Category Archives: Lowndes County Commission

Videos: Valdosta Chamber Candidate Forum @ VLCoC 2014-10-07



Here are LAKE videos of
the candidates forum at the Rainwater Conference Center
organized by the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce.
In the one remaining County Commission race, for District 3,

Tom Hochschild
made opposition to the Sabal Trail pipeline
a platform plank,
while

Mark Wisenbaker
mentioned his opposition to
the county’s lawsuit against local business Deep South Sanitation (DSS).
We know Hochschild is opposed to that lawsuit and Wisenbaker is
opposed to that pipeline, so we may get some change on the County Commission
in January.
Cary Scarborough of DSS was at this forum, as were many pipeline opponents.

Bikram Mohanty
wins special mention for best use of the
VSU students Hochschild brought.

Continue reading

Lowndes County officials at Open Government Symposium @ OGS 2014-10-17


300x225 Clay Griner (District 5), Paige Dukes (County Clerk), Joyce Evans (District 1), Scott Orenstein (District 2-elect), in Lowndes County Commissioners at Open Government Symposium, by Gretchen Quarterman, 17 October 2014

Gretchen reports from Macon that Lowndes County Commissioner Clay Griner (District 5), Paige Dukes (County Clerk), Joyce Evans (District 1), Scott Orenstein (District 2-elect), and Valdosta City Clerk Theresa Bolden (not pictured)
are all at the
VDT Open Government Symposium in Macon.
Congratulations, Jim Zachary and the VDT, on getting them to show up! Continue reading

VDT Open Government Symposium: in Macon?

Yay open government symposium!
But why in Macon, why not in Valdosta,


if it’s organized by the new VDT editor?
Sure, Macon is the geographic center of the state, but it’s only
about an hour from Atlanta, and one thing most people in Atlanta don’t
understand is how big Georgia is, so asking them to drive four hours
to Valdosta would be educational for them.
And if the VDT is so interested in government transparency,
why doesn’t it investigate the county’s lawsuit against local business Deep South Sanitation
at the expense of the local taxpayers that benefits nobody but
“exclusive franchise” ADS and its investors in New York City?
Why is the VDT’s front page story that gave a platform for
Spectra’s Andrea Grover no longer online, especially now that
the Sabal Trail deadline she announced has been busted?
Let’s see the VDT lead the way.
Here’s a first test:
Gretchen is going to Macon with the LAKE video camera.
Will the VDT let her video?

Unsigned article, VDT, 11 October 2014,

VDT leading way in open government
, Continue reading

Board Packet @ LCC 2014-10-13



The address is correct for the road abandonment public hearing
agenda item
The

board packet
,
unlike on
the agenda,
so if citizens had ready access to this board packet they’d know whether
they should show up tonight
at

yesterday morning’s Work Session

and tonight’s Regular Session
for
6.a. Abandonment of Unopened Right of Way off Water Oak Drive.

There’s one quote, from xylem, for the Continue reading

Videos: GLPC appointment, abandonment, septic, pump, and VOCA @ LCC 2014-10-13 @ LCC 2014-10-13


300x253 Map on Screen, in Water Oak Trail Road Abandonment, by John S. Quarterman, 13 October 2014

It’s
Water Oak Trail, not Water Oak Drive, for the

road abandonment
: how are people supposed to know to show up
for a public hearing when the address isn’t even on the right street?

Update 2014-10-14: The board packet
has the correct address, so if the county put that packet on its website the citizens wouldn’t be confused.
And the
lift pump replacement got a single quote for
$30,040.20, so this is yet another single-sourced non-competitive deal.
Why do Commissioners have no questions about that?

Plus an unscheduled

recognition of Leadership Lowndes attendees
,
a

Planning Commission
reappointment with no previous
advertisement,
yet another

water pump replacement
,
a

well and septic rezoning
on Madison Highway,
and a

legal grant
,
on the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2014, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading

Videos: Transportation, Water, Safety, and Alcohol @ LCC 2014-09-23


300x255 2100 East Hill Avenue, in GDOT option at Clay, Hollywood, and US 84, by John S. Quarterman, 23 September 2014

Commissioner Demarcus Marshall recused himself
in the Regular Session of 23 September 2014,
for the

Public Safety Radio System System Upgrade
,
in case anybody thought a Motorola VP with the same last name was related. (Update 11:10 AM: added transcription of the three-part motion.)
Rental leases for the

Leila Ellis Social Services Building

got more discussion.
They added

VOCA-funded VWMAP

and

GDOT at Clay and Hollywood
(from the previous morning’s Executive Session), that the Tax Assessor’s database says is owned by the School Board,
to the

amended agenda
.
Everything else,
including

the USGS water level gauge on the Little River
,
was breezed through with no discussion,
so fast the Chairman almost forgot to ask for speakers
in

an alcohol license public hearing
,
and he didn’t bother to mention
before they adjourned that

nobody had signed up for Citizens Wishing to Be Heard
.

Here’s the

amended agenda

with links to the videos and a few notes,
followed by a playlist.
See also the
LAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session
and

Board Packet
.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2014, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading

Another Planning Commission appointment, plus abandonment, septic, pump, and VOCA @ LCC 2014-10-13

This morning: another

Planning Commission
appointment with no previous
advertisement that there was an opening,


yet another

road abandonment
,
yet another

water pump replacement
,
a

well and septic rezoning
on Madison Highway,
and a

legal grant
,
on the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2014, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading

Meet the Candidates @ VLCoC 2014-10-07

Update 2014-10-21: Fixed year in title, and LAKE videos are posted.

Tuesday is the annual Chamber Meet the Candidates event.
Usually there’s not much chance to ask them questions
and see them answer in front of everybody,
but at least you get to hear them speak.

Oddly the Chamber did not list which candidates will be there,
but

Valdosta CEO did
:


U.S. Representative – District 1

E.L. Buddy Carter (R)

Brian Corwin Reese (D)

State Senate – District 8

C. Ellis Black (R)
Bikram Mohanty (D)

State House – District 174

John Corbett (R)

Jessie Smith (D)

Lowndes County Commission – District 3

Tally Mark Wisenbaker, Jr. (R)

Tom Hochschild (D)


Meet The Candidates 2014
Continue reading

Board Packet @ LCC 2014-09-22



Here is the board packet for yesterday morning’s Work Session.
Notice it does not have anything about
reporting on services provided or number of citizens serviced

for the Leila Ellis leases
,
and no contracts at all for

the Public Safety Radio System Upgrade
.
And nothing at all about the non-even-on-the-agenda

Victim Witness Program renewal
.
Maybe those items will be added to the board packet Commissioners get
before they vote tonight at 5:30 PM.
Here are
videos of their Work Session from yesterday morning, at which Commissioners Marshall and Powell made it clear they would like to see some additional items.

At least this packet cost a lot less ($7.80) than
the last one.

-jsq

GA Supreme Court rules against Deep South Sanitation: DSS vows to keep going



Lowndes County suing a local business with our tax dollars
has produced a preliminary Georgia Supreme
Court ruling overturning the appeals court and favoring
the county’s “exclusive franchise” with ADS, a company owned
by New York City investors.
Local company Deep South Sanitation vows to keep going.

Do you think this lawsuit is a good use of your tax dollars?
What will you think if ADS’ rates go up from Veolia’s bid of $13.05/month
($156.60/year) just before ADS bought Veolia,
to ADS’s bid of $13.39/month ($220.68/year)? Continue reading