Sandra Tooley, Valdosta City Council District 2, was among the very few people present who did not have business on the agenda of the Lowndes County County Commission Work Session this Monday morning. They vote 5:30 PM Tuesday evening.

Below are LAKE videos of Monday morning’s Work Session, with a few notes, followed by a video playlist.

• 1. Call to Order 4. Minutes for Approval

  Video. By their new clock in the lower left corner of their screen, they started a few seconds after the state time of 8:30 AM.

• 5. Appointments

  Video. County Manager Joe Pritchard called out these names:

  • Greg Powell reappointment to Keep Lowndes-Valdosta Beautiful (KLVB)
  • Raymond Connor reappointment to the Lowndes County Division Of Family And Children Services Board,
  • “all those that can be considered” for an elected official appointment to the South Georgia Community Service Board,
  • Melinda Taylor nominated to fill seat to be vacated by Jack Hartley on the Lowndes County Library Board.
• 6.a. FY 17 Grant Award – Accountability Court- for State Court

  Video. Presentatio by Judge Ellen Golden, with Judge John K. Edwards present. She asked if they had received a factsheet she had prepared. Chorus of “yes m’am”. She said the accountability court would be very similar to the drug court that has been created in Lowndes County. She pointed out also present was Program Coordinator Jennifer Fabbri. Judge Golden said the point was to reduce recidivism, thereby reducing the amount of DUI-related activities, jail costs, arrests, and court costs, as well as helping rehabilitation of the individuals to be “productive taxpaying members of the community”. She also held up the front page of the Valdosta Daily Times (she didn’t say which date) which apparently had some DUI statistics. She said she had traveled to Colquitt County with Cindy Walker and observed the DUI court there, and there were none south of there. She seemed surprised Commissioners had no questions other than which county she had named (I think it was Colquitt).

  According to Lee Henderson, Valdosta Today, 8 February 2016, Judges Announce Creation of Accountability Court,

  To meet the needs of eligible participants, the Accountability Court allows for three separate tracks: Drug Court, Mental Health Court and Veteran’s Court.

  The Lowndes County Accountability Court was established through a collaborative effort led by The Honorable Richard M. Cowart and The Honorable James G. Tunison, Jr., and Lowndes County Commissioners Joyce Evans and Clay Griner. Commissioner Evans has been a long-time supporter of efforts related to exploring ways the county could support the courts in order for offenders and their families to realize a better long-term outcome. Funding was obtained by the Court’s request to the Office of the Governor Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. The initial operating budget award is $64,403 with a required Lowndes County match of $7,156, supplied by the County Commission from the county’s contingency funds.

  The Lowndes County Accountability Court will convene for its inaugural session on February 26.

• 6.b. FY 17 Grant Award – Accountability Court- for Superior Court

  Video. Jennifer Fabbri said ditto everything Judge Golden said about the DUI court in the previous item.

• 6.c. Southern Region Traffic Enforcement Network (SRTEN)

  Video. Nobody was present from the Sheriff’s department to present. No Commissioners had any questions. They moved on.

• 6.d. Code Red Service Agreement

  Video. Emergency Management Director Ashley Tye said Code Red allocates a certain amount of minutes per year, how many they used on the recent Tropical Storm Colin alert, etc. He proposes another $5,000 per year to increase the minutes and to enable other services such as non-emergency alerts such as for flushing hydrants and coordinating county personnel in the field.

  Commissioner Scottie Orenstein asked about setting up phone groups. Tye said they could do that, for example for Sheriff, Public Works, etc.

  Chairman Bill Slaughter complimented Tye and Code Red and advocated enhancing it.

• 6.e. Former Wisenbaker/Amoco Service Station Con’t Environmental Services

  Video. “Mr. McCleod” said this site is located directly behind the county administration building (the one this meeting was in). “The site has been up and running since 2007”. with annual reports to GA-EPD. AECOM installed the system and “The plume has diminished significantly, but there is still product in the ground.” Only GA-EPD can decide when is enough, but staff projects at least three more years. Staff and AECOM will meet with GA-EPD about options.

  Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker wanted to know what measurement GA-EPD was looking for. Answer: Plume has to be diminished to .01 feet, and it’s as much as .05 feet. Started with 8 wells, now down to 2, mostly on “this side of Ashley Street”.

  Interestingly, that site is not on GA-EPD’s Hazardous Site Inventory. How many other such sites are there that are not listed there?

• 6.f. Mosquito Identification and Testing Contract

  Video. Public Works Director Robin Cumbus said this was the usual contract with VSU. She didn’t quote the price of $45,790. Commissioners had no questions.

• 6.g. Prison Work Details Contract Renewal

  Video. Public Works Director Robin Cumbus said this was an annual renewal with no increase. She didn’t quote the prices of $118,500 on three prisoner work details at $39,500 each. Commissioners had no questions.

• 6.h. Motorola Support Agreement for Offendertrak and PMDC

  Video. IT Director Aaron Kostyu said this was the last support contract extension Motorola would be providing for this version of the NetRMS software. Commissioners had no questions.

• 6.i. Trust Deed for Brookwood Place Subdivision

  Video. County citizens potentially on the hook for a well system because a developer does not want to have property annexed into city of Valdosta. Valdosta services are across the street. Commissioners had no questions.

• 7.a. Copeland Road Sidewalks

  Video. Sidewalks on Copeland Road near Lowndes Middle makes walking to school safer for students.

  “That’s quite a difference in bid prices,” said one Commissioner (I think Wisenbaker). “Yes, but it’s a bonded job,” responded County Engineer Mike Fletcher in an apparent non sequitur.

  The agenda sheet does have the bid amounts, with the winning bid to come from SPLOST VII money:

  HISTORY, FACTS, AND ISSUES: Lowndes County solicited bids for sidewalks on Copeland Road. This section of sidewalks along Copeland Road will be from the intersection of Poole Street to Lowndes Middle School. The project will consist of clearing, grading, drainage, concrete sidewalk, and asphalt paving. Vendors present for pre—bid meeting held on May 23, 2016 were James Warren & Associates, Rountree Construction, and Southland Contractors. The County received three bids which were received on June 6, 2016.

  Bids that meet specifications are as follows:

  Rountree Construction Valdosta, Georgia $265,768.65
  James Warren & Associates Valdosta, Georgia $106,109.00
  Southland Contractors Valdosta, Georgia $198,837.00

  OPTIONS: 1. Accept bid proposal and authorize execution of contract documents to James Warren & Associates.

  2. Board’s Pleasure.

  RECOMMENDED ACTION: Option 1.

  DEPARTMENT: Engineering Department Head: Mike Fletcher

• 8. Reports – County Manager 10. Adjournment

  Video. No report.

Here’s a video playlist:

Videos: KLVB, DFCS, SGCSB, LCLB appointments, prisoners, mosquitos, grants, contracts, and a sidewalk bid
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 13 June 2016.

-jsq

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