Jane Fleming Osborn advises:
Food pantries (outdoor boxes attached to buildings or freestanding in an agency/business yard) in this area are up to fourteen.
If you have been blessed, consider refilling the shelves with non perishable foods, personal hygiene items and toiletries to help people experiencing homelessness.
Continue readingUpdate 2022-09-26: Videos: Redo rezonings and a citizen paving request @ LCC 2022-09-13.
Update 2022-09-21: Videos: 6 Remerton, 4 Valdosta, 1 Hahira, 1 Lowndes County cases @ GLPC 2022-08-29.
Other than the seven-minute not-on-the-agenda Georgia Forestry presentation by Lowndes County Chief Ranger Mike Williford, the highest-dollar item got the most discussion: Griner Park, at the corner of Webster and Ashley Street.
There was no discussion of the items about redoing their botched rezoning decision.
They did kvetch about each of the extraterritorial jurisdiction items for water and sewer, alleging it was all somebody else’s fault. But why did the county not catch these earlier?
That was at the Work Session yesterday morning. The Lowndes County Commission voted this evening at their Regular Session.
Some Commissioners seemed unclear on why they were spending so much on Griner Park. Here’s Gretchen’s take: Continue reading
Update 2022-09-13: GA Forestry, $3 million, redoing 2 rezonings, 3 extraterritorial water and sewer @ LCC 2022-09-12.
The newspaper of record reported on the unusual redo of a zoning decision by the Lowndes County Commission, noting the Commissioners did not follow the law in at least two ways.
But it did not say who discovered those infractions: the County Attorney? The County Planner? The Chairman who cast the tie-breaking vote? Somebody who sued or threatened to sue?
Want to dig into that question, VDT?
Meanwhile, the Commission will proceed with correcting its infractions in three agenda items this evening.
7.b. REZ-2022-10 The Campus Transitional Care Facility, 2193 Howell Rd
LAKE Video of the erroneous hearing and vote on June 16, 2022.
Malia Thomas, Valdosta Daily Times, September 12, 2022, County rehab center vote invalid,
VALDOSTA — The Lowndes County Commission will have to revisit a controversial rezoning decision in light of a discovery that the original vote was invalid due to a “failure to follow zoning procedures.”
On June 16, Continue reading
Update 2022-09-21: Videos: 6 Remerton, 4 Valdosta, 1 Hahira, 1 Lowndes County cases @ GLPC 2022-08-29.
Update 2022-09-13: Videos: GA Forestry, $3 million, redoing 2 rezonings, 3 extraterritorial water and sewer @ LCC 2022-09-12.
Update 2022-09-13: County rehab center vote invalid –Valdosta Daily Times 2022-09-12.
Update 2022-09-13: Videos: slides @ LCC Millage 2022-08-23.
Lowndes County will approve spending almost $3 million this week, on a downtown Valdosta park and a railroad crossing, but you wouldn’t know that from the agenda.
Fortunately, the board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website.
Maybe Lowndes County could put board packets on its own website, like other counties large and small in Georgia and Florida have been doing for many years.
| Cost | What |
|---|---|
| $2,542,586.00 | Griner Lot Improvements |
| $438,537.00 | Briggston Road Paving Project Agreement with Valdosta Railway, L.P. |
| $2,981,123.00 | Total |
The county will also redo two rezoning decisions for which the the Chairman previously decided split votes.
Plus three extraterritorial jurisdiction water and sewer requests, one from Hahira for a sprayfield, and two for commercial properties by Valdosta.
And the county is accepting infrastructure for a subdivision, while as usual pretending that won’t cost the taxpayers anything.
Here is the agenda. See also: Continue reading
Update 2022-09-12: Packet: redo 2 rezonings, 3 extraterritorial water & sewer, $438,537 RR crossing, $2,542,586 Griner Park @ LCC 2022-09-12.
Nobody seems to remember the Lowndes County Commission ever redoing a rezoning public hearing. Possibly this is what they’ve been holding Executive Sessions about lately.
Thanks to Jane Fleming Osborn for spotting this pair of public notices about redoing the same rezoning that appeared in the Valdosta Daily Times, apparently on August 29, 2022.
One is to consider the validity of the previous vote. Then they previously rezoned this property on June 16, 2022, one Commissioner was absent, and the Chairman decided a split vote.
The Public Notice is about the rezoning itself, with a prominent warning tacked on the end that it’s for a halfway house for drug rehabilitation. Apparently lack of that last bit was a legal problem Continue reading
Notice appeared yesterday of a meeting at 8:30 AM this morning. A very rudimentary agenda was provided.
Special Called Meeting
Friday, August 26, 2022
Date: August 26, 2022
Time: 8:30 AM
Location: Board of Commissioners Administration Building
Address: 327 N. Ashley Street
2nd Floor
Valdosta, GA 31601
The agenda: Continue reading
Last month at the Lowndes County Commission, the Hunter rezoning acreage was finally resolved, the rejected Beasley rezoning came back in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard, and the Alapaha Plantation water filtration system still doesn’t work after a year.
Even the property owners didn’t know whether 6.a. REZ-2022-13 Hunter Property was for rezoning 2 or 7 acres. Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker resolved the issue by Continue reading
Update 2022-08-25: Videos: Hunter rezoning, insurance, objections to rejection of Beasley rezoning @ LCC Regular 2022-07-26.
This morning the Lowndes County Commission spent 3 minutes discussing insurance, mostly about defensive driving to get rates down. And 2 minutes discussing the previously-tabled 6.a. REZ-2022-13 Hunter Property, which seems to be really for 2 acres, not 7 acres. Rezoning notice signs are posted on both adjacent roads. The whole meeting took seven minutes.
![[Library, rezoning, insurance, seven minutes]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-07-25--lcc-videos/many.jpg)
Library, rezoning, insurance, seven minutes
They vote 5:30 PM Tuesday evening, July 26, 2022.
Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item of this morning’s meeting, with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the Continue reading
Update 2022-07-25: Videos: Seven minutes, mostly insurance @ LCC Work 2022-07-25.
Back this morning on the Lowndes County Commission agenda, after being tabled two weeks ago because of confusion over 2 or 7 acres, and over road frontage without rezoning signs, the packet pages for REZ-2022-13 Hunter Property are the same as last time, except for a better scan of the survey plat.
John Hogan wants to be reappointed to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBOA) and J. Elveta Miller wants to be reappointed to the South Georgia Regional Library Board (SGRLB). There’s a beer and wine license.
And the big-dollar item is $898,852.00 to the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) for property and liability insurance.
Here is the agenda. The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website. See also Continue reading
At 22 minutes, that was probably the fastest Greater Lowndes Planning Commission meeting ever, on June 27, 2022.
The cases were so uncontentious that Chair Vicki Biles greeted the audience with “Welcome, lady and gentleman.” The lady was Gretchen Quarterman with the LAKE video camera. Lowndes County Commissioner Joyce Evans also arrived.
Nonetheless, there was one split vote.
Here are LAKE videos of each agenda item, with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the agenda and the Dasher packet materials, the Lowndes County packet items, and the July 11 and 12, 2022, Lowndes County Commission meetings where the Lowndes County rezonings will be decided. Continue reading
![[Pictures of food pantries]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/hahira/2022-09-18--food-pantries/many.jpg)
![[Videos and a picture]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-09-12--lcc-videos/many.jpg)
![[Maps]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-09-12--lcc-packet/many.jpg)
![[Both notices]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-09-13--public-hearing-rez-2022-10/many.jpg)
![[LOST]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-08-26--lcc-lost/lost.jpg)
![[Hunter, Insurance, CWTBH]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-07-26--lcc-videos/many.jpg)
![[Rezoning and insurance]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-07-25--lcc-packet/many.jpg)
![[Rezonings in record time]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/glpc/2022-06-27--glpc-videos/many.jpg)