A retired Air Force veteran weighed in,
asserting that new subdivisions need to be compatible
and consistent with homes already in the area,
and Glen Laurel would cause a lot of traffic
and drive land values down.
In the long run, as far as Lowndes County is concerned,
do you feel in your hearts that this is going to enhance Lowndes County
as a place to come and live and enjoy?
A landowner directly across from Glen Laurel pointed out that
all the other subdivisions on Old Pine Road also connect to another street,
so there are two ways in and out,
but Glen Laurel does not.
She said the photographs they submitted were of
Blue Pool, Callaway Circle, and Hamilton Circle,
which are all subdivisions that were developed as affordable housing
for first-time homeowners, yet the houses are now in sad shape.
She wondered whose responsibility is it to maintain
the entrance after the developers are gone?
Is it the homeowners association?
This is basically the same question Mr. Mulligan asked,
which Chairman Ashley Paulk answered with code enforcement.
She said that
at Hamilton Circle there are cars parked on the green area,
Continue reading →
A landowner (probably Glynda Faye Zaun) between Old Pine Road and Mulligan Road
says if all those little houses are built her property
values will decrease, and she’ll be surrounded by 94 little homes that
will generate too much traffic.
I am not against growth.
Growth is beneficial to every community; I recognize that.
But it should be constructed in a way that is beneficial
and pleasing to everyone and not just to the developers
or the ones who want to make a lot of money quick and then leave.
Lowndes County Commission met in work session yesterday morning,
and meets in regular session to make decisions this evening.
A couple of rezonings and an alcohol ordinance are on the agenda.
Remember rezonings affect sprawl which affects schools and everything else.
Citizens Wishing to be Heard has moved to the end again.
Here’s
the agenda
with videos from the work session interleaved.
Gretchen got there one minute late and they were already on item 4.
The whole meeting lasted about 20 minutes.
Yes, we know the sound is bad.
LAKE will be using a different camera tonight.
-jsq
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MAY 9, 2011, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Ashley Paulk said he is code enforcement!
Let’s go back a year to the rezoning of Old Pine Road on 8 June 2010,
as an example of how some things fit together around here.
First a bit more about lot size, and then code enforcement and traffic.
Commissioner Richard Lee wanted to know if Coy Brightwell
was the spokesperson for the people against.
Brightwell said some others would also speak,
but R-10 was the closest to a quarter acre lot, and that’s what they
were for.
Lot size and code enforcement on Old Pine Road, 8 June 2010 Part 1 of 3:
Rezoning REZ-2010-06, Glen Laurel, Old Pine Rd,
Regular monthly meeting of the Lowndes County Commission (LCC)
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 8 June 2010,
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman and John S. Quarterman
for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
A Mr. Mulligan of Bemiss Road wanted to know
A Mr. Mulligan of Bemiss Road wanted to know
Who develops these plans, the county, or the developer?
Pretty much everyone agrees there are problems with the two local
school systems in this county, those of Lowndes and Valdosta.
Proponents and opponents of school unification even agree on many
of the details.
They just don’t agree on the solution.
CUEE believes that unification will somehow lead to solutions to all this,
and
believe is the word they use,
because they have no evidence.
Opponents such as me
don’t see any plan to get to better education, and some think that unification
will cause problems that CUEE is not even considering,
just like integration did in 1969.
Here’s a pair of pie charts from 2008 from
Who’s losing in Winnersville?
a project unification opponent Dr. Mark George was involved in:
Tim Carroll pointed out on LAKE’s facebook page that Valdosta’s
Government 101
will be graduating soon.
Jane Fleming Osborn remarked that
It is an enlightening and eye-opening class you should not miss !”
According to the city’s writeup about it:
…is designed to give City of Valdosta residents age 21 and older
an inside look at how their city operates daily. Participants will be
exposed to all city departments according to the following itinerary:
April 4 Introduction to Class
April 11 Public Safety and Municipal Court
April 18 Engineering, Public Works and Utilities
April 25 Financial Administration, Industrial and Economic Development
May 2 Community Building and Neighborhood Development
This comment from George Boston Rhynes arrived just now,
on “Talk to my chairman”. -jsq
I was at
the last LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING when
Chairman Ashley Paulk shared information about the Biomass Project
extension being denied and the alleged secrecy surrounding keeping the
general public ignorant.
“Because certain people won’t share with you and I think it’s
unfair. We were approached about three weeks ago, Mr. (Joe) Pritchard
(County Manager) was, by the Industrial Authority, and we were tentatively
asked to make a move to ask that they not extend the contract.”
(Chairman Paulk!)
Chairman Paulk words prove that there is an apparent pattern and practice
The member who hardly ever speaks at board meetings makes a strong case for openness.
Tom Call
called me back about the biomass plant,
and we talked about a number of other matters.
He remarked that he was not an appointed spokesperson for the Industrial
Authority, so this is just him talking.
I don’t like to publish hearsay, but since the Industrial Authority
won’t talk, that’s what I’ve got.
According to Leigh Touchton, Ashley Paulk told her Tuesday night:
He said that Jerry Jennett took the biomass vote off the agenda at last
Industrial Authority meeting (April 19) even though Mary Gooding and
Roy Copeland wanted the vote to be taken ( a vote that was to oppose an
extension of the biomass contract since the biomass incinerator had not
met timeline benchmarks like having a buyer, etc). He said that Allan
Ricketts, Industrial Authority attorney Steve Gupton, and Jerry Jennett
went up to Atlanta to meet with Wiregrass officials and that’s when he
(Chairman Paulk) got a call telling him all this and he said he wouldn’t
keep quiet about it. He said the three men asked Wiregrass LLC officials
to rescind their letter asking VLCIA for an extension on their contract
and to substitute a new letter saying they were withdrawing their request
for extension (or not going forward to ask for extension).
This is in addition to what you can see him
on video saying during the meeting.
More after this picture of the cast of characters:
Continue reading →
A retired Air Force veteran weighed in,
asserting that new subdivisions need to be compatible
and consistent with homes already in the area,
and Glen Laurel would cause a lot of traffic
and drive land values down.
