Category Archives: Government

Spay, Rezonings, Body Armor, HEAT, Water, Waste, Ponds, and Roads @ LCC 2015-04-13

Update 2015-04-13: videos.

The three rezonings from the Planning Commission are on the agenda for this morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session. One has been withdrawn by applicant, Vallotton Farms still wants to rezone to Estate Agriculture, and another wants to rezone to commercial. Also to be considered this morning and voted on tomorrow evening are three water-related items, a Georgia Department of Agriculture Spay/Neuter Grant Request, two Sheriff’s requests ( body armor, and High Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic (HEAT) Team grant), two paving items (Boring Pond Road Phase III and Resurfacing of 3 County Roads (Howell Road, Whitewater Road and Ousley)) a Fuel Island Upgrade, and what’s this about Execution of the Resolution for the Hazardous Waste Trust Fund? Ah, that’s about reimbursement for monitoring of the closed Clyattville landfill about which the county chooses to reveal very little. Last I heard, the Sabal Trail methane pipeline was still proposed to go through there with its hundred-foot right of way and 36-inch pipe. I wonder how that would affect monitoring?

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2015, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

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County revenue and property tax appeals –Craig Cardella @ LCC 2015-03-24

9. CWTBH - Craig Cardella A local citizen got cut off just as he said the county attorney’s opinion was he could interpret state law about property taxes however he wished, in the 24 March 2015 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

9. Citizens Wishing to be Heard-Please State Your Name and Address

Video. Craig Cardella’s concern was that the County Commission does not have enough money to do things that are important to the community. He said he had given a similar talk to Valdosta Mayor and Council recently. He said he had been a city manager in the past, and had worked in and around local government nearly all his career.

In 2009 GA State Senate authorized Continue reading →

Videos: Fire aid, drinking, driving, and air conditioning @ LCC 2015-03-24

One citizen got cut off just as he said the county attorney thought he could interpret state law however he liked. In addition to the Lake Park Fire Department Automatic Aid Agreement the County Manager asked at the Work Session to add to agenda, they also added Southern Region Traffic Enforcement Network (SRTEN). Plus not on the agenda there was recognition of student guests. See also the previous morning’s Work Session Keep Lowndes-Valdosta Beautiful cleanup presentation. They meet again this morning.

Also voted on two weeks ago were changes to the speed zone ordinance, a GEMA grant application, a proposal for engineering services for Exits 22 and 29, HVAC for county buildings, and a liquor license. Here’s the agenda with links to the videos and a few notes.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015  8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

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Videos: KLVB, Drinking, driving, and air conditioning @ LCC 2015-03-23

Keep Lowndes-Valdosta Beautiful did cleanups in wetlands in both the Withlacoochee and the Alapaha River watersheds, plus at exit 22, and the general illegal trash dumping situation came up. Did the county change the speed limit on your road? The County Engineer said only in one area, but they didn’t publish the list. Also discussed were a GEMA grant application, a proposal for engineering services for Exits 22 and 29, HVAC for county buildings, and a liquor license. Here’s the agenda with links to the videos and a few notes.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015  8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

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Return to agriculture, historic preservation, and personal services @ GLPC 2015-03-30

While Vallotton Farms wants to revert to Estate Agricultural, 300x238 Parcel 0108 173, in Vallotton Farms, by John S. Quarterman, 30 March 2015 Vickers and Edward Jennings LLC want denser zoning. It’s not clear what the Valdosta historic preservation case or the Lake Park personal services case are about, since the county still doesn’t publish board packets. Note that Vallotton Farms (both the part outlined in red that appears to be the subject of the rezoning and the bigger part west of Bemiss Road) is on Cherry Creek, upstream from the dam, and upstream from Cherry Creek Sink on the Withlacoochee River, which leaks into our drinking water in the Floridan Aquifer. Better agriculture upstream from that than other possibilities.

Here’s the agenda. Continue reading →

Videos: Hasty waste meeting @ LCC Waste 2015-03-16

See the LAKE video below, the WALB story by Colter Anstaett including interviews with Cary Scarborough of Deep South Sanitation and Steve Edwards of Advanced Disposal Services. The county actually posted the resulting Solid Waste Ordinance on their County Ordinances web page (although I don’t see the updated franchise agreement anywhere), and they even posted the results of that meeting. Neither the county’s results summary nor WALB mentioned Commissioner Marshall’s question about recycling glass nor Chairman Slaughter’s response that glass can be disposed of as ordinary trash, which means they’re not going to recycle it.

Here’s the paper agenda from the meeting and the county’s results summary: Continue reading →

Drinking, driving, and air conditioning @ LCC 2015-03-23

Is the county changing the speed limit on your road? Maybe, but they didn’t publish the list, so this is all you know:

300x388 Speed-zone-ordinance-001, in Speed Limit Ordinance, by John S. Quarterman, 23 March 2015 The Georgia DOT is in the process of updating the existing Speed Zone Ordinance for Lowndes County. Attached is a copy of the updated Speed Zone Ordinance with the changes that were requested by Lowndes County. With the execution of this Ordinance, the speed limits on these roads wili be updated. A signed copy of the Ordinance will be forwarded to the Department of Public Safety for the updated radar permit for Lowndes County.

Also on the agenda are a presentation by Keep Lowndes-Valdosta Beautiful, a GEMA grant application, a proposal for engineering services for Exits 22 and 29, HVAC for county buildings, and a liquor license.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015  8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

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Report of the Historic Courthouse Committee @ LCC 2015-03-09

No education, all law enforcement: Sheriff’s Office or Public defender’s office. 300x413 Cover letter, in Report of the Historic Courthouse Committee, by H. Arthur McLane, 12 January 2015 Either would save the county money in the long run and preserve the courthouse through use of its services (heat, light, air conditioning). Plus some points on renovating the courthouse building and grounds. Judge McLane referred to this report in his talk at the Commission Work Session 9 March 2105, in which he said it would not be possible for VSU to use the courthouse without “some pretty dramatic and we think negative” changes to the building.

In his cover letter, Judge McLane said he was not sending the actual report to the Commissioners, yet clearly they were reading it in the Work Session, because they asked questions from it. And now you, the public can see the report. LAKE did not get it from the Commission, which so far as we know has not published it. The cover letter and the report are below in full. Continue reading →

Sugar Creek sewer main, permit, WWTP –VDT @ VCC 2015-03-19

The VDT has some information apparently from the agenda packet the city didn’t publish with its agenda for Thursday. Joe Adgie, VDT, 17 March 2015, City Council to consider revisions to radar ordinance,

Bids will be considered for the sewer main at Sugar Creek near Gornto Road and near the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks.

The sewer main has become exposed due to ongoing steam bank erosion, and the sewer main has started to sag. The city said this exposure needs to be repaired sooner rather than later, as the exposure could lead to a failure, and could allow raw sewage to directly leak into Sugar Creek.

This would be a violation of the city’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit with the state.

The recommended bid comes from Garney Companies, Inc., for $286,000.

Other bids come from Continue reading →

Sewer Main bids and Wastewater Plant contract @ VCC 2015-03-19

Fixing wastewater problems requires bids and contracts, some of which are on the Valdosta City Council agenda for Thursday.

AGENDA
REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL
5:30 PM Thursday, March 19, 2015
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL

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