There was some discussion in the 7-minute Monday morning Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission. They vote today (Tuesday) at 5:30 PM.
Regarding the Love’s Travel Stop Beer and Wine license, no public hearing is necessary if the license is for consumption off premises.
On 7.a. Pump Station Rehab, Chairman Bill Slaughter wanted to know how many lift stations the county has. Continue reading
Five citizen speakers said spending more money on an Animal Shelter building was not a solution to a problem that needs different policies: Burton Fletcher, Nancy and Danny Griffin, Janice Monaco, and Tara Parker.
All the voting agenda items sailed through unanimously, including the Wetland and Stream Credits for the Kinderlou Clyattville Road Paving and Drainage project. Also, as staff recommended, they rejected as too high the bid for the 6.b. Moody Hydrant Replacement Project.
Commissioner Scottie Orenstein asked if the architect had given a budget estimate for 6.a. Alterations to Lowndes County Fire Station #10. Engineering Services Director Chad McLeod said no, but they had done an internal estimate and the project is within the estimated range. Chairman Bill Slaughter added that the project is within budget.
A Commissioner, I think Mark Wisenbaker, wanted to know whether the county had had experience with the low bidder for 6.c. Grassy Pond Utilities Replacement. Answer: yes, on the LAS project, and they’re well known in the Waycross and Ware County area.
I’m still mystified why Moody AFB doesn’t count as a stakeholder.
I had some issues with the camera direction on 5.c. Vertiv Service Contract, UPS, 911 Center, Valdosta – Clyattville Tower. The battery ran down and I lost the beginning of 5.d. Quit-Claim Deed of Abandoned Section of Race Track Road SE. Gretchen is back and will handle this coming week’s videoing.
Below are links to the LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes by John S. Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist.
See also Continue reading
Update 2024-08-13: Videos: Appointments to DFACS & VLPRA, Beer and Wine, Pump Station and Forklift @ LCC Work 2024-08-12.
Update 2024-08-11: Special Called Meeting about Opioids Settlement @ LCC 2024-08-12.
Two appointments, an alcohol license, and almost $2 million in Utilities Department bids are on the agenda for the Lowndes County Commission Work Session Monday morning at 8:30 AM. They vote Tuesday at 5:30 PM.
Three bids were received for the Utilities Department Forklift, with low bid at $18,100.
Only one bid, for $1.792 million, was received for the repair and rehab at 14 lift stations, out of 4 contractors who attended the mandatory pre-bid meeting. Lift stations affected are Bevel Creek, Whitewater Road, US 84, Francis Lake, Old Pine, Davidson Road, Miller Farms, Moody Family Housing, Skipper Bridge, Union Road, Kinderlou Clubhouse, Griffin, Saddle Bags, and Stone Creek.
| Cost | What |
|---|---|
| $1,792,027.8.00 | Pump Station Rehab |
| $18,100.00 | Utilities Forklift |
| $1,810,127.8.00 | Total |
VALORGIS shows Lowndes County’s sewer lines if you turn on the Water Sewer Service Areas layer, and within that Lowndes County Sewer Lines Force Main and Gravity. Be sure to turn off Water Lines and Valdosta Sewer Line.
In case anybody doesn’t know, Lowndes County’s sewer system is separate from Valdosta’s sewer system, and has about 10% of the capacity of Valdosta’s.
Also, for some years Lowndes County has been repairing parts of its sewer system before they break. Although I hear persistent rumors that there have been unreported leaks.
![[Map: Lowndes County sewer system (green lines) --VALORGIS]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-08-12--lcc-packet/2024-08-11--map-lowndes-county-sewer-system-valorgis.jpg)
Map: Lowndes County sewer system (green lines) –VALORGIS
Lonnie Denton wants to be reappointed to the Lowndes County Division of Family and Children Services (DFACS) Board and DFACS County Director Gail Finley recommends that.
Bubba Highsmith wants to be reappointed, and George Foreman also wants to be appointed, to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA) Board.
The beer and wine license request is for a new establishment, Love’s Travel Stop #550, 2319 Old Clyattville Road, Valdosta, GA.
Here is the agenda.
The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Continue reading
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 2024, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2024, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Update 2024-08-15: Videos: Special Called Meeting about Opioids Settlement 2024-08-12.
According to the calendar on lowndescounty.com there’s a Special Called Meeting at 9AM Monday, August 12, 2024.
There’s no agenda on that website.
Apparently if you signed up to get notices of meetings, the email you get says this meeting is about the Opioids Settlement.
What could be so urgent that the Commissioners can’t wait until the Regular Session the next day is not clear.
Maybe there’s a deadline? Not clear why staff could not predict such a deadline and schedule earlier.
There’s nothing in the main page on the Georgia Attorney General’s website about any 2024 deadlines: National Opioids Settlements – Information for Georgia Cities and Counties.
Maybe the county will tell us Monday at 9AM what’s going on and why it’s so urgent.
-jsq
Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!
http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/donate
Update 2024-08-11: Videos: Animal Policies, Wetland and stream credits for Kinderlou-Clyattville Road, UPS, Fire Station alterations, Moody Hydrant, Grassy Pond Utilities @ LCC Regular 2024-07-23.
The Lowndes County Commissioners and staff were surprisingly inquisitive at yesterday morning’s Work Session. They vote this evening at 5:30 PM.
There was some discussion on 6.a. Alterations to Lowndes County Fire Station #10, which is the main station east on US 84.
About the 5.a. Purchase of Wetland Credits for PI#0016278 Kinderlou Clyattville Road, Gretchen noted, “There was a brief discussion of wetland credits and how they are calculated by the Army Corps of Engineers. The calculation is now cumulative to the project, not at each individual site. In my opinion, this is a good thing as a project with a lot of “little” encroachments now does not get a pass.
They also discussed the less expensive 5.b. Purchase of Stream Credits for PI#0016278, Kinderlou Clyattville Road.
Moody AFB is going back to the drawing board for the Continue reading
On Bemiss Road, the storage facility and the “event center called the “Enchanted Hall” that specializes in weddings, quincenaras, and family reunions, with an anticipated overall seating capacity of about 160 people,” seem unremarkable in next week’s agenda for the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC).
![[Two small Valdosta items and an annexation and rezoning @ GLPC 2024-07-29]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/glpc/2024-07-29--glpc-packet/many.jpg)
Two small Valdosta items and an annexation and rezoning @ GLPC 2024-07-29
For the Southern Gateway annexation and rezoning south of the airport, you can see a pond in the Aerial Location Map. Continue reading
Update 2024-07-23 Videos: Wetland and stream credits for Kinderlou-Clyattville Road, UPS, Fire Station alterations, Moody Hydrant, Grassy Pond Utilities @ LCC Work 2024-07-22.
Update 2024-07-23: Southern Gateway LLC annexation, rezoning, and aquifer recharge zone on Race Track Road SE, in All Valdosta cases: 2 small and 1 big annexation and rezoning @ GLPC 2024-07-29.
The ongoing Kinderlou Clyattville Road Paving and Drainage Improvements are getting both wetland and stream credits.
Something that seldom happens: staff recommends rejecting a bid, this one for the Moody Hydrant Replacement Project, because the one bid “far exceeded the budgeted amount for this project.”
Staff got four bids for the Grassy Pond Utilities Replacement and recommend the low bid for almost a million dollars.
| Cost | What |
|---|---|
| $995,604.00 | Grassy Pond Utilities Replacement |
| $891,210.00 | Moody Hydrant Replacement Project |
| $362,662.00 | Alterations to Lowndes County Fire Station #10 |
| $59,220.00 | Purchase of Stream Credits for PI#0016278, Kinderlou Clyattville Road Paving and Drainage Improvements |
| $21,389.9.00 | Vertiv Service Contract for the UPS at the 911 Center, Valdosta Tower and Clyattville Tower Work/Regular |
| $10,800.00 | Purchase of Wetland Credits for P1#0016278 Kinderlou Clyattville Road Paving and Drainage Improvements |
| $2,340,885.9.00 | Total |
Why is the Lowndes County Commission approving bids for these two Moody AFB projects when, according to the ULDC, Moody AFB is not a “stakeholder” and was not even mentioned in the previous County Commission Regular Session as getting drafts or meetings about changes to the ULDC?
Don’t get me wrong. I think Moody needs fire hydrants and Grassy Pond needs utilities repaired after hurricane of last fall. And Moody needs the wastewater treatment plant that the county now runs. I’m just mystified why Moody AFB doesn’t count as a stakeholder.
