County Manager Joe Pritchard said Finance Director Stephanie Black has received a millage report from the Tax Commissioner. He and she will prepare something from it for the Lowndes County Commissioners for a later meeting.
The board packet is on the LAKE website, in response to a LAKE open records request.
Below are Continue reading
Five and a half minutes of the Regular Session fifteen minutes was on the county guaranteeing refinancing Hospital Authority debt, due to County Manager Joe Pritchard reciting what’s in the agreement, and Hospital Authority CEO Bill Forbes speaking, and Chairman Bill Slaughter thanking him. The agreement is in the board packet on the LAKE website from a LAKE open records request.
Citizen Michelle Williams of Hahira asked for a spay and neuter ordinance, noting Macon and Dalton have those already. County Clerk Paige Dukes praised Michelle Williams and other volunteers.
Second at almost two minutes was Continue reading
The resolution to reimpose the SPLOST tax as SPLOST VIII, was not included with the agenda for the tax-paying public to see. LAKE has filed an open records request for the entire board packet. Perhaps the county will supply it before they vote tomorrow.
Four bids were received for LAS and Pump Station Improvements with the high bid at $3.3 million, and the low at $2.5 million, but apparently the county negotiated the low bidder, Doyle Hancock & Sons, down to $1,520,858.00. This is “for improvements to the LAS [Land Application Site, aka wastewater spray field], Bevel Creek, Francis Lake, and Coleman Road lift stations.” The LAS is between Grassy Pond and Pike Pond, a few thousand feet from the GA-FL line, in the Withlacoochee River watershed. Continue reading
You got a notice about this meeting two days in advance, if you signed up for the county’s alerts, which is twice as long as they usually do. Special Called Meeting,
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
A special called meeting will be held to adopt the amended SPLOST VIII Agreement.Date: July 31, 2019
Time: 8:30 AM
Location: Board of Commissioners
Administration BuildingAddress: 327 N. Ashley Street
2nd Floor
Valdosta, GA 31601
Here is Lowndes County’s SPLOST VIII Project List. The biggest items are water and sewer at $23 million and sports at $13,274,912, followed by the historic Courthouse at $12 million. Note nothing about Continue reading
For the first time ever, the county returned the complete board packet before the Lowndes County Commission voted on it! This was in response to an open records request sent Wednesday, so the statutory three days were actually up Monday morning. They emailed the packet Monday afternoon about 5PM.
![[Google Map annotated by LAKE]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-07-22--lcc-packet/reed-road.jpg)
Google Map annotated by LAKE to show the quit claimed part of Reed Road in magenta (this map was not part of the board packet).
All the dirt part of Reed Road, back from the old Skipper Bridge over the Withlacoochee River, to the entrance to Pine Grove Middle School, is what is being abandoned. It is possible to decipher this from the quit claims in the board packet for yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session and tonight’s Regular Session.
All the SPLOST VIII Project Lists, for the county and the five cities, are included; see below.
Everything the county sent, plus images of each page, is on the LAKE website. LAKE looks forward to the county putting all these packet documents on the county’s own website, along with the agenda and agenda sheets.
See also:
-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!
The whole Work Session took eleven minutes, of which three were about the county guaranteeing refinancing Hospital Authority debt. They vote tonight at 5:30 PM; Gretchen will be there with the LAKE video camera. Update 2019-07-23:< Obtained in response to an open records request from LAKE, board packet is on the LAKE website.
Second longest yesterday morning at a minute and a half was the SPLOST VIII Agreement, for which it seems the list is already finished, finalized at a “public” meeting between the county and the five cities, which was not announced to the public.
Most of the bids for the Grassy Pond Sewer Connection were not in the board packet, we discovered due to a question by a Commissioner. The Abandonment of Portion of Reed Road is the bit to the Withlacoochee River, which they county says was “unopened”, which is a strange way to describe the old dirt road that used to cross the river on a bridge.
Below are Continue reading
Not on Lowndes County’s online calendar, the county already met with the five cities about SPLOST VIII:
On July 8, 2019, Lowndes County met with the cities of Valdosta, Hahira, Lake Park, Remerton and Dasher to officially call for SPLOST VIII. As a result, the attached SPLOST VIII Agreement between Lowndes County and the cities has been prepared for consideration. Once approved by Lowndes County, the agreement will be forwarded to the cities for consideration during a public meeting.
Lowndes County on the previous SPLOST.
Will when and where for that upcoming “public meeting” be announced in advance? Where is “the attached SPLOST VIII Agreement”? Wednesday morning at 9:35 AM, I sent the county a Georgia Open Records Act (GORA) request for the board packet for this week’s Lowndes County Commission meetings. By a very generous interpretation of the three business days GORA permits to respond to such a request, time’s up this morning at 9:35 AM. So far, the county has not even acknowledged receipt of the request.
The Hospital Authority, over whom the county has so little authority it has to Continue reading
Lowndes County did supply the items missing from the May 14 and 15, 2019 board packet, on 11 June 2019, and those items are now on the LAKE website.
LAKE looks forward to the county putting all these packet documents on the county’s own website, along with the agenda and agenda sheets.
-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!
Animal welfare was the topic of the one Citizen wished to be Heard: Ed Barr, a former VSU faculty member, who said he spoke for a group of people who want a better-designed animal shelter, with better accessibility, as in closer to a residential area, or maybe redesigned like Miss Kitty Feline Sanctuary in Thomasville; he never said quite what features that meant.
The Regular Session was double-booked at the same time as the Planning Commission, so Gretchen went to the Planning Commission. The county’s own video was not available yesterday, but it appeared after I inquired.
They appointed Continue reading
The Work Session was at 4PM on Tuesday. The longest item was 7d. Corrections Software Solutions Probation Tracking System.
On the 6 a. TWR-2019-01 US Hwy 84 E. E-A, New 300′ Telecommunications Tower, tabled last time, staff did hear from Moody AFB that the tower was no problem for helicopter pilots, and the FAA has said no hazard. But they didn’t say whether Moody had issued its TERPS report.
Berinda Nwakamma did introduce herself very briefly as an applicant for the 5a. Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD). County Manager Joe Pritchard said “her information is in your agenda,” but it was not among the board packet documents the county sent LAKE in response to an open records request. What we dug up about her is below.
The Chairman had to speak for the one applicant for the 5b. Appointment – Southern Georgia Area Agency on Aging, since Commissioner Joyce Evans declined to say anything.
They had an Executive Session to discuss pending litigation.
Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also Continue reading
![[Land Application Site]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-08-12--lcc-packet/map-las.jpg)
![[Lowndes Project List]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-07-22--lcc-packet/Agenda-Packet-72219-and-72319-0080.jpg)
![[Valdosta Project List]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-07-22--lcc-packet/Agenda-Packet-72219-and-72319-0081.jpg)
![[Hahira Project List]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-07-22--lcc-packet/Agenda-Packet-72219-and-72319-0082.jpg)
![[Remerton Project List]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-07-22--lcc-packet/Agenda-Packet-72219-and-72319-0083.jpg)
![[Dasher Project List]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-07-22--lcc-packet/Agenda-Packet-72219-and-72319-0084.jpg)
![[Lake Park Project List]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-07-22--lcc-packet/Agenda-Packet-72219-and-72319-0085.jpg)
![[Letter]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-05-14--lcc-packet/HospitalXAuthorityXLetterXandXInfo.XSheets-0001.jpg)