What’s this Development Authority of Lowndes County (LCDA) and who’s on it? If a voting board member of a board being appointed is on that second board, should he recuse himself? What if he’s one of the people being considered for appointment?
An appointment, a road abandonment, three rezonings, and a bunch of for considerations. How long do you think the Lowndes County Commission and staff will discuss these things in their Work Session tomorrow morning? Five minutes? Ten? Maybe even fifteen minutes?
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS PROPOSED AGENDA WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MAY 7, 2012, 8:30 a.m. REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2012, 5:30 p.m. 327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Call to Order
Invocation
Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
Minutes for Approval
Work Session — April 23, 2012
Regular Session — April 24, 2012
Appointments – Lowndes County Development Authority
Resolution – Abandonment of unopened Right of Way off US 41 South
Public Hearings
REZ-2012-05 Gloria Dave, Bethany Drive R-A to R-1, Well & Septic, ~3.8 acres
REZ-2012-06 Hart Property, Whitewater & Clyattville Lake Park R-A to R-1, County Water & Septic, ~3 acres
REZ-2012-07 McNeal Property, McNeal Road E-A to R-A, Well & Septic, 25 acres
For Consideration
Letter and Resolution of Support for Brookhaven III Apartments
Acceptance of Proposal for Patching of Ousley Road
Section 5311 Rural Transportation Program Supplemental Agreement #1
Proposal from Doubletree Communities, LLC.
Piney Wood Mobile Home Park Trust Indenture
Beer License-Right Shop 2-6872 Lake Park-Bellville Rd.
Traylor Business Service Inc. Contract
Reports-County Manager
Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address
Here are videos of the entire 11:11 minute 24 April 2012 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission. They time at 0:57 (before call to order; doesn’t count), 0:42 (mostly dead air), 0:33 (invocation and pledge: not business), 0:29, 0:37, 0:40, 0:10, 0:46, 1:09, 0:46, 0:53, 1:22, 2:08, 1:30, and 0:08: eleven minutes and eleven seconds total. And that’s including the invocation and pledge and the two citizens who spoke (3:38 for those last two). It would seem a good guess that the Commissioners and staff discussed more in the previous morning’s work session, but not really; you can see for yourself.
A Commissioner asked a question! Before they accepted a bid for mowing Bemiss Road, Joyce Evans wanted an explanation of the timeframe of the cutting of the grass. Public Works Director Robin English wanted to know work time or response time? County Manager Joe Pritchard and somebody else simultaneously said “response time”. Hm, how did they know that? In what open meeting was that question previously raised? Also, Pritchard demonstrated he could speak into the microphone and be heard when he wanted to. English clarified the response times quoted by the bidders, and Evans moved to go with the low bidder, which the Commissioners approved, unanimously as usual.
Videos, Regular Session Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 24 April 2012. Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).
Chairman Paulk violated the Commission’s own
Policies and Procedures for Citizens Wishing to be Heard by saying Timothy Nessmith didn’t get a chance to fill out the appropriate form, but he was welcome to speak anyway. Now I think that’s a silly rule, and if the Chairman is going to waive it for one person, they might as well revoke it for all citizens so nobody has to sign up.
Chairman Paulk chose to answer that by saying it was a Public Service Commission issue, and adding that due to housing density on that road “they [presumably the telephone company] can’t make it work economically.”
Like my neighbor Chairman Paulk, I know Nessmith’s neighborhood (Nessmith lives around the corner from me, although I had no idea he was going to speak, and have never discussed his issue with him). Later I will post some things the Commission could do.
Lowndes County unincorporated area residents may or may not be forced to buy curbside trash pickup, or something, sometime, but the county isn’t answering questions about that.
In Citizens Wishing to Be Heard at the
24 April 2012 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, Gretchen Quarterman wanted to knowwhat had been decided at the retreat or elsewhere about the trash question. Will we have to get curbside pickup? Did the county look to see what surrounding counties do? Might the county survey citizens for their opinions? Could we have a special garbage tax district for those who wanted to use the current trash deposit areas, similar to the special lighting tax districts the county has repeatedly approved? She got no answers to any of her questions other than Commissioner Joyce Evans shaking her head at that last one.
So we don’t know what the county has decided, if anything, nor when they will decide it, nor how they are collecting citizen input (if at all).
Here are videos of the entire ten and a half minute 23 April 2012 Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission. As you can see, these videos time at 1:01, 0:33, 0:44, 1:07, 1:45, 1:40, 0:33, 2:59, and 0:10, and that’s with a camera that stops and starts almost instantaneously. Those times add up to 10 minutes and 32 seconds. Is that adequate discussion for the county’s business?
Finance Director Stephanie Black said the county sent out an RFP for banking services to local banks. Three responded, and one was incomplete. The two complete bids were Regions Bank and SunTrust. Regions will waive charges with $6M balance; SunTrust will waive charges $2.8M balance.
On the FDIC charge, Regions will charge .135 per thousand dollars; SunTrust is waiving that.
She said that was currently about $3500 or $4500 per month. Commissioner Powell asked who they were currently using. Answer: Regions. There’s more in the video, and there was a written report the Commissioners were looking at.
Apparently the county’s own water isn’t good enough for Commissioners and staff,
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Local governments around here seem reluctant to post videos of their own meetings, or even to post board packet items on the web. We’ve seen examples of how to do it from Travis County, Texas and Leon County, Florida, but those are other states; maybe our Georgia local governments don’t want to look at such examples. How about Glynn County, Georgia?
Did you know…Glynn County now offers live streaming and archived videos of BOC meetings ONLINE! No cable? No problem! Join us tonight at 6:00 p.m. Glynn County, GA — Official Website — Media Center
And they live-stream and archive videos of their planning commission, as well. It’s 18 April 2012 meeting lasted about 24 minutes.
Back on the Glynn County web pages, they have their proposed budget online more than a week before their budget public hearing which is a special called meeting that they will put on cable channel 99 and live stream online.
There appear to be four cases for final action by Valdosta Mayor and Council on 10 May 2012, and three cases for final action by the Lowndes County Commission on 8 May 2012. GLPC itself is advisory:
it votes on recommendations, but it does not decide.
You may wonder why we don’t just point to the official copy of the agenda on the GLPC website. That’s because that website no longer exists (try the above link; you’ll see). It’s still linked to from the City of Valdosta web page for GLPC. More on all that later.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS PROPOSED AGENDA WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2012, 8:30 a.m. REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012, 5:30 p.m. 327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
