Author Archives: John S. Quarterman

Cancelled: Deep South Solid Waste Authority special called meeting today, 2019-03-27

According to DSSWA Chair Kevin Beals, today’s special called meeting is cancelled. Instead, they will handle business at their regular April meeting. There is no agenda for that meeting yet, but he will ask for one to be sent when it is ready.

The topics of the special called meeting were the July 1, 2019 increase in local government surcharges per ton, from $1.00 to $2.50, as passed last year in HB 792 and SB 385. Also ADS wants to increase its rates, due to that and apparently some federal rule changes.

Julia Shewchuk, Plaque

In other news, Julia Shewchuk is no longer with SGRC, since about a year now. According to the February 2018 SGRC newsletter, In the Region,

…Julia Shewchuk received Continue reading →

Videos: six minutes on Lighting, Paving, and Trash @ LCC 2019-03-26

Subtract out the invocation, pledge, and approval of minutes (which you couldn’t hear anyway because the county’s sound system wasn’t working) and the Chairman’s ending comments on Youth Leadership, and your elected Commissioners spent about six minutes on the business of the county, including spending some unknown amount of money on road services.

Below are Continue reading →

Videos: Lighting, Paving, Trash, retirement, and death @ LCC 2019-03-25

Chairman Bill Slaughter mentioned the recent death of his predecessor Fred DeLoach. County Manager Joe Pritchard said he tried to talk Carmella Braswell out of retiring, but she has done so.

County Engineer Mike Fletcher clarified that more than one engineering firm was working on professional surveying and engineering for road projects.

Kevin Beals presented the solid waste franchises for annual renewal, and we were reminded he is also Chairman of the Deep South Solid Waste Authority that dispenses funds from their tipping fees, and which the next day announced a special called meeting for Wednesday.

Chad McLeod said the county has successfully cleaned up from a nearby closed gasoline station.

Below are Continue reading →

Deep South Solid Waste Authority special called meeting today, 6PM 2019-03-27

Update 2019-03-27: Cancelled.

Not in the public notices, rather as an article, Valdosta Daily Times, 26 March 2019, Deep South holds called meeting,

VALDOSTA — The Deep South Solid Waste Authority will hold a special called meeting, 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 27, at the Southern Georgia Regional Commission office, 327 W. Savannah Ave.

Photo: John S. Quarterman, DSSWA meeting 2019-02-07
Photo: John S. Quarterman, DSSWA meeting 2019-02-07

I have asked for a copy of the agenda. Until it arrives, I can only guess Continue reading →

Videos: Lowndes County Board of Elections 2019-03-12

At a monthly meeting held during an election, the Lowndes County Board of Elections decided to re-open a polling station at a Valdosta State University (VSU) precinct, which hasn’t happened since 2009. The next step is for the VSU President to make a decision. Then, students, step up and staff it, and vote, please!


Photo: Gretchen Quarterman, of Lowndes County Elections Supervisor Deb Cox, with Lowndes County Board of Elections Members Ray Corbett, Carla Jordan, and Jackie Goolsby.

Thomas Lynn, Valdosta Daily Times, 12 March 2019, UPDATE: ACLU to attend board of elections meeting,

VALDOSTA — The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia plans to attend the Lowndes County Board of Elections meeting Tuesday.

This comes after the ACLU sent Deb Cox, elections supervisor, a letter urging the election board to open a polling location at the Valdosta State University main campus.

Cox responded Continue reading →

Office on old US 41 N @ GLPC 2019-03-25

Update 2019-04-09: Videos.

Only one case on the Planning Commission agenda for tonight: rezoning for office space between Old US 41 North and the railroad, between Valwood and Scruggs.

Between RR and highway, Map
Map: Lowndes County Tax Assessors, Parcel 0053 112, 4555 Old US 41 North.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park
REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
AGENDA
Monday, March 25, 2019 * 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing
Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue

Continue reading →

Lighting, Paving, and Trash @ LCC 2019-03-25

Update 2019-03-27: LAKE videos of Monday morning Work Session and Tuesday evening Regular Session.

A single-source no-bid contract with Lovell Engineering is on the agenda for Professional Surveying and Engineering Services for Improvements to Lester Road. The dollar amount is not given in the agenda sheet.

The Basic Decorative Street Lighting District is not the one defered last time (Walker’s Run). They want to charge $61.50 per lot per year.

No special trash collection tax district for Lowndes County, though, although state law explicitly authorizes that. Instead, once again they are renewing curbside trash pickup licenses for ADS and DSS; the latter of course only after the county sued all the way to the state Supreme Court to try to stop it.

Here is the bid sheet from 2012. You may want to compare Veolia’s bid to what its new owner ADS is charging now.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Videos: Taxes, water, sewer, LAS, paving, road abandonment @ LCC 2019-03-12

Five minutes and 46 seconds Sixteen minutes to vote on the people’s business in the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session. Where do they actually discuss things?

By far the longest item at three minutes and fourteen seconds was 5a. REZ-2019-04 Southeastern Freight 2120 West Hill Ave., C-H/R-1 To M-2,, and that only because somebody spoke in favor of the request in the Public Hearing.

Second longest at one minute and 46 seconds was the controversial 7 a. North Lowndes Spring Creek Utility Inter-connection Project Phase II, for which they made a decision about the yellow paper. They still never said who the rest of the bidders were, nor how much they bid, on this $3,889,825.23 project.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with Continue reading →

Solar power in Georgia 2019-03-14

How much solar power is there in Georgia? Quite a bit, and it’s everywhere, according to Georgia Energy Data map by Southface.

Georgia, Solar
Gold disks indicate individual solar installations; green disks separate into many when zoomed.

There are three 1 megawattt (MW) solar farms in Berrien County I didn’t know about, and more elsewhere in the Suwannee River Basin, in almost every county. Continue reading →

Videos: Taxes, water, sewer, LAS, paving, road abandonment @ LCC 2019-03-11

They don’t have any wheelchair seating areas, so Jody Hall planted his wheels in front of the front row, to see the county not tell the public who bid what on an almost $4 million item.

By far the longest item at almost seven minutes was North Lowndes Spring Creek Utility Inter-connection Project Phase II, because one bidder objected that the others did not use the correct color paper. They never said who any of the bidders were, nor how much they bid, on this $3,889,825.23 project.

The third longest was 6.f. Water and Sewer Service Areas – Lake Park Area, as the county continues its plan to encircle Valdosta. Yet the county has no plan for additional sewage treatment beyond the Land Application Site (LAS), where Lowndes County sprays sewage onto land near Grassy Pond, close to the state line, and where they’re reducing the Row Crop Lease Agreement by 71 acres for unexplained reasons.

Second longest was Continue reading →