Category Archives: Transportation

How are we paying on something that was 100% paid off? —John S. Quarterman @ LCC 2013-01-08

Why are we furloughing librarians to save $30,000 when we apparently floated bonds for unbudgeted millions on the county palace? That’s essentially what I asked the Lowndes County Commission at their 8 January 2013 Regular Session. Nobody had an answer.

Just to add to what Commissioner Lee said, in addition to everyone appreciating all your service, I’m sure we all appreciate all his long years of service.

Of course there are some things that have come up since he was first on the Commission. For example, Internet access.

The Internet is the roads of the future.

Perhaps funding that might be as important as striping roads. It’s a thought.

For more on that, see what Idelle Dear said just before.

And I really appreciate that clock there. It’s a sign that sometimes change is good.

At least they are doing a few things differently.

When this building complex was opened in 2010, the county put out a double-sheet flyer saying it was completely paid off out of SPLOST money, with zero dollars owed. I’m wondering how it is that then, either in November or December, the Commission just before your one here, refinanced bonds that included I think it was six or seven million dollars for this very building complex? I’m very confused by that. I wonder if someone could clarify how we’re paying on something that was completely 100% paid off with zero owed.

It’s actually about $8.9 million. Why are we paying that? Nobody answered. County Manager Joe Pritchard, pictured below, on that 2010 flyer I mentioned, paid no attention.

A prominent local member of the fourth estate said nobody was allowed to answer. Actually, the Commission’s own Policies and Procedures for Citizens Wishing to be Heard include these lines:

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$30,000 saved by library furloughs, $millions for building construction —Idelle Dear @ LCC 2013-01-08

Idelle Dear noted we’re up to 12 library furlough days, and reported a flaw in that picture to the 8 January 2013 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

I looked across the street and there are millions of dollars being spent on the construction of the hospital, construction of the VSU Health Sciences building. And yet what is happening, because this is a mandatory furlough for all employees, is that people who are employed by the South Georgia Regional Library, most of whom are minimum wage, work part time, rely on the income: they are going to lose out….

We’d heard about these state-mandated furlough closings at a library board meeting. Idelle Dear spelled out some of the consequences, and made some telling comparisons.

Something is wrong with this picture, and I realize there are different kinds of money, but something is wrong with this picture if we can spend millions and millions of dollars on construction of these buildings and yet shut down the library and the employees who are in low income are going to be affected.

She said she wasn’t sure most people even knew about all this. And she heard somebody had said most people have Internet at home, but

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Stripe some roads! —Former Commissioner Richard Lee @ LCC 2013-01-08

The ghost of Commissions Past, in the form of former Commissioner Richard Lee, pointed his finger at the Commission and staff at the 8 January 2013 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

Richard Lee congratulated the current Commissioners on being willing to serve. He pointed at Commissioner Joyce Evans as having been to this rodeo before. He said they could trust County Manager Joe Pritchard. And he asked them to find money to stripe roads.
So if y’all can find some coins, and Mr. Prichard has a real knack for doing that, we’d appreciate it up in my end of the county.

That’s curious, since Mr. Pritchard can’t seem to to keep the solid waste collection stations open, or for to keep libraries open, or even for a bus for 4-H without children doing much of the heavy lifting.

But Mr. Lee is confident Mr. Pritchard can find funds to stripe roads in Mr. Lee’s neighborhood!

Here’s the video:

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Vogtle nuclear reactor train wreck

Ever wondered what a nuclear reactor vessel looks like? Here’s one that’s literally a train wreck, on its way to Plant Vogtle on the Savannah River.

Rob Pavey wrote for the Augusta Chronicle 10 January 2013, Vogtle reactor vessel slips between Savannah, Burke County,

A 300-ton reactor vessel bound for Plant Vogtle was stranded briefly in south Georgia this week after a malfunction with the specially designed rail car moving the nuclear component from Savannah to Burke County. Workers examine a rail car that was transporting a 300-ton reactor vessel from the Port of Savannah to the Plant Vogtle nuclear site in Burke County. A misalignment between the cargo platform and the rail car caused the component to be returned to Savannah.

“The platform that contained the RV (reactor vessel) during transport became misaligned with the Schnabel railcar, so the railcar stopped immediately,” said Georgia Power Co. spokesman Mark Williams. “The platform and car were re-aligned the same day and safely returned to the port.”

The Schnabel railcar, which features extra axles that help distribute and support the weight of heavy objects, did not break, he said. Georgia Power would not divulge the location of the incident.

I wonder what the locals think. We’d ask them, if we knew where they were.

Well, that’s the only mishap so far, right?

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Solar cars and charging stations: who wouldn’t?

