Category Archives: Government

Water issues in rezoning near VSU, appointments to Hospital and Tree Authorities @ VCC 2014-09-11

WWALS adds some water issues about that Turner Brooks rezoning, and there are appointments to the Hospital and Authorities at tonight’s Valdosta City Council meeting.

Here’s the agenda.

AGENDA
REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL
5:30 PM Thursday, September 11, 2014
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL
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Board packet @ LCC 2014-09-08

232x300 Survey plat REZ-2014-15, in Board Packet, Lowndes County Commission, by John S. Quarterman, 8 September 2014 Here is the board packet for this morning’s Work Session and Tuesday evening’s Regular Session. First time I’ve ever seen one before they vote on it. I thank the county for that, and you can all see what they are considering.

Hoever, it cost me $33.50, because staff included all 385 pages of the ULDC, even though that (unlike the rest of it) is online on the county website.

They also delivered it only on paper, and only in black and white, even though the Planning Department produces all the land use maps electronically and in color. And they didn’t deliver before the Work Session as I asked, even though obviously the board packet was assembled Continue reading

Videos: GP Investments and Hahira’s Extraterritorial Request @ LCC 2014-09-08

Update 2014-09-09: Board packet via LAKE open records request.

Twelve minutes. When do they actually talk about things? They vote Tuesday at 5:30 PM. “Hahira’s Extraterritorial Request” is for water and sewer for John Bailey. “Rezoning case REZ-2014-15” is also about water and sewer. The other obscure public hearing is to fix something county staff didn’t do correctly back in June.

Yes, it’s the old white guy to replace the young black woman on the Planning Commission, and it’s Commissioner Joyce Evans for the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. And yes, it’s the annual renewal of hiring prisoners from Valdosta State Prison.

Here’s the agenda with links to the videos and some notes.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
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FCC net neutrality written comment period closes Tuesday

Want to continue to see this and other blogs, local newspapers, YouTube, and all the other Internet sources of information that are not owned by the six companies that own 90% of U.S. media? Then you want the FCC to continue net neutrality, and you have until Tuesday to send written comments.

EFF has provided this handy form: Dear FCC. Please go there and comment. You’ll thank yourself later.

-jsq

PS: This is what I wrote. Continue reading

What are REZ-2014-15 and Hahira’s Extraterritorial Request? @ LCC 2014-09-08

300x268 Location map, in GP Investments, by John S. Quarterman, 8 September 2014 Public hearings with no details: how is the public to know to show up? Why no description at all for “Rezoning case REZ-2014-15”? And no identifying number for the next case? And why the extra obscurity about “Hahira’s Extraterritorial Request”? This agenda goes beyond brief into opaque. LAKE can answer two of these questions because Gretchen went to the Planning Commission meeting and photographed that agenda that Lowndes County refuses to even publish. But why should the taxpayers be left guessing about what their only elected county-wide government is doing?

Also two appointments: the Planning Commission’s recommendation to replace its departing young black woman member with an old white man and somebody unnamed to the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Plus the annual renewal of hiring prisoners from Valdosta State Prison.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading

Fracking panel report –Cape Breton University, Nova Scotia

A reader wondered how Nova Scotia’s fracking ban would result in safer oil and gas company drilling operations instead of just balkanizing the world into fracking permitted and prohibited zones. Actually, Energy Minister Andrew Younger said:

“This way, people will know before it’s allowed — if it’s ever allowed — there will be a full debate in the Legislature.”

And the panel report that was the proximate cause of the ban, by the Nova Scotia Hydraulic Fracturing review, led by President Dr. David Wheeler, explicitly is for: Continue reading

Nova Scotia banned fracking; will southeast U.S. ban fracked methane pipelines?

Yesterday Nova Scotia announced a ban on fracking. Will local or state governments in the southeast, now threatened by the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline, ban such pipelines? Especially since FERC has now directed Sabal Trail to examine routes through Americus, Cordele, Ashburn, Tifton, Adel, Valdosta, and even Thomasville, in addition to the ones it already proposed through Dougherty, Colquitt, Brooks, and Lowndes Counties?

Sierra Club Canada wrote about public meetings in its Media Release of 28 August 2014, Government of Nova Scotia Needs to Ban Fracking,

“Public meetings held by the panel were attended by an overwhelming majority of well-informed citizens who had deep concerns about fracking,” according to [Gretchen] Fitzgerald, “Those concerns should be met with the type of leadership they deserve: an immediate, legally binding ban.”

And the Nova Scotia government listened. Bruce Erskine wrote for The Herald Business 3 September 2014, Nova Scotia to ban fracking, posting a video in which you can hear Energy Minister Andrew Younger say: Continue reading

Nydia Tisdale’s video of being arrested for videoing a public event

The deputy is on camera refusing to identify himself as he holds her down. The best he’d do was “You’ll see it on the warrant”.

Background here, including a candidate laughing as she cries “Help!”

-jsq

A presentation and some rubberstamping @ LCC 2014-08-26

Congratulations to Ashley Tye for being only the third in the state to attain a certificate as a professional emergency manager.

“I was trying to break a record,” bragged County Chairman Bill Slaughter as several people reminded him not to skip approving the minutes, presumably referring to the previous morning’s three-minute Work Session. After the six-minute presentation, they took less than a minute on each of the remaining items, except they did find time for an Executive Session for Attorney-Client Privilege. Who are they suing this time? Crawford Powell had to remind the Chairman not to skip Citizens Wishing to Be Heard, but “There are none,” said the Chairman, with satisfaction.

This time the contractor had magically finished punchlist for Nottinghill that the previous morning the County Engineer said would take a week, but had not finished the work. What does this rubberstamp punchlist mean, then? They approved the Davidson Road drainage easement quit claim from the county back to the landowner.

Here’s the agenda with links into the videos and a few notes, followed by a video playlist.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading

Water, events, flea market, religious events @ GLPC 2014-08-25

The Turner Brooks rezoning next to Pine Tree Road turns out to be in paved-over wetlands that previously flooded, only slightly uphill from notoriously-problematical Sugar Creek. GLPC recommended tabling until Historic Preservation could look at one of the houses, but these water issues could be at least as important, and Valdosta City Council could decide to approve anyway without waiting.

Also in Valdosta an accessory building, an event center and flea market, and an office park. In Lake Park an ordinance text change about religious meetings in commercial districts. In the county, a request to remove some existing zoning restrictions and the county wants to approve all its recent ULDC changes.

And they only submitted one name for the County Commission to consider for appointment to GLPC.

Here’s the agenda followed by links to the videos as events occurred in the meeting.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission

Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park

REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING

AGENDA

Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue

Monday, August 25, 2014* 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing

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