Category Archives: SPLOST

Council Comments @ Hahira 2012-08-02

Here are the rest of the videos from the Hahira City Council meeting of 2 August 2012, including the very interesting scheduled agenda items in which each Council member, the City Manager, and the Mayor give their thoughts on issues relevant to the City of Hahira.

Here’s a video playlist of the entire meeting:

Regular Session, Hahira City Council (Hahira),
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Hahira, Lowndes County, Georgia, 2 August 2012.

Other city employees present included Continue reading →

Video Playlist Hahira City Council @ Hahira 2012-08-02

Here’s a video playlist of most of the Hahira City Council Regular Session of Thursday 2 August 2012. Hahira City Council (population about 2,800) spent more time in open public discussion about each of several individual agenda items than the Lowndes County Commission (population 111,000+) typically spends on an entire “open meeting”.

They held a millage hearing and lowered the milage. They discussed developer tap fees (nay), discussed the now-ritual topic of bidding for waste disposal ( nay), and approved a GEFA loan for a new water well (yea). A surprise vote on fixing a tractor (yea) was not on the agenda.

Near the beginning they still have Citizens to Be Heard. Maybe they’re not afraid of their citizens? Citizens mostly wanted to talk about the police chief’s proposal to fine people who didn’t mow their lawns.

A few more videos will be added, probably today, (now available as Council Comments) of the votes on cost of living increases (yea), SPLOST VII (yea), the consent agenda (yea), and council comments at the end of the session.

The agenda is below after the videos; thanks to City Manager Jonathan Sumner for sending it. Here’s the video playlist:

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Video Playlist Hahira City Council
Regular Session, Hahira City Council (Hahira),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Hahira, Lowndes County, Georgia, 2 August 2012.

Agenda

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Videos: Two taxes, Library bid, and two road repairs @ LCC 2012-07-23

Already approving Minutes a minute before announced start time Back to their old tricks! The Lowndes County Commission was already approving minutes a minute before the announced start time of their Work Session this morning. After that, it was another brief session. They vote Tuesday 5:30 PM 24 July 2012.

Here's the agenda. Below are some notes on some items.

  • 5.a. Adoption of Millage
    County Manager Joe Pritchard reiterated that there would be a Public Hearing 5PM 24 July 2012. See other post for more details.
  • 5.b. Acceptance of Proposal for Repair of Cat Creek Road
    County Engineer Mike Fletcher said what the project was for! See previous post for details.
  • 5.c. Cameron Lane widening for industrial park @ LCC 2012-07-23
    The Langdale Industrial Park rezoning REZ-2010-15 of 14 December 2010 was back this morning as a request to turn Cameron Lane into a boulevard entrance. See other post for details.
  • 5.d. SPLOST VII Resolution and Agreement
    They somehow got an agreement between the cities and the county in time to announce a referendum for SPLOST VII. See other post for details.
  • 6. Bid for library architectural services.
    They revealed a tiny bit more detail than was in the VDT this morning.

Here's a video playlist:

Videos: Two taxes, Library bid, and two road repairs
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 23 July 2012.

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Library bid for architectural services @ LCC 2012-07-23

Lisa Burton got to make the presentation about the library architect bid, because Chad McLeod, Lowndes County project manager, was elsewhere. What she said at this morning's Lowndes County Commission Work Session was mostly a very condensed version of what appeared in the VDT this morning. She did add the detail of who were the four firms that made presentations:

She didn't provide the links; I googled them up with what are maybe the correct spellings. What was in the presentations remains a mystery. She said the Library Board unanimously selected CRA.

Chairman Ashley Paulk noted Kay Harris and Tom Gooding were present, and asked if Commissioners had any questions for them. None did.

Kay Harris is Chairman of the Library Board. What is Tom Gooding's role? Who are the rest of the Library Board, for that matter?

Here's the video:

Videos: Two taxes, Library bid, and two road repairs @ LCC 2012-07-23
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 23 July 2012.

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5.d. SPLOST VII Agreement @ LCC 2012-07-23

County Manager Joe Pritchard announced at this morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session that the county and the cities had reached an agreement and resolution in time to announce a ballot referendum for SPLOST VII. He said the city of Valdosta already acted upon the agreement Thursday, and he expected the other cities would follow suit. He said Commissioners had a breakdown in front of them of projects to be paid for by the Special Projects Local Option Sales Tax. No Commissioners had any questions.

Here’s Part 1 of 2:

5.d. SPLOST VII Agreement Part 1 of 2:
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 23 July 2012.

County Chairman Ashley Paulk volunteered a laconic explanation of how an agreement was reached:

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Library Board selects out-of-state architect for local library @ LCC 2012-07-24

The Library Board says no local architect was as qualified as the one they picked in Tallahassee to design a new local library here. The same Lowndes County Commission that just a month ago reappointed three members of the Library Board votes tomorrow evening on this bid selection.

Brittany D. McClure wrote for the VDT today, Library board selects architects: New main branch to be located at Five Points development

Clemons Rutherford & Associates (CRA) was chosen by the library


View Larger Map

board as the firm that will lead the design team for the new main library branch that will be moving next to the new municipal auditorium at Five Points.

Lowndes County Commissioners will vote Tuesday on the selection.

“The selection committee felt that the firm that was selected was the most qualified for the project as well as had the lowest estimate,” said Chad McLeod, Lowndes County project manager.

Though the selection process for agencies was directed by Lowndes County, the library board had input in the selection.

