Category Archives: Safety

Packet: redo 2 rezonings, 3 extraterritorial water & sewer, $438,537 RR crossing, $2,542,586 Griner Park @ LCC 2022-09-12

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.

[Maps]
Maps

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.
$2,981,123.00Total

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 →

Packet: Juvenile Justice, Manholes, Tax Appeals Module, Subdivision lighting @ LCC 2022-08-22

Update 2022-08-23: Videos: Juvenile Justice, Manholes, Tax Appeals Module, Subdivision lighting @ LCC 2022-08-22.

That’s a lot of subdivisions in the Basic Decorative Lighting District.

[Grove Pointe Phase V and Basic Decorative North West Lowndes County 2 Revised]
Grove Pointe Phase V and Basic Decorative North West Lowndes County 2 Revised

The board packet for this week’s Lowndes County Commission Work and Regular Sessions is on the LAKE website, received in response to a LAKE open records request.

The County wrote, “There is no meeting packet for the Millage Rate Meeting.” They did send an agenda for that meeting, which consisted of this:

  1. Call To Order
  2. Public Hearing—Millage Rate
  3. Adjournment

See also the LAKE videos of the Work Session and the agenda.

-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!

Hunter rezoning, insurance, objections to rejection of Beasley rezoning @ LCC Regular 2022-07-26

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.

[Hunter, Insurance, CWTBH]
Hunter, Insurance, CWTBH

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 →

Videos: Juvenile Justice, Manholes, Tax Appeals Module, Subdivision lighting @ LCC 2022-08-22

Update 2022-09-14: Videos: Millage, tax assessment, 3 utilities, ZBOA, Juvenile Justice @ LCC 2022-08-23.

Update 2022-09-13: Videos: slides @ LCC Millage 2022-08-23.

A Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Grant was the longest item at yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session, followed by manhole improvements. The manholes will cost $439,836.00, but the grant will provide money to the county.

The two millage items taking no more than 18 seconds each, with presentation deferred to the 5PM Public Hearing today. They vote on all these items at 5:30 PM this evening.


[Stills]
Stills

Two technical items took Continue reading →

Videos: Rezoning, Roads, Communications, Water leak @ LCC Regular 2022-08-09

The Lowndes County Commission took seventeen minutes to do the people’s business at its Regular Session, Tuesday, August 9, 2022.


[Collage]

The Flannigan rezoning was withdrawn by the applicant. Perhaps they thought that without a more complete plan, the rezoning would be denied and then they couldn’t come back for a year. By withdrawing, they do not have to wait to come with a new, more complete proposal.

The Boring Pond Lane abandonment actually had a speaker for, who Continue reading →

Packet: Rezoning, Roundabout, Abandonment, Subdivision @ LCC 2022-08-08

Update 2022-08-22: Packet: Walkers Crossing @ LCC 2022-08-08

Update 2022-08-22: Videos: Rezoning, Roads, Communications, Water leak @ LCC Regular 2022-08-09.

Here is the board packet for the August 8, 2022, Work Session and the August 9, 2022, Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission, received in response to a LAKE open records request.

[Rezoning, Roundabout, Abandonment, Subdivision]
Rezoning, Roundabout, Abandonment, Subdivision

The packet is on the LAKE website.

See also the agenda and the LAKE videos of the Work session.

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!

-jsq

Almost a million dollars @ LCC 2022-08-22

Update 2022-08-22: Videos: Juvenile Justice, Manholes, Tax Appeals Module, Subdivision lighting @ LCC 2022-08-22.

Update 2022-08-26: Packet: Juvenile Justice, Manholes, Tax Appeals Module, Subdivision lighting @ LCC 2022-08-22.

The big item involves keeping ahead of sewer system problems to avoid sewage spills: “Lowndes County was awarded a Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) loan for lift station and manhole improvements. Staff identified approximately 100 manholes that need rehab and improvements, including structural repairs and coating the interiors. The project was advertised and bids accepted for the work. Two bids were received, one from Gulf Coast Underground for $1,508,450.00 and one from RPI for $439,836.00. Staff recommends approval and authorizes the Chairman to sign the contract with RPI, Inc. for $439,836.00.”

[Collage]
Collage

They will Continue reading →

Videos: Valdosta City Council 2022-08-11

Council Sandra Tooley brought up some interesting issues in the last five minutes of the August 11, 2022, Valdosta City Council meeting.

[Council Sandra Tooley requests Executive Session about personnel and trash]
Council Sandra Tooley requests Executive Session about personnel and trash

The Mayor said they had a request for an Executive Session, and asked for a motion. Council Tim Carroll wondered why.

Council Sandra Tooley explained, “Citizens have come to me, and they have this thing they like to say, that we do not have enough staff, that we’re short on staff, that we’re not getting things done.”

See for yourself in this excerpt of Valdosta’s own facebook live video of the meeting. Continue reading →

Videos: REZ-2022-09 Flannigan, James Road, Walkers Crossing Roundabout, $516,710 communications @ LCC Work 2022-08-08

Update 2022-08-22: Rezoning, Roundabout, Abandonment, Subdivision @ LCC 2022-08-08.

Some hard-to-see plans were projected for the Flannigan James Road and Smith Street rezoning, but they are merely speculative and would not bind the developer, while they would bind the Commission to the C-G zoning, so you can hear and see in these LAKE videos of yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session. They vote this evening at 5:30 PM in the Regular Session.

[REZ-2022-09 Flannigan plans]
REZ-2022-09 Flannigan plans

There was little new about the other agenda items. Except Continue reading →

REZ-2022-09 Flannigan, James Road, Walkers Crossing Roundabout, Boring Pond Lane, West Schoolhouse Pond Subdivision @ LCC 2022-08-08

Update 2022-08-09: Videos: REZ-2022-09 Flannigan, James Road, Walkers Crossing Roundabout, $516,710 communications @ LCC Work 2022-08-08.

This morning at the Work Session, for voting tomorrow evening at the Regular Session, the Flannigan James Road rezoning is back on the Lowndes County Commission Agenda, after being tabled May 16, 2022. Looks like county staff have worked around to supporting it this time; don’t know what the neighbors who petitioned against it think.

[Flannigan James Road rezoning back again]
Flannigan James Road rezoning back again

There’s also a GDOT maintenance agreement for the Walkers Crossing Roundabout, the second reading of the Abandonment of a Portion of Boring Pond Lane, and adopting water and sewer infrastructure for West Schoolhouse Road Subdivision, which “is located in the Lake Park area off of Schoolhouse Pond Road, Payton Place, Burnt Pine Drive, and Timber Wind Circle and has a total of 31 lots.”

The county as usual pretends none of the above will cost anything. The two big budget items are for communications: Continue reading →