The bulk of this week’s board packet consists of three contracts for Vertiv Service Contract for the UPS at the 911 Center, Valdosta Tower and Clyattville Tower, each a dozen pages long, with only two pages each different: order number on one page, and site number, address, and a table of what is being bought for that site and for what amount on the other.
Here is the agenda.
The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website. We also got a copy of the draft minutes for the previous Planning Commission meeting. I don’t know why that was included in response to a request for County Commission packet materials, but we’re publishing it anyway.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Continue reading
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JULY 22, 2024, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JULY 23, 2024, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Only Commissioners Mark Wisenbaker and Clay Griner voted against prohibiting the Planning Commission from reviewing proposed amendments to the Unified Land Development Code (ULDC). Commissioner Scottie Orenstein made the motion, seconded by Commissioner Joyce Evants. Commissioner Demarcus Marshall also voted in favor. But if you’re a “stakeholder”, which county staff define as Chamber or Homebuilders, you’ll get special email notification and maybe sit-down meetings before ULDC changes appear before the County Commission.
If you’re a private citizen, you can speak in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard, as Matthew and Debra Williams did, asking once again for the county to do something about a drainage easement draining onto their property.
Or Tara Parker, suggesting a spay and neuter program would be more effective than the new animal control building the Commissioners budgeted $10 million for. As usual, nobody answered them during the public meeting.
Everything else on the agenda passed unanimously.
Before they voted, on the ULDC changes, Gretchen Quarterman spoke in opposition, noting that they previously had ULDC text amendments in 2015 and last year, and the Planning Commission did not delay any of those. Also, if private citizens want a rezoning, they have to go through the Planning Commission first, yet this amendment means the county government does not.
Before that, Continue reading
Update 2024-07-12: Videos: Ban passes 3:2 on Planning Commission reviewing ULDC changes @ LCC Regular 2024-07-09.
The County Planner had some slides at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session to explain the ULDC text amendments TXT-2024-02. He did not explain why they were different from the version presented to the Planning Commission, nor why the Planning Commission should not review further ULDC changes.
He said that instead, “Planning Commission, Homebuilders Association, stakeholders, Chamber, things like that, will be contacted as a courtesy, through just a standard email, and any potential sit-down meetings.” He did not mention taxpayer or voters or county residents.
As Gretchen noted, “Why should citizens be denied an opportunity to comment when builders and developers get special invitations to comment?”
The County Planner’s only excuse for this change was, Continue reading
Update 2024-07-08: Videos: ULDC text amendments, small rezoning, and liquor license @ LCC Work 2024-07-08.
The ULDC text amendments TXT-2024-02 on the agenda for the Lowndes County Commission are not the same as those proposed to the Planning Commission.
They do still say the Planning Commission would never see any further ULDC text amendments.
How can the staff claim the Planning Commission approved TXT-2024-02 when that board got a different version?
How can the County Commission approve TXT-2024-02 under these conditions?
Why would the County Commission not want the Planning Commission to review ULDC text amendments?
![[Packet: ULDC text amendments, small rezoning, and liquor license @ LCC 2024-07-08]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-07-08--lcc-packet/many.jpg)
Packet: ULDC text amendments, small rezoning, and liquor license @ LCC 2024-07-08
The cover sheet for the Monday morning Work Session and the Tuesday evening voting Regular Session says, “Based on updates and direction from the County Attorney and County Leadership, Planning Staff and the GLPC recommend approval of Amendments 1,2, 3, 6, and 7.” Continue reading
![[Collage @ LCC 12 August 2024]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-08-12--lcc-work-videos/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 23 July 2024]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-07-23--lcc-regular-videos/many.jpg)
![[Appointments to DFACS & VLPRA, Beer and Wine, Pump Station and Forklift, Force Main sewer system @ LCC 2024-08-12]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-08-12--lcc-packet/many.jpg)
![[Special Called Meeting, 9AM Monday 2024-08-12, No agenda, but about Opioids Settlements, Lowndes County Commission]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-08-12--lcc-special-called-meeting/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 22 July 2024]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-07-22--lcc-work-videos/many.jpg)
![[Wetland & stream credits for Kinderlou-Clyattville Road, 2 Moody AFB projects, UPS, Fire Station alterations @ LCC 2024-07-22]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-07-22--lcc-packet/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 9 July 2024]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-07-09--lcc-regular-videos/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 8 July 2024]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-07-08--lcc-work-videos/many.jpg)