The County Manager said it’s “in the hands of the clerk, if you’d like to look at it” for at least two documents, so not only did
the agenda on the web lack even the one-sheet agenda item writeups,
Commissioners weren’t provided copies of contracts they were being asked to approve.
They vote this same evening, and the
Planning Commission also meets 5:30 PM Tuesday.
The GEFA Loan Modification turns out to be about Continue reading
We don’t know what the GEFA Loan Modification is about, 
Photo: Michael Rivera, CC attribution share alike because not even the one-page agenda sheets are included this time.
Similarly, we don’t know why they want to abandon Buck Cato Road (CR 880), or what vehicles they want to surplus and sell, or who else bid for the 3/4 Ton Truck for the Extension Service, or for the Tables and Chairs for the Emergency Operations Center, nor why the want to interconnect the North Lowndes and Kinderlou Water Systems.
Here’s the agenda. Because of the Monday Memorial Day holiday, the Work Session is Tuesday morning, the Regular Session is that same evening, and the Planning Commission also meets 5:30 PM Tuesday.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Continue reading
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
The busiest Planning Commission agenda I can recall,
is scheduled at exactly the same time as the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session because of the Memorial Day holiday.
The biggest item is
REZ-2015-11 The Orchard at Stone Creek,
yet another subdivision on Old US 41 N,
this one due west of Nelson Hill on Val Del.
Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
Continue reading
Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park
REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
AGENDA
Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue
Tuesday, May 26, 2015 * 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing
“Once you put in your transfers in and out, you have a balanced budget,”
said Finance Director Stephanie Black.
Transfers in from where?
How does this magic work?
Even the Commissioners had no agenda to look at, although they did have printed copies of the draft budget, which the public could only see as it scrolled by on the screen at yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Budget Work Session, which was over by 10AM even though it was announced as 8:30AM to 5PM. However, it is good that they had this Work Session in public. County Clerk Paige Dukes told Gretchen afterwards that no draft budget would be available to the public until after two changes requested by the Chairman were incorporated. She did not say when that would be finished or when the draft budget would be available so taxpayers could comment. She did refer people to last year’s budget. The slides that Finance Director Stephanie Black presented do provide an interesting high level overview. Other than Commissioners and very few staff, the only people in the room were VDT reporter Joe Adgie, someone unidentified, and Gretchen taking these LAKE videos so you can see what happened. Continue reading
Update 2015-05-18: Still no agenda posted as the meeting starts; not online; not on the outside of the building; not on the inside of the building. Is this legal?
An all-day Commission meeting with no agenda.
And no draft budget that the public can see.
PUBLIC NOTICE-BUDGET WORK SESSION
Date: May 18, 2015 Time: 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM Location: Lowndes County Commission Chambers Address: 327 N. Ashley Street, 2nd Floor
Valdosta, GA 31601The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a Budget Work Session for Monday, May 18, 2015, at 8:30 a.m. For questions please call County Clerk, Paige Dukes, at 229-671-2400 or pdukes@lowndescounty.com
Over on the Finance Department web page, it Continue reading
One appointee bowed out, architect selection and public defender to the courthouse were clarified, and dog kennels were discussed, in these LAKE videos from yesterday morning’s 11 May 2015 Work Session
of the Lowndes County Commission, with a few notes.
See also
the agenda, plus a
new item
6 f. Server Replacement/Network Core Replacement. Continue reading
Picture by Michael Rivera, CC
Why is the county accepting Bids for Bottled Water Service? If its own water, or Valdosta’s, is good enough for the taxpayers, shouldn’t it be good enough for Commission and staff? They’ve also got a Bid for Coffee Service, but we don’t grow coffee here, as far as I know, so that’s not the same issue.
With many local people needing jobs, why does the county continue to renew an Annual Contract Renewal for Prison Work Details?
Looks like Joseph G. Stevens will be reappointed to the Lowndes County Public Facilities Authority. Both G. Norman Bennett and incumbent Anthony Payton want to be appointed to the one slot opening on the Valdosta-Lowndes County Airport Authority. Their applications were not included with the agenda, so who can say which one is most qualified?
I guess they didn’t decide to relocate the Public Defender’s Office into the historic Lowndes County Courthouse, since on the agenda is a three-year Lease Agreement for the Public Defender’s Office at its present location.
Looks like J. Glenn Gregory will provide the Architectural Services for the Lowndes County Civic Center Renovations and the Architectural Services for the Naylor Community Center, both funded via SPLOST VII. Both apparently without competitive bids.
Here’s the agenda, which also has Declaration of Surplus Items and Authorization for Sale/Disposal and Easter Seals Southern Georgia Presentation (Work Session Only).
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Continue reading
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MAY 11, 2015 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
They vote tonight at 5:30 PM on what you can see them discussing yesterday morning in these videos.
They got a Deep South Sanitation, LLC Application for Franchise for trash collection, including use of the county’s collection facility at 345 Gil Harbin Industrial Blvd. Commissioner Demarcus Marshall asked what about recycling; Chairman Bill Slaughter said there would be recycling at the collection centers. Which means yes ADS’ price went up and service reduced since no curbside recycling collection anymore.
County Manager Joe Pritchard asked County Engineer Mike Fletcher to report and to be added to the Regular Session emergency Nankin Road Repair due to a water-eroded box culvert. And it’s a single-source no-bid, this time for Rountree Construction.
Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker had a few remarks about the letter to support plans to “renovate Arbor Trace II Apartments in Lake Park” by Investment Management Company of Valdosta, Inc.
The body armor request from two weeks before got Continue reading
ADS trash collection price and performance
wasn’t on the agenda, but even
former Commissioner Richard Lee
stood up to speak about it two weeks ago at the April 14th 2015 Regular Session, along with two other citizens
David Eaton
and
me.
See also
VDT trash story.
The VDT didn’t pick up on
Ann Swayze’s smoot and soot concerns
also being related, because nobody stood up to complain about burning in
Foxborough before the collection centers closed.
Commissioners did the right thing and unanimously rezoned Vallotton Farms back to Estate Agriculture, like it was before county-wide rezoning happened. It wasn’t like the County Planner said, “it has developed around it in an urban way”. The subject land and landowners didn’t do that: other people have built subdivisions around it the the county’s active promotion. And for once agriculture won, after landowner attorney Bill Langdale, Commissioner Demarcus Marshall, and I spoke up for it.
They’re even going to preserve the canopy on Boring Pond Road and I thanked the County Engineer for that.
The two Sheriff’s requests for Continue reading
Finally on the agenda for the meeting right now this morning: Deep South Sanitation, LLC Application for Franchise. That’s some improvement in the ongoing county trash situation previous versions of the County Commission caused.
If the Commission can
sign a letter to support plans to
“renovate Arbor Trace II Apartments in Lake Park” by Investment Management Company of Valdosta, Inc.,
maybe it can sign a letter of support for expanded
public transportation in Lowndes County.
Arbor Trace is low income housing.
Bus systems typically include many low-income riders.
Even the agenda item PDF doesn’t say, but FY 2016 HEAT Grant for the Sheriff’s Department is about Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic “to combat impaired and aggressive drivers,” with the purpose of reducing traffic fatalities. And the Juvenile Court wants to continue with its 2015 Request for Proposal (RFP) Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant Program.
Also on the agenda is saving money with an AT&T telephone discount and a Wine and Liquor License – VHS Corporation – 2418 Rocky Ford Road liquor license.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Continue reading
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 27,2015, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor