Category Archives: Transparency

You missed it: Appointments to Hospital Authority and Parks and Rec + well pump @ LCC 2017-07-10

They moved the meeting half an hour earlier, to 8AM. Gretchen, who is signed up to the county’s alert system yet never got any alert about this time change, got there at the usual time and it was over already. It’s listed in their calendar as “8:00 AM – 8:35 AM” but she got there with the LAKE camera before 8:30 and it was already over.

Look closely: 8:00 AM, not 8:30 AM

And on the agenda: two county appointments for the same Hospital Authority that hired a CEO for five years, fired him without cause after two years, and now: Continue reading →

Videos: Budget, Tax, Sewage Pump Station, Road Abandonment, Zika @ LCC 2017-06-26

Tonight at 5:30 PM they vote on what they discussed yesterday morning at the Lowndes County Commission. But you won’t hear the Zika Presentation by Ken Lowery; that was only in the Work Session. It was by far the longest item, at seven minutes, longer than all the rest of the meeting, which took less than six minutes. The second longest item at almost a minute and a half was abandonment of a portion of Ponce de Leon Trail (CR 374).

You will see them adopt the Fiscal Year 2018 budget. See the previous post for more background about the budget requests that the county almost all denied.

Below are Continue reading →

Agenda: Lake Park Zoning Amendment, Valdosta personal care CUP @ GLPC 2017-06-26

Another very light agenda at the Planning Commission, with one zoning change from Lake Park, and one Valdosta rezoning for a “personal care salon” on Woodrow Wilson Drive.

Parcel ID 0114A 006
Parcel ID 0114A 006, 401 Woodrow Wilson Drive, Lowndes County Tax Assessors

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
AGENDA
Monday, June 26, 2017 * 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing
Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue

Continue reading →

Budget, Tax, Sewage Pump Station, Road Abandonment, Zika @ LCC 2017-06-26

They’re going to adopt the county budget Tuesday, after talking about it this morning at 8:30 AM, after complaining that nobody showed up at a budget hearing they didn’t announce. Also after refusing budget requests due to revenue continuing down for several years, and not being willing to adjust taxes.

The VDT summarized, Thomas Lynn, VDT, 23 May 2017, County Manager: Proposed budget austere; Most new funding requests denied. And Thomas Lynn, 22 June 2017, Public absent from county budget hearing. No wonder, since the county didn’t even post the meeting online until that same morning, with no agenda. The VDT wasn’t there most of the time, but Gretchen was, with the LAKE video camera.

LAKE video by Gretchen Quarterman of Harrison Tillman and Stephanie Black about Budget at the Lowndes County Annual Planning Meeting Day 1 @ LCC 2017-02-16
Photo: Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE of Harrison Tillman and Stephanie Black about Budget at the Lowndes County Annual Planning Meeting Day 1 @ LCC 2017-02-16

Gretchen also videoed Continue reading →

Videos: Paving, animals, speed zones, prison work details, fees @ LCC 2017-06-13

They welcomed Ross Berry, the new CEO of South Georgia Medical Center, and he spoke briefly. Last minute agenda addition: 6.f. Lowndes County Accountability Court Grant and Match Citzen Judy Havercamp spoke about the animal shelter. Citizen Shirley Garlan spoke for her neighborhood, asking to connect to county water.

They spent by far the longest time (almost 20 minutes including public participation) on the New Statenville Highway rezoning for a Dollar General, which they finally approved with conditions, including what County Planner Jason Davenport said was an unprecedented condition on lighting. For this item, see also the the LAKE videos of the preceding Greater Lowndes Planning Commission meeting.

Second longest at more than five minutes was Continue reading →

Videos: Dollar General, speed zones, prison work details, fees, road bid fail @ LCC 2017-06-12

Update 2017-06-18: Videos: Paving, animals, speed zones, prison work details, fees @ LCC 2017-06-13.

A rare event this morning at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session: neither Scruggs nor Reames bid on the Resurfacing of Five County Roads and Two Alternate Projects, and the Commissioners don’t like the bids they got. What will they do Tuesday evening? Accept none and try again later? They also went into an executive session about pending litigation.

See the agenda. See also Continue reading →

Dollar General, speed zones, prison work details, fees, road bid fail @ LCC 2017-06-12

Here’s the agenda for this morning’s Work Session and tomorrow evening’s Regular Session. See also the LAKE videos of the previous Greater Lowndes Planning Commission meeting for the New Statenville Highway rezoning.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2017, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Videos: Lake Park Zoning Amendment, 2 VLD, Lowndes County P-D to C-G @ GLPC 2017-05-30

The rezoning at New Statenville Highway and Boring Pond Road might have passed with no conditions if they hadn’t mentioned it’s for a Dollar General.

The Planning Commissioners wanted to see a map of the effects of the proposed Lake Park text amendment, so they tabled it. They considered the two Valdosta items together and unanimously approved each of them separately.

Here are links to Continue reading →

Lake Park Zoning Amendment, Lowndes County P-D to C-G @ GLPC 2017-05-30

Update 2017-05-31: Forgot the two Valdosta cases.

Tonight there’s a very light agenda at the Planning Commission, with one zoning change from Lake Park, and one very small rezoning in Lowndes County at the corner of New Statenville Highway and Boring Pond Road.

Parcel ID 0239 069
Parcel ID 0239 069, Lowndes County Tax Assessors

Continue reading →

Video: Budget Overview Summary Session @ LCC Budget 2017-05-22

Update 2017-06-26: the rest of the LAKE videos of this meeting. They’re discussing this budget this morning and voting on it Tuesday 27 June 2017.

“You have the packets that have been provided for you in regards budget,”, said County Chairman Bill Slaughter, but the taxpayers do not have that packet for this meeting that was not on the county calendar until this morning, had no agenda, and only popped up online also that same yesterday morning of this Budget Work Session.

This is the summary given by Continue reading →