the assembled elected officials.

On the Lowndes County Commission calendar:

On Tuesday, January 19, 2016, Lowndes County and the cities of Valdosta, Hahira, Lake Park, Remerton and Dasher, will meet at the James H. Rainwater Conference Center for the purpose of identifying and discussing solutions related to community wide issues. The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. and the public is encouraged to attend.

When: 9AM-10AM Tuesday 19 January 2016

Where: James H. Rainwater Conference Center, 1 Meeting Place, Valdosta, GA 31601

Contact: County Clerk, Paige Dukes, 229-671-2400

County Chairman Bill Slaughter announced this meeting at the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session 12 January 2016:

I have had the opportunity back last year to speak with the mayors in our community, and they have graciously agreed for the county, for their staff, for their councilmen, as well as our Commission, to come together Tuesday January 19th at Rainwater Conference Center. This will be a public meeting. Everyone will be invited to attend.

But this will be an opportunity for the local governments to identify some issues in our community that we can work together on, to see if there is some way we can improve them and make it better. We’re going to identify some of these issues; we’ll have some discussion about those issues. And then as we move forward hopefully we’ll be able to make discussions as to which ones we want to focus on for the coming year. And then our staffs will be able to then go back and start working on those for us, and then set some goals and some thigns we can address community-wide as a group of local governments working today.

He greeted Valdosta Mayor John Gayle, who was sitting in the room.

Slaughter never made it clear whether there would be public input at the Tuesday meeting, or the public was merely invited to watch. He did make it clear in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard at the Regular Session that Commissioners were not to ask questions of citizens nor to answer them. I would ask the county or one of the cities about the special joint meeting, but local government offices are closed today for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Here’s the video:

5 cities & Lowndes County: Community Planning Meeting
Community Planning Meeting, Lowndes County Commission (LCC Planning),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 19 January 2016.

Valdosta Today has a bit more:

For example, litter is a problem throughout Lowndes County. Currently, each local government has a program or service in place to combat litter. A collaborative effort to include a plan of action with measurable goals, that could be supported by all local governments, might be more effective than each government’s individual plan. “Bottom line, it’s all about the citizens of our community and ensuring that we are all working together to provide efficient and effective services. This is an opportunity for everyone to share ideas and discuss the big picture in a format that allows citizens access to the process. The success of our community depends heavily upon our ability to work together,” stated Chairman Bill Slaughter. “The Mayors and I began discussing this concept at the end of the year, it is exciting to see everyone’s willingness to come together.”

I’ll be there; you can be, too.

Hm, I think I’ll send them a note before the meeting. That way it’s public record, whether they let anybody speak at the meeting or not. You can do that, too.

-jsq

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