Category Archives: Transparency

Videos: Office rezoning, Georgia Power, Alcohol, and road abandomnent @ LCC 2017-11-14

They added and agenda item for 7.p. Solicitor-General’s VOCA Grant Renewal; yes, really, the agenda was so long that’s sub-item letter P and the meeting was 51 and a half minutes long.

Longest at seven minutes was 6a. REZ-2017-11 Arrow Engineering, in which the County Commissioners ignored the Planning Commission’s recommendation to deny, and the County Planner’s observation the previous morning that the applicants would accept one acre. Instead they approved 2.5 acres with no conditions as Office Institutional (OI) in an area with no other instances of that.

At six minutes, 7.n. Georgia Power- VisionFirst was about putting $25,000 to hire an unnamed consultant for a joint project for unspecified results.

Update 2017-11-22: According to Chairman Bill Slaughter, the consultant is VisionFirst Advisors out of Tallahassee.

Did they mean the sinkhole-infested Mission Creek instead of 7.k. Grant of Easement for Utility Right of Way Moody-Mission Point?

Five minutes included questions from the Chairman and resulted in a split vote and a stern warning on 7.i. Beer, Wine & Liquor License – Liquor Barn, 3990 N. Valdosta Rd.

One of the two road abandonments, 7.a. Abandonment of Lane Road and a Portion of Sheavette Road, got a very rare split vote, with Commissioner Clay Griner voting alone against.

Below are Continue reading →

Videos: Board of Health and an office in the woods @ LCC 2017-11-13

Quite a long Work Session yesterday morning, more than half an hour. Surprisingly, the longest was Liquor Barn’s Wine & Liquor License; apparently their state and county licenses don’t match. They vote tonight at 5:30 PM, in their Regular Session.

Below are links to each LAKE video, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the agenda in the previous post, especially about 6a.REZ-2017-11 Arrow Engineering, R-A and E-A to O-I, ~2.5 acres, which is now apparently really for 1 acre. Continue reading →

Board of Health and an office in the woods @ LCC 2017-11-13

Stafford Wright Road is getting its 12″ water main, connecting all the way from Spring Creek subdivision off of Studstill Road to Val Del Road. That’s Nelson Hill on the center left and Foxborough lower left: subdivisions like that are what to expect on Stafford Wright Road soon.

Spring Creek Blvd. E. to Val Del Rd., VALORGIS
Map: VALORGIS. Green is Lowndes County sewer line; blue is water mains.

This appears to be another no-bid contract, this time for Continue reading →

B&B, Church, Office, Home @ GLPC 2017-10-30

Three small rezonings in Valdosta and Lake Park, plus a 44.97 acre office rezoning by Arrow Engineering in Lowndes County: this could be one of the briefest and least contentious Planning Commission meetings ever.

Or not. Lowndes County Tax Assessors say that 44.97 acre parcel is owned by PINE RIDGE DEVELOPERS LLC, 105 CYPRESS ESTATES PARKWAY, INGRAM, TX 78025. They also own 108.68 acres on the north side of Naylor.

Parcel 0186 078, Pine Ridge Developers LLC
Parcel 0186 078, Pine Ridge Developers LLC, Dasher Johnson Road and Howell Road.

Here’s the agenda.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission Continue reading →

Videos: KLVB appointment, Stafford Wright Road R.I.P., GEFA, pumps, and dollars @ LCC 2017-10-23

They vote today at 5:30 PM. At yeasterday morning’s Work Session, Commissioner Scottie Orenstein, the current Vice Chair, presided in the absence of the Chair. Chairman Bill Slaughter was in Atlanta on his way to D.C. The Vice Chair said what they were not going to cover until the Regular Session, which was unusual: 8.f. GEFA Loan Agreement. Also at the end he mentioned Citizens Wishing to be Heard is in the Tuesday evening meeting.

Below are links to each LAKE video, with a very few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the agenda and the notes I put in that previous post. Continue reading →

KLVB appointment, Stafford Wright Road R.I.P., GEFA, pumps, and dollars @ LCC 2017-10-23

To replace Molly Stoltz on KLVB (she moved), they will appoint either Adam Floyd or Kyle Rudrow, discussing Monday morning and voting Tuesday evening.

Between Valdosta at Cherry Creek Road and the Skipper Bridge Road McDonalds, Google Map

Years ago I tried to explain to people on Stafford Wright Road that if the county ever paved that road, it wouldn’t be for the current residents. Now it’s getting a water main with paving. The county only ever runs water to places it plans to have subdivisions. Enjoy your quiet country road while you can, old-time residents. You’re about to be displaced for an expansion of “Central Lowndes County” west of Skipper Bridge Road and north of Cherry Creek.

Lowndes County has been approved for a GEFA Loan Agreement submitted in December 2016, for upgrades at the Land Application Site (LAS) and lift stations. It’s not clear whether that includes the purchase of Continue reading →

Videos: Naylor Boat Ramp and Appointments to Public Facilities Authority @ LCC 2017-10-10

By far the most time, almost eight minutes, on 6b. Abandonment of Portions of Old Lake Park Road and Hickory Grove Road SE, the Lowndes County Commissioners spent two weeks ago, involving reference to minutes they approved in that meeting but that still aren’t on the county’s website two weeks later, and resulting in a split vote.

More interesting: the county is finally starting construction on the Naylor Boat Ramp.

By their customary silent “acclamation” they appointed people to the Lowndes County Public Facilities Authority.

Below are Continue reading →

Videos: Public Facilities Authority, Health Fair @ LCC 2017-10-09

The longest item was not on the agenda: a Health Fair Update in the County Manager’s Report.

They breezed through everything else including 5 a. Lowndes County Public Facilities Authority Appointment, although the Chairman did have another name to propose.

Below are links to the LAKE video of each item, plus a very few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also Continue reading →

Appointments to Public Facilities Authority @ LCC 2017-10-09

Appointments to the board that floated bonds for the county palace, REZ-2017-10 Laurel Run Homes, and two road abandonments, to be considered this morning at 8:30 AM and voted on Tuesday evening.

What is the Lowndes County Georgia Public Facilities Authority, which issued the bonds 548757BE2 and 548757BG7 “Refunding Judicial Administration Complex”?

According to the county’s website it’s a Continue reading →

Videos: Hurricane Irma, Register rezoning, Utility Authority @ LCC 2017-09-26

23 minutes last night to approve 3:2 with many conditions rezoning the 6c. REZ-2017-09 Robert A. Register Estate, with no shouting afterwards like there was at at the previous evening’s Planning Commission meeting, yet a lot of grumbling at the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, especially since they seem to have forgotten the greenspace condition.

Biggest crowd in a long time, REZ-2017-09 Robert A. Register Estate

I would like to commend the Commission for the amount and depth of discussion in this meeting, especially in the unscheduled 10. Commission Comments and Recognitions and Meeting Adjournment, which was mostly about Clay Griner’s idea of having a county-wide utility authority including all the cities in the county. Update 2017-10-20: moved the rest of this utility authority commentary down to the video item below.

Also not on the agenda was Chairman Slaughter comments on community response to Hurricane Irma (which were mostly about county staff; well-deserved especially for Ashley Tye) and Georgia Power Representative recognizes county hurricane response.

While it’s great that Georgia Power came to compliment the county, does that electric utility rep. reside in or pay property taxes in Lowndes County, and why was he not required to state his name and address? Ditto the software salesman for Continue reading →