“The process to build the library began nearly three years ago at the county’s urging,” said Kay Harris, Library Board chairman.

Requests For Proposals (RFP’s) were advertised for 30 days, with 35 RFP’s requested by various agencies and architectural firms. Ten completed RFP’s were submitted to the county.

And when do we the taxpayers get to see these ten completed RFPs? Not unless somebody files an open records request and somebody else makes them available: it’s the county way!

OK, so why was CRA selected?

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SPLOST VII, Millage, Library, and two road repairs @ LCC 2012-07-23

Two kinds of taxes: Lowndes County Commission Work Session Monday 8:30 AM and Regular Session Tuesday 5:30 PM, with a property tax millage hearing 5PM before the Regular Session. Apparently the cities and the county have come to some agreement about Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) VII. Road repairs are being contemplated for Cat Creek Road and Cameron Lane. And there’s something about an RFP for an architect for the library.

Update: SPLOST, not LOST. -jsq

Here’s the agenda.

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LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JULY 23, 2012, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JULY 24, 2012, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
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SPLOST, LOST, TSPLOST Forum: Tuesday, July 10

The Chamber is holding a T-SPLOST event tonight. According to the announcement:

Make Sense of the 1 Cent Tax and know before you vote. Valdosta Lowndes Industrial Authority to host TSPLOST, LOST and SPLOST Forum for Young Professionals providing an opportunity for an informative discussion regarding the upcoming referendum.TSPLOST Referendum

Presenters at the forum will be Mayor John Gayle (City of Valdosta), Larry Hanson-City Manager (City of Valdosta), Andrea Schruijer (Valdosta Lowndes Industrial Authority) and Caitlyn Cooper (ConnectGeorgia).

At this forum YPs are encouraged to exchange and share ideas, questions and concerns about the legislation above. Leave more informed as a knowledgeable voter regarding the upcoming referendum on July 31. Please join other YPs in a supportive setting to listen, learn and voice your opinions.

LOCATION:

bas bleu
123 N. Patterson Street.
Valdosta, Ga 31601

TIME:

5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Click here to RSVP or call 229-247-8100
*Drinks and menu items available

Of these speakers, Mayor Gayle is famously for T-SPLOST, Larry Hanson previously appeared to be against it. I don't know Andrea Schruijer's position on T-SPLOST. ConnectGeorgia is pro-T-SPLOST, so presumably Caitlyn Cooper is, too. So this is likely to be a pro-T-SPLOST forum.

In any case, remember T-SPLOST is on the primary ballot for 31 July 2012, and early voting has already started, so you can vote on it today.

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SPLOST with Lowndes County and the cities @ SPLOST 2012-06-11

The second of two meetings on the Lowndes County Commission According to the calendar for Monday morning, 11 June 2011, is about SPLOST, and also involves all the cities in the county.

SPLOST Meeting/ (6/11/2012)

The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners along with the City of Valdosta, City of Hahira, City of Dasher, City of Lake Park and City of Remerton will be holding a SPLOST meeting on Monday, June 11, 2012, at 9:30 a.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room on the 2nd floor of the Administration Building.

SPLOST is not to be confused with LOST (created by the legislature), nor with ESPLOST for educational purposes, and certainly not with T-SPLOST for transportation.

Unlike the work session, which has no description of what it's about, there is at least a link on the county Quick Links for SPLOST, which says:

Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST)

As of July 1, 1985, Georgia law enabled local jurisdictions to use SPLOST proceeds for capital improvement projects that would otherwise be paid for with General Fund or property tax revenues. SPLOST stands for Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. This is a one-cent sales tax, which the State of Georgia allows counties to collect to fund specific improvement projects. SPLOST must be approved by voters in a general referendum in order to be enacted and last for a maximum of 60 months (five years) or until the total amount of revenue specified in the referendum is reached. The SPLOST projects and the amount of money raised by SPLOST were identified prior to voting on the SPLOST referendum. The proceeds of the tax must be spent for capital (non-operating) items by the county government and participating municipalities within the county.

That page also includes a list of SPLOST projects completed by January 2010.

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Lowndes County position on LOST negotiations @ LCC 2012 04 09

Lowndes County Clerk Paige Dukes handed out this document, Lowndes County’s Report for Initial LOST Negotiations: April 9, 2012, at that first LOST meeting yesterday. When I spoke to her later, I mentioned that I thought it was the very model of how to write such a document: clear, complete, pithy, and easily understandable. She did not have a readily-accessible electronic copy, so I’ve posted these scanned images on the LAKE website.

The document includes a summary of the negotiation procedure (60 days to negotiate, after which it goes to mediation, then Superior Court “baseball arbitration”), plus how and how much LOST can reduce property taxes.

The rest of the document is the county’s position, which includes that the county provides services such as sheriff, courts, public health, and animal control that benefit the entire county, and the county could claim 72% of LOST. However, the county is only asking for the same 58% as negotiated in 2002.

A few things I did not know include that the dedicated millage for Parks and Rec (VLPRA 1.5mil) and the Industrial Authority (VLCIA 1 mil) come out of county property taxes, not out of any city property taxes. Also VLCIA’s millage started since 2002, before which VLCIA was funded out of hotel-motel taxes, including Valdosta hotel-motel taxes.

I also remarked to Paige Dukes that I wished the cities had prepared similar position statements. She said they may be depending on LOST negotiating documents by the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), and that there were similar documents by the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG), both which you can find linked in on the LAKE website.

The ACCG guidelines include this interesting passage:

Continue reading →