For an authority that gets 1.25 mil of your property tax dollars, the Commissioners didn’t even know who was wanting to be reappointed, none of them asked what happened during a year when one of them was apparently serving on that board without a formal appointment, not all of the Commissioners were present even voted, and none of the candidates for any of the board appointments even shhowed up, much less spoke. The Lowndes County Commission at its June 28th 2016 Regular Session also unanimously adopted the budget for what the Chairman repeatedly called “the physical year”, despite only perfunctory public hearings in advance, and no draft budget available on their website for the public to see. After they approved the budget to spend the money (and according to County Manager Joe Pritchard after earlier that same morning the Tourism Authority approved their budget), the Lowndes County Commissioners unanimously approved a hotel/motel tax rate increase. Odd order, eh?

About the 1.25 mil property tax Parks and Rec Authority, the Chairman finally got around to saying Ashley Paulk did want to be reappointed. Of course they all voted to reappoint Ashley Paulk (or at least nobody said nay). They weren’t so unanimous about the other VLPRA appointment for 2 more years after Michael McDowell apparently served for a year without actually being appointed; see below.

The Comprehensive Plan Update still wasn’t listed as a Public Hearing on the agendas handed out at the meeting, despite County Planner Jason Davenport saying the previous morning that it should be. The only member of the public who spoke was Gretchen; see below.

They started with a proclamation in support of 92 year old runner Ernie Andrus, who is raising money to preserve a World War II ship.

They voted for both of the road abandonments, the one labeled as such and the other one.

They approved the repair of the pump for the Land Application Site, which is good, since the repair already happened.

Not on the agenda, the Brookwood Place Subdivision tabled two weeks ago popped up in Reports.

Below are links to each LAKE video of Tuesday evening’s Regular Session, followed by a video playlist. See also the LAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session and the agenda.

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• 1. Call to Order 2. Invocation 3.Pledge

  Video.

• Special Recognition of Mr. Ernie Andrus

  Video. 92 years old, coast-to-coast run to raise money for a WW II ship: the Chairman read a proclamation.

  Valdosta Mayor John Gayle already gave him a coin and a pin, according to Gabe Burns, VDT, 27 June 2016, Andrus’ visits Azaela City.

  According to his own website, Coast2CoastRuns, Ernie Andrus,

  My name is Ernie Andrus and I am running coast to coast. (Super Senior Coast to Coast Run). I turned 92 in August, 2013. I started by touching the Pacific Ocean near San Diego CA., on October 7th, 2013 and will touch the Atlantic Ocean near Brunswick, GA. in August of 2016 (I’ll be 93 then).

  This feat is being undertaken to raise money for the LST 325 SHIP MEMORIAL, INC. The LST 325 is a World War II-era naval landing ship used by the US Navy and Greek Navy. I was one of the crew that brought the LST 325 back from the Isle of Crete, Greece to the US in 2000, as aired on the History Channel as The Return of LST 325. One thousand fifty one LSTs were built during World War II. The 325 is the only one left that has been restored and is still operational. Plans were being made to return the ship to Normandy for the D-Day Memorial Service (D-Day Plus 70, 2014) and beach it at the same location where it was on Omaha beach 70 years before. The cost of taking this ship across the Atlantic and back is tremendous. Shortage of finances caused the 2014 trip to be canceled. Perhaps we can raise enough money for D Day plus 75 in 2019.

• 4. Minutes for Approval

  Video.

• 5.a. Appointment – Valdosta- Lowndes County Land Bank Authority

  Video. They appointed Jason Dove by acclamation.

• 5.b. Appointment – Valdosta- Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority

  Video. After some of the Commissioners were surprised to learn Ashley Paulk wanted to be reappointed to VLPRA, they of course unanimously reappointed him for a third three-year term. Did he file an application? Was it in their board packets?

  Commissioner Demarcus Marshall nominated Hiram Johnson for the remaining two years of Michael McDowell’s term. Clay Griner nominated McDowell and Joyce Evans seconded that nomination. Yet Commissioner Joyce Evans did not vote on either nomination for the two-year remainder term, leaving Wisenbaker and Griner for McDowell and Marshall for Johnson, so McDowell was reappointed. Commissioner Scottie Orenstein was not present. Nobody asked whether McDowell voted as a VLPRA Board member during the year when he wasn’t formally appointed. None of the candidates for any of the appointments showed up at either the Work Session or the Regular Session, much less spoke.

• 6.a. Abandonment of a Portion of Beaver Lane

  Video. Nobody from the public spoke for or against, and they voted to abandon.

• 7.a. Worthington Triangle Right-of-Way Determination

  Video.

• 7.b. . 2016 Greater Lowndes Comprehensive Plan – Draft Transmittal

  Video. Commissioner Demarcus Marshall asked about transportation. County Planner Jason Davenport said in light of the recent VLMPO transit discussions probably transportation could feature even more than it did.

  After Commissioners had to remind themselves yet again to hold a public hearing, the only citizen to speak for or against was Gretchen Quarterman, speaking for, who congratulated SGRC Planner Ariel Godwin, City Planner Jason Davenport and City Planner Matt Martin for all their work organizing the workshops.

  Commissioners voted to forward the draft to the state for comment. They can still make further updates locally, but they’ll have to get all five local cities to agree on any changes.

• 7.c. Adoption of Fiscal Year 2017 Budget

  Video.

• 7.d. Hotel/motel Tax Rate Increase

  Video.

• 7.e. Beer&Wine License – Little River Grocery 8235 Hwy122 Hahira

  Video. I believe that’s the location that used to be called the Riverosa. Commissioners unanimously approved the license.

• 7.f. Architectural Services for Renovations Lowndes County Animal Shelter

  Video. $800,000 approved by voters in SPLOST VII. McCall & Associates, Inc. propose 8% for design and construction administration. Commmissioners approved unanimously, including authorizing Chairman to sign the contract.

• 7.g. Motorola Subscriber Maintenance Agreement

  Video. Annual contract renewal. Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker wanted to know if there was a discount. Answer: yes, they would pay the full price, yet they would get a 5% discount. Not clear what that mean. They approved it unanimously with no further questions. I thought these Commissioners bragged about being business people.

• 7.h. Service Contract for the Logisys CAD System

  Video. After some joking around about discounts, they approved it unanimously.

• 7.i. Service Contract for Liebert UPS 911 Center 4 Tower Sites

  Video. Keeps the 911 center online until emergency generators can start up. Both contract renewals approved unanimously.

• 7.j. Service Contract for the Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs)

  Video. Used in patrol cars. Approved unanimously.

• 7.k. LAS Pump Control Panel

  Video. Approved the $18,500 repair unanimously, and they had already had it fixed.

• 7.l. Trust Deed for Brookwood Place Subdivision

  Video. After the previous morning’s discussion of maybe running a county water line, they decided to approve the original request for a trust deed for a well system. We shall see whether they come back and spend more later on water treatment for that well.

• 8. Reports – County Manager (none)

  Video. No additional report.

• 9. CWTBH (none) 10. Meeting Adjournment

  Video. No citizens wishing to be heard and no other business, so they adjourned.

Here’s a video playlist:

Videos: Brookwood reappears, 3 board appointments, 2 road abandoments, Comp Plan Update, Budget Adoption
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, June 28 2016.

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