Category Archives: Transportation

CSX Georgia Rail Meeting – April 17

gdot-rail.jpg Update 12:20 PM 25 March 2014: “Please note this meeting is not just about CSX, but all railroads in Georgia.” –Corey Hull

I found this on Facebook at the MPO.

Y’all come and give an opinion about rail in Georgia.

–gretchen

The Georgia Department of Transportation has begun work on the 2014 Georgia State Rail Plan. The Plan will serve as a statewide long-range rail planning document for passenger and freight service, providing a vision for rail throughout the state and housing comprehensive industry data.

Components of the Plan will include Continue reading →

Animals, Alcohol, Alphabet Soup, Paving, Bridges, and Fire @ LCC 2014-03-24

Got to spend those SPLOST dollars widening roads and bridges to promote development farther out in the country! Plus some trucks for Animal Control and tablets for the Fire Department, an alcohol license, and some alphabet-soup agreements. It may be healthy as food, but I wonder if opaque acronyms unexplained in the agenda is good for local government.

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Videos: Water under Moody Family Housing and Sabal Trail @ LCC 2014-03-11

Two speakers about the Sabal Trail pipeline, one about water issues under Moody Family Housing, One request to do something about speeding (good luck), a recognition (firefighters), a proclamation (purple hearts), and an award (budget), one rezoning withdrawn, three others approved, two contracts (bus system renewal and software master contract), some but not all streets accepted in Nelson Hill, and no mention of the Lake Park annexation request that took up at least five minutes the previous morning.

For why John Page is no longer on the Commission, see the previous post with the agenda. Here’s the agenda again with links to the videos and a few notes. See also videos from the previous morning’s Work Session. And see also Lowndes County becomes third purple heart county in the state, by Matthew Woody, VDT, 12 March 2014.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Speeding on Academy Drive and Parkwood –Warren Scoby @ LCC 2014-03-11

A local citizen said he was concerned about speeding by people cutting through his road to get to Bemiss Road. The Chairman promised they would look into it, at the 11 March 2014 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission. That would be a refreshing change from the Commission’s previous refusals to do anything about that problem on other roads.

Here’s the video:


Speeding on Academy Drive and Parkwood –Warren Scoby
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 11 March 2014.

Continue reading →

Videos @ LCC 2014-03-10

An unexpected concern about limiting someone’s ability to expand his business was expressed by Lame Duck Commissioner Richard Raines, the same who made the motion for the exclusive franchise for trash collection by ADS, and who apparently (in executive session so we don’t know for sure) voted twice to sue local business Deep South Sanitation. They spent five or six minutes on an annexation request by Lake Park that was not on the agenda, even though they received it last week. They vote tonight at 5:30 PM, and don’t forget the budget hearings continue all day today.

One road in the Nelson Hill subdivision wasn’t up to snuff and will be omitted from the adoption of infrastructure; that’s better than the county’s previous practice for that development of staff waivers with no public hearings. Plus four rezonings, one for a former County Commissioner and another for a community well for a development. And the annual contract renewal for the MIDS on-call bus system, plus a master software service contract.

See Musical chairs in local qualifying for why John Page is no longer a Commissioner and they already removed his picture from the entryway. There’s more about that in the previous post with the agenda. And here’s the agenda again with links to the videos and a few notes.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Only four voting Commissioners Monday @ LCC 2014-03-10

With only four voting Commissioners left, and two of those lame ducks, it should be an interesting set of Lowndes County Commission meetings this week. On the agenda is adoption of infrastructure for the Nelson Hill subdivision; the one with all the waivers by staff with no public hearings. Plus four rezonings, one for a former County Commissioner and another for a community well for a development. And the annual contract renewal for the MIDS on-call bus system.

While the VDT headline yesterday said Political shuffle continues: County commissioner resigns to run for state Senate seat, actually former Commissioner John Page didn’t resign: he vacated his seat the moment he signed the qualifying papers to run for state Senator. That’s why the Board of Elections has already called a special election that Continue reading →

Videos: quick agenda and then pipeline @ LCC 2014-02-25

The County Manager’s report was about FERC’s Scoping Meetings starting next week; two citizens spoke about the pipeline. The Chairman refused to let another one speak because she hadn’t turned in a form, and then he spent 20 minutes after the meeting telling her what the county wasn’t going to do.

We sort of found out where is the unopened right of way off of US 41 South. The special tax lighting districts item went quickly this time. We found out how much the county’s sewer lift station at a subdivision with a private golf club will cost to replace. This is the subdivision for which the Nelson Hill Wells were drilled as possible replacements.

Here’s the agenda, with links to the videos and a few notes. See also videos from the previous morning’s Work Session.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Videos, Retreat, first day @ LCC 2014-02-27

They talked in detail about the Naylor boat ramp and park. The discussed animal shelter renovations for 2015 and 2016. And of course their paving list. Surprisingly, they actually considered whether ownership along the road right of way should be taken into account in deciding whether to pave or not. Commissioner Demarcus Marshall said he had been surprised to learn that many county citizens did not want their roads paved.

Here’s the agenda and some still pictures. Here are the raw videos so you can see for yourself.


Videos, Retreat, first day
Annual Retreat, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 February 2014.

They’re back at it this morning, and Gretchen is there videoing.

-jsq

1,000 feet is not enough –Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson @ GCC 2014-02-20

The President of Our Santa Fe River said even much more distance than the pipeline company was proposing wouldn’t be far enough away from her river, and the Chairman said specific answers were lacking from the pipeline company, at the Gilchrist County Commission meeting 20 February 2014.

Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, President of Our Santa Fe River, said:

I don’t think a thousand feet on either side is going to deal with the impacts on the Santa Fe River.

She asked for the Commission’s support.

Chairman D. Ray Harrison Jr (District 2) thanked her and added: Continue reading →

Walker Road abandoned next to US 41 S @ LCC 2014-02-25

We maybe learned which road was abandoned in the 25 February 2014 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

5.a. Abandonment of Unopened Right of Way off of US 41 South

Public Hearing a. Abandonment of Unopened ROW

Video. This time County Engineer Mike Fletcher said when the county previously decided to abandon, April 24, 2012, and he said where, sort of, “known as Walker Avenue”. The county’s online tax assessor map has no such road, but it does have a Walker Road between Valencia Street and Tillman Road Continue reading →