Tired of Southern Company CEO Fanning’s maybe “next decade” for solar power? Tired of Georgia Power’s Bowers trying to push solar off for fifty years? Let’s hear from somebody who takes on big tasks and gets them done: Elon Musk, who’s already built a rocket that is resupplying the International Space Station, and who is also building all-electric cars.

Carl Hoffman wrote for Smithsonian magazine December 2012, Elon Musk, the Rocket Man With a Sweet Ride

When he’s not launching rockets, Musk is disrupting the notoriously obdurate automobile industry (see National Treasure, p. 42). While industry giants like Chevrolet and Nissan and Toyota were dithering with electric-gasoline hybrids, this upstart kid said he would design and manufacture an all-electric car that would travel hundreds of miles on a single charge. The Tesla Roadster hit the streets in 2008 with a range of 200 miles, and the far more functional Model S, starting at $57,000, was introduced in June. It’s the world’s first all-electric car that does everything my old gasoline version does, only better. The high-end model travels 300 miles on a single charge, leaps from zero to 60 in 5.5 seconds, slows from 60 to a dead stop in 105 feet, can seat up to five, has room for mulch bags and golf clubs, handles like a race car and its battery comes with an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty. If you charged it via solar panels, it would run off the sun. One hundred a week are being produced in a former Toyota factory in Fremont, California, and nearly 13,000 people have put deposits on them….

And since that story: Continue reading →

Video playlist @ LCC 2012-11-13

The County Commission continues to do the peoples’ business in secret. The solid waste exclusive franchise agreement was tabled for a month, due to some mysterious new information, and two citizens pleaded with the Commission to reconsider the whole thing. The developer who got to speak at Monday’s Work Session asked for his development to be tabled for a month, and the Commission did so. After the meeting, three people from Moody AFB trooped into a side room with the Chairman.

Also, if it’s a privilege to serve and an honor to be appointed, why does the Lowndes County Commission not tell us who they are appointing? In the Work Session they muttered some proposed names unintelligbly, and in the Regular Session they didn’t say anything about who some of the new appointees are, and none of the appointees spoke. As near as I could tell, only one bothered to show up: VLCIA reappointee Mary Gooding.

Update 2012-11-20: Jody Hall reminds me he was there as an appointee. He says he was ready to speak, but nobody asked him to.

Here’s a video playlist:

Video playlist
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 13 November 2012.

Here’s the agenda again, this time with links to the videos plus a few notes.

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Video playlist @ LCC 2012-11-12

The Lowndes County Commission invited a developer to speak about his proposed rezoning at a Work Session without inviting any opposition to speak. Plus another rezoning, a proposed solid waste ordinance with exclusive franchise agreement, and proposed appointments to five boards and authorities. And at the end an animal event report.

Here’s a video playlist:

Video playlist
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 12 November 2012.

Here’s the agenda again, this time with links to the videos plus a few notes.

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Appointments to five boards, two rezonings, and a solid waste ordinance @ LCC 2012-11-12

Monday morning the Lowndes County Commission considers and Tuesday evening votes on members of five appointed boards. Who are the candidates? The agenda doesn’t say. The two rezonings are the same ones the Planning Commission recently considered. Presumably the solid waste ordinance has something to do with the recent privatization decision.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2012, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor Continue reading →

Video of 6 minute meeting @ LCC 2012-10-22

Here’s a single video of this morning’s entire Lowndes County Commission Work Session. The railroad item was neither of the ones on which I was speculating. The animal shelter wants a 24 hour “cooling-off period” with a submitted animal kept at home before “evaluation” by the shelter. The Tax Commissioner wants to refund some taxes they apparently accidentally overcharged. The Fire Chief has bids for equipment for the new fire truck. And there’s going to be an animal health fair. They vote tomorrow evening at 5PM.

Here’s the video, followed by the agenda, with links to the relevant parts of the video, and a few notes.

Video of 6 minute meeting
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 22 October 2012.
Thanks to Dexter Sharper for use of his video camera.

Here’s the annotated agenda:

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Rairoad, animals, taxes, and a fire truck @ LCC 2012-10-22

Five minutes? Or will they discuss any of the four items on the agenda for Monday morning’s Work Session?

What’s the CSX project? CSX in Lowndes County Is it this item from the T-SPLOST constrained project list?

RC11-000071 Construction of St Augustine Road Overpass

That overpass went from $12,000,000 to $14,627,933.04 during the T-SPLOST selection process. On the ground down there on St. Augustine Road it sure looks like people are preparing for an overpass. Has the county found some non-T-SPLOST way to fund that railroad overpass?

Since it’s CSX, I’d guess it’s not this other T-SPLOST project:

RC11-000077 Georgia and Florida Railway (GFRR) — Valdosta to Willacoochee Rehabilitation

The Commission could just post the proposed agreement along with the agenda, and then we’d all know.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2012, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2012, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
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