Category Archives: Lowndes County Commission

Lowndes County Emergency Management Workshop May 5

Received today via the Valdosta-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce. I added a few links from posts in this blog featuring Ashley Tye. -jsq

Lowndes County Emergency Management Continuity of Business Workshop,

You Are Invited to attend the
Lowndes County Emergency Management
Continuity of Business Workshop

On Monday, May 5, from 5:30-6:30 p.m., Lowndes County Emergency Management will host a Continuity of Business Workshop on the second floor of the Lowndes County Administrative Building, 327 North Ashley Street, Valdosta, Georgia. The session will be led by Lowndes County Emergency Management Director, Ashley Tye.

Attendees will receive Continue reading →

Gretchen Quarterman on Chris Beckham radio show 2014-04-29

“People would have a lot more confidence in the government if they understood it and they could see it happen,” said Gretchen Quarterman this morning on drive-time radio. She used last night’s Brookhaven apartment building rezoning public hearing in Lake Park to illustrate: local landowners have property rights and there was a lack of communication between the developers of a proposed apartment building, the Lake Park city government, and the neighbors.

She also talked about jobs, including in local agriculture. For example, she ran the 2014 South Georgia Growing Local Conference. Money spent on local agriculture supports the local economy, not companies far away.

She talked about stewardship of resources, including preserving local property and environment from the Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline. She advocated Continue reading →

Local governments can regulate land use –the anti-fracking activists who just won the world’s largest environmental prize

There is something we can do about that proposed fracked methane pipeline.

Lindsay Abrams wrote for Salon today, The real secret to beating the Koch brothers: How our broken political system can still be won: A duo of activists has quietly bested the energy lobby, helping ban fracking in 172 towns. Here’s how they did it,

You probably haven’t heard of Helen Slottje, or, for that matter, of her husband, David. But in the past few years, the former corporate lawyers have become arguably two of the most powerful opponents of fracking in New York — not to mention the most successful. As the (sort of) public face of the duo’s efforts, Helen Slottje on Monday was honored with the Goldman Prize, the world’s largest environmental prize.

OK, what did they actually do? Continue reading →

Candidate Forum at Hahira Historical Society 6PM tonight

Tonight is the first open candidates forum of the election season, for all candidates running for offices voted on by residents of Hahira, at the Hahira Historical Society, 116 E. Lawson Street, in the old Smith Hospital Doctors Building in Hahira, 6PM April 26th 2014.

That includes:

Georgia General Assembly

  • State Senate District 8: Ellis Black (R switched from House 174), John Page (R switched from County Commission District 5), Bikram Mohanty (D ran last time and placed well), and Richard Raines (R not running again for County Commission District 2). Continue reading →

Board appointments by Lowndes County

Here’s Lowndes County’s list of Boards, Agencies & Commissions. Unfortunately, unlike Valdosta’s list, most of the names in the county’s list have no links to further information, and there’s no indication of which positions might be open or how to apply for them.

Update: 4:30 PM 24 April 2014: And there’s the Board of Elections which is decided by a completely different process with a quicker deadline of 28 April 2014.

We do know there’s a vacancy on the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA), which presumably will be filled after the upcoming Special Election May 20th, but the county has given no indication of when. The only way the county usually announces open positions is when they appear on the County Commission’s agenda, which usually shows up online Friday for voting on Tuesday. For example, the county has appointed: Continue reading →

You can apply to serve on a board or commission

You can apply to be appointed by Valdosta to a local board or authority that decides or recommends on issues that affect everyone: do interesting work and serve your community. Dealine: April 30th. You don’t even have to live in Valdosta: anybody in Lowndes County can apply. If you want to run for a city council or county commission seat someday, this is a good way to start. And if you want to run for the state legislature or higher office, that’s the most common path to get there.

Update: 4:30 PM 24 April 2014: And there’s the Board of Elections which is decided by a completely different process with a quicker deadline of 28 April 2014.

Winnie Wright wrote for WCTV 23 April 2014, City Of Valdosta Looking To Fill 15 Vacancies In Boards, Authorities, and Commissions, Continue reading →

Videos: No you cannot speak @ LCC 2014-04-22

Two citizens from Hahira couldn’t speak in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard, but the Chairman would go into the private board room out of camera range afterwards to speak to them. The Chairman did describe a statement about the Sabal Trail pipeline.

Veterinarian Amanda Hall didn’t appear but was appointed to the Dangerous Dog Board. They objected to the Hahira annexation request. They approved a bid for an mobile emergency bypass pump on a trailer, a computer lease purchase agreement, and two Juvenile Justice grant application items, for Continuation and for Enhancement (more about that). And all four remaining voting Commissioners showed up.

Here’s the agenda, with links to the videos and a few notes.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Videos: Dangerous Dog Board, Juvenile Justice, a pump, Hahira Annexation, and weather @ LCC 2014-04-21

Local veterinarian Amanda Hall for the Dangerous Dog Board, a very long weather report, another Hahira annexation request, a bid for an emergency bypass pump (water well? wastewater force main? other?), two Juvenile Justice grant application items, for Continuation and for Enhancement (more about that). Oh, and all four remaining voting Commissioners showed up, unlike either the Work Session or Regular Session two weeks ago.

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Dangerous Dog Board, Juvenile Justice, a pump, and Hahira Annexation @ LCC 2014-04-21

Another Hahira annexation request (on the agenda this time), a bid for an emergency bypass pump (water well? wastewater force main? other?), two Juvenile Justice grant application items, for Continuation and for Enhancement (more about that), and I didn’t know we had a Dangerous Dog Board. All I can find is some related Georgia laws.

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Change order, KLVB, and Pipeline @ LCC 2014-04-08

$78,892.56 for an unbid change order for Val Del Road. The Board of Tax Assessors’ appeal to a Board of Equalizations decision to grand PCA an unusual depreciation was approved by the Lowndes County Commission by a rare split decision, 2 to 1. Greg Powell of Langdale Industries appointed to KLVB. And Citizen Noll recommended the Commission pass a resolution or ordinance about the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline.

Three voting Commissioners (Raines was absent and Page vacated his seat) unanimously approved three rezonings with nobody speaking for or against. They granted permission to the Sheriff’s office and to Emergency Management to apply for equipment grants. There was a weather report, and a report on an animal adoption event the previous weekend.

Here’s the agenda, with links to the videos and a few notes. See also the videos of the previous morning’s Work Session.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →