Category Archives: Lowndes County Commission

Seago back again, road crossing closures, CDBG, GEMA, and public safety radios @ LCC 2017-01-23

This morning at 8:30 AM we’ll probably hear a storm report from Emergency Management Director Ashley Tye. And back on the agenda for the third time, REZ-2016-21 Seago, 4678 US Hwy 41 S, still trying to buy a bit of adjoining land to get up to the minimum acreage: see the LAKE videos of the previous regular session, which link to all the previous stuff.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2017, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Videos: Turnberry, Seago, and Branham back again, 3 alcohol, and budget @ LCC 2017-01-09

They vote tonight at 5:30 PM, and yesterday morning they reviewed the three rezonings back the agenda after being tabled last month. County Manager Joe Pritchard said staff would be sending Commissioners a list of upcoming board apointments so they could think of candidates. He didn’t say anything about showing that list to the public.

See also the LAKE videos of last November’s Planning Commission meeting for those three rezonings.

Below are links to LAKE videos from each item yesterday morning, with a few notes, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading →

Videos: Turnberry, Branham, Peterson Road Lift Station, and Commissioner Comments @ LCC 2016-12-13

24 minutes on REZ-2016-19 Turnberry at Thompson E-A to R-21 which changed to R-1 at the last minute, 14 minutes on Bill Branham’s REZ-2016-23 Copeland Road development, 4 on REZ-2016-24 Martin< 3 on REZ-2016-25 Cain’s Creekside RV Park, and 3 on the Peterson Road Lift Station Rehab, plus almost 5 minutes of Chairman and Commission Comments! Real discussion and revealing their opinions in public? What’s gotten into them? Did they see in advance the VDT’s Sunlight on the horizon?

Yet the Chairman said nobody could ask the audience to stand up on REZ-2016-19 Turnberry at Thompson and while they were waiting for the room to clear before the next item could start, Continue reading →

Turnberry, Seago, and Branham back again, 3 alcohol, and budget @ LCC 2017-01-09

Three rezonings are back from last month on the agenda for the Lowndes County Commission Work Session this morning at 8:30 AM.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Videos: Health appointment, 7 rezonings, abandonment, Soil Erosion, Wastewater, and alcohol @ LCC 2016-12-12

Bill Branham’s Copeland Road development got six minutes of discussion, the longest in yesterday morning’s Work Session, with others of the seven rezonings also getting discussion, plus, surprisingly, the proposed VOCA grant, because the outgoing DA spoke. They vote tonight at 5:30 PM. I would like to compliment the Commissioners on asking questions and having discussion in the Work Session. Even ever-silent Joyce Evans spoke up about the MIDS on-call bus system grant re-application.

They’re going to reappoint Dr. Randy Smith to the Board of Health. Chairman Bill Slaughter said: “Inside your packets you have a letter from Dr. Grove supporting Dr. Smith.”

But we the citizens, taxpayers, and recipients of health care didn’t get to see that letter. The Chairman went on to recommend Dr. Smith, and I thank him for making that recommendation in public where we could all see and hear it. Dr. Smith is probably a fine board member: that’s not the point. The point is if the public could see these things they might have useful input, not to mention it’s the public’s business the Commission is doing. Similarly Commissioners had a quarterly financial report “before you”, but the public couldn’t see it. If tiny Effingham County can publish its County Commission packets, mighty Lowndes County could to it, too.

Below are links to each of the LAKE videos, with Continue reading →

Videos: 7 county cases, 2 city rezonings, an LDR and a CUP @ GLPC 2016-11-28

Seven of these eleven cases are on the Lowndes County Commission agenda this morning after being heard by the Planning Commission two weeks ago.

One item took almost an hour: REZ-2016-19 Turnberry at Thompson Old US41N/Thompson @ GLPC. Two others took almost half an hour each: REZ-2016-24 Martin – 3824 Newsome Road @ GLPC and REZ-2016-23 Branham Project, which was back again from last year and finally passed this time, 6-2. Those were the last of the Lowndes County cases, after which most of the crowd exited the packed house. At the end of the meeting they re-elected their same officers.

Here are links to each LAKE video of the items, in the order Continue reading →

Lowndes County Soil Erosion, Sedimentation and Pollution Control Ordinance @ LCC 2016-12-12

The soil and water ordinance on the agenda at the Lowndes County Commission this morning: PDF.

It looks to be, as usual, the minimum required by state law. For example, it mentions rivers only in reference to specific state laws, without naming any of the Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha, or Alapahoochee Rivers. And its only mention of pipe is that owners of sections of small trout streams can pipe them through their property.

Thanks to Sabrina Denson for returning this document the same day as the request Gretchen made.

-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!

Health appointment, 7 rezonings, abandonment, Soil Erosion, Wastewater, and alcohol @ LCC 2016-12-12

Longest agenda in recent memory, for this morning’s Work Session and tomorrow evening’s Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

For the rezonings, see also the LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission meeting. For the abandonment of unopened right of way on Avenue I, see the LAKE videos of last month’s Lowndes County Commission meeting.

-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!

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2016, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2016, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Service Delivery mismatch between cities and Lowndes County @ LCC 2016-11-29

photo: WALB TV Back in 1999, Lowndes County made AP news for being the only Georgia county to miss the deadline to file a service delivery plan and also not to file an extension. They finally came to an agreement in 2008 after a lot of wrangling, The tradition of local government disagreement about the 1997 HB 489 law requiring lack of duplication of tax-paid services continued tonight, with a Special Called Meeting. Caitlyn Chastain, WALBNews10, 11 November 2016, Valdosta and Lowndes Co. leaders miss deadline for SDS agreement,

Lowndes County leaders are holding a special meeting for citizens to talk about their newest proposal for the city on November 29th.

If I’m not mistaken, they only posted the agenda yesterday. But Gretchen is there with the LAKE video camera. Until they straigten this out, none of them can apply for federal or state grants. Last I heard, Continue reading →

7 county cases, 2 city rezonings, an LDR and a CUP @ GLPC 2016-11-28

Eleven cases on the busiest the agenda for the Planning Commission in a long time, with a packed house, plus election of Chair and Vice Chair.

Panorama

Continue reading →