Last Monday there was a hearing about
hazard mitigation plan updates
which I, uh, showed up late for.
Ten minutes late, which, given that nobody else showed up at all, meant
that the county staff went home, so as to avoid wasting taxpayer dollars
presenting to an empty room.
That was the second and last public hearing
So if you want to see that presentation, your last chance is
Monday morning at the County Commission Work Session:
4. Hazard Mitigation Plan Update Presentation (work session only)
That is not a public hearing, so you can’t speak.
They did hold two public hearings at which you could have spoken.
Other items include a beer and wine license (these are often controversial),
an employee health care plan renewal (I think that’s what Section 125 is),
and a telephone company site lease agreement.
Plus:
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2011, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2011, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Hazard Mitigation Public Hearing (10/17/2011)
PUBLIC HEARING ON
HAZARD MITIGATION
MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2011
6:00 P.M.
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
327 N. ASHLEY STREET
COMMISSION CHAMBERS – 2ND FLOOR
For more information please contact EMA Director, Ashley Tye, at 671-2790.
The latest Lowndes County Lunch and Learn
was yesterday, with County Clerk Paige Dukes
answering the top 50 questions the county receives.
Code Red! Road paving! Tax Assessment! CHIP grants!
Some of these things affect all of you, and many of them could help you specifically.
Gretchen was there and videoed most of it, as well as asking some followup questions.
Among other surprising answers was that the new Commission districts
as shown on the maps on the county website have still not been approved by the Department of Justice.
All of the Commissioners and several of the staff travelled to Atlanta
a few weeks ago to tweak the lines.
Paige assured us that tweaking would be completed in time for next year’s Commission elections.
Mayor Sonny Vickers said he thought it was important for children
and grandchildren and proper for the City Council to take a stand
against school consolidation, and City Manager Larry Hanson read
the statement (transcript appended).
For:
James Wright
District 1
Hoke Hampton
District 3
Alvin Payton
District 4
Ben Norton
At Large
Didn’t Have to Vote:
Sonny Vickers
Mayor
Against:
Robert Yost
District 6
Tim Carroll
District 5
Missing:
Deidra White
District 2
After very brief discussion, the vote was 4 for
(James Wright of District 1, Hoke Hampton of District 3,
Alvin Payton of District 4, and Ben Norton At Large)
and 2 against
(Robert Yost of District 6 and Tim Carroll of District 5).
Valdosta City Council voted to oppose school consolidationo
education, consolidation, resolution,
Regular Session, Valdosta City Council (VCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 6 October 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Here’s the statement transcribed as accurately as I could from the video:
Continue reading →
If Mr. Paulk was a “normal citizen” he would know if you call the
sheriff’s department for a animal problem he would know they call animal
control! And it is up to the animal officer if they want to give the dog
back to the owner… Officers have done it many times. It is under the
discretion of the animal control officer. Poor Ashley should know what
the ordinance says I mean he was the sheriff for many years as he has
indicated many times and since he is the County Chairman now one would
think he would know what the orinance says. This poor guy was given wrong
information by the County Chairman on how to fix the problem… perhaps if
the man caught the dog and brought it to the shelter he would be better
off. The owner would have to show proof of rabies vaccination and pay
impound fees. $25 impound fee, $12 for a voucher if the dog does not
have proof of current rabies vaccination. The prices are not much but it
is incontinent. If it is not sterilized (spay or neutered) it doubles
on each impound… fees can rack up pretty fast $25, $50, $100 and so
on. The sheriff’s office is not going to handle owner involved cases,
if the dog was returned to the owner it was not a stray. Sorry Ashley
Paulk you’re so wrong on this one!
Nolen Cox seems to think CHIP grant recipients don’t work.
Chairman Paulk declined to let Mrs. Cox speak because he said in a letter
to the Commission she called them idiots.
When he let Nolen Cox speak, Cox said:
I think it’s interesting that the comments
about the CHIP grant comes after the vote.
Y’all must be an all-wise group.
Chairman Paulk referred to that as sarcastic.
Cox disagreed.
Paulk said it was in his opinion and he decided such things there.
Cox asserted that:
to get a $300,000 grant it takes about $420,000
of tax money accumulated from citizens.
He didn’t cite any source for those figures.
He did claim the Commission was luring people into homebuying
while home prices are going down.
Somebody had to work for the money that they didn’t get
to give to somebody who didn’t work.
Sounds like he was saying CHIP grant recipients don’t work.
I wonder how they pay their mortgages then, since CHIP grants
as near as I can tell only help with down payments?
I thanked the Commission for doing the right thing about the
CHIP grant.
And for at least three people sitting up front (Evans, Paulk, and Pritchard)
lowering their monitors so citizens (and even
cameras) could see their faces.
Then I relayed the news about the
$1.5 billion investment in Gadsden County, Florida
for a 400 MW solar project.
Plus ongoing jobs, expanded education, private sources of investment,
and customers for the electricity.
Unlike the failed local biomass project,
National Solar Power’s Gadsden County project already has
Progress Energy signed up as a customer for its electricity.
I recommended that the Commission go on record as being in favor of such
projects locally.
Thanks for CHIP and lower monitors; also solar –John S. Quarterman @ LCC 27 Sep 2011
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 September 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
This grant will serve people who are in the 80% or below median income bracket.
These people probably would not be able to afford purchasing a house
without down payment assistance.
And especially in today’s economic times these people need a hand up.
Instead of renters, they become taxpayers, and that certainly helps our economy.
Thanks for accepting the CHIP grant –Carolyn Selby @ LCC 27 Sep 2011
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 September 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
A citizen (didn’t get his name; sorry) stood up to remark on the stray dogs
that kept getting loose in his neighborhood, and how when animal control came
they just took the dogs back to their owners, who let them loose again.
Chairman Ashley Paulk had no hesitation in saying the sheriff should be called
on the owners.
Stray dogs and the law @ LCC 27 Sep 2011
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 September 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.