Category Archives: Trash

Pipeline resolution, Trash report, Tourism + KLVB appointments @ LCC 2014-12-08

The Resolution against the Sabal Trail pipeline they already sent to FERC is on the agenda for voting. Congratulations in advance for doing that!

Advanced Disposal is back to report on their trash disposal. Did they turn in their required written report this time? How about that recycling? ADS’ Steve Edwards scheduled to report is the same who couldn’t forsee any further acquisitions before they bought three more companies. And a bunch of appointments, contracts, calendars, etc. in a very full agenda.

Shortly after the previous Commission meeting, almost a month ago, I filed an open records request for the board packet. Today at 4:35PM I got a call saying it’s ready. It takes me 30 minutes to get there. They close at 5PM.

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Videos: Valdosta Chamber Candidate Forum @ VLCoC 2014-10-07

Here are LAKE videos of the candidates forum at the Rainwater Conference Center organized by the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce. In the one remaining County Commission race, for District 3, Tom Hochschild made opposition to the Sabal Trail pipeline a platform plank, while Mark Wisenbaker mentioned his opposition to the county’s lawsuit against local business Deep South Sanitation (DSS). We know Hochschild is opposed to that lawsuit and Wisenbaker is opposed to that pipeline, so we may get some change on the County Commission in January. Cary Scarborough of DSS was at this forum, as were many pipeline opponents. Bikram Mohanty wins special mention for best use of the VSU students Hochschild brought.

Continue reading →

GA Supreme Court rules against Deep South Sanitation: DSS vows to keep going

Lowndes County suing a local business with our tax dollars has produced a preliminary Georgia Supreme Court ruling overturning the appeals court and favoring the county’s “exclusive franchise” with ADS, a company owned by New York City investors. Local company Deep South Sanitation vows to keep going.

Do you think this lawsuit is a good use of your tax dollars? What will you think if ADS’ rates go up from Veolia’s bid of $13.05/month ($156.60/year) just before ADS bought Veolia, to ADS’s bid of $13.39/month ($220.68/year)? Continue reading →

What else you missed: Landfill public hearing 2014-07-17

In Georgia Public Notice for the VDT, but not on the county’s calendar or website public notice list:

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

300x273 0058 002B Veolia ES Evergreen Landfill Inc., in Evergreen Landfill, by John S. Quarterman, for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), 20 June 2014 In accordance with Section 12-8-24(d) of the Georgia Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Act, the Board of Commissioners of Lowndes County gives notice of a public hearing to be held at 5:30 p.m. on July 17, 2014, in Chambers of the Board of Commissioners in the Lowndes County Judicial and Administrative Complex, located at 327 North Ashley Street, Valdosta, Georgia. The purpose of the hearing is to receive public comments regarding the issuance by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division of a proposed modification to the solid waste handling permit for an expansion of the existing Evergreen Municipal Solid Waste Landfill located off Wetherington Lane in Lowndes County, Georgia, requested by Advanced Disposal Services Evergreen Landfill, Inc., for the purpose of modifying the boundaries and waste disposal capacity of that solid waste handling facility.

Board of Commissioners of Lowndes County

00073850

6/13/14

Here’s the law the public notice cites: Continue reading →

Trash problems in another part of the world

Their trash collector quit. The other way around also works.

Middlebury, New York

News & Announcements

Attention Residents:

Effective Monday, 5/19/14, Nu-Way Disposal informed the County that they could no longer honor the terms of their trash and recycling pickup service with all of the Towns and Villages that they serve in Wyoming County. As a result, there will be no trash collection within the Town of Middlebury and the Village of Wyoming for the week of May 18 through May 24.

At an emergency meeting Continue reading →

Unnecessary lawsuit against local business in GA Supreme Court today

Why is the Lowndes County Commission spending our tax dollars to sue a local company for collecting trash, in appeal at the Georgia Supreme Court this morning? Why not just let Deep South Sanitation compete with Advanced Disposal Services? Perhaps we should “stop wasting taxpayer money”, as Gretchen said to the Commission a year ago.

From DSS’s facebook page 5 May 2014, LOWNDES CO & ADVANCED DISPOSAL VS DEEP SOUTH UPDATE:

Dear Friends of Deep South, we have been notified that a date for the “APPEAL” has been set for Monday, May 19, 2014 @ 10am to be held in Atlanta, Ga. before the Supreme Court. The Lowndes County Attorney along with Advanced Disposal’s Attorney’s will have the opportunity to argue their case. Our Attorney, Rob Plumb will speak on behalf of Deep South and for the people. There will not be a ruling on this day. We will post the results of the Court’s ruling on our FB page as soon as we receive word.—As always, we thank all of you for your prayers and support. God Bless America!

And from DSS’s facebook page yesterday: Appeals Court Tomorrow Morning @ 10am.

“Thank you” to every one for your thoughts and prayers. Cary and Trevor just left headed to Atlanta. The appeal will be heard by the Supreme Court and a ruling should come at a later date. Hopefully, this will be the end of the lawsuit filed by the County and Advanced Disposal. We will post any news on our FB page as soon as we get word from our Attorney. Thanks again, your support means the world to us.

As Gretchen said a year ago to the Commissioners who voted for that unnecessary lawsuit,

I wonder which one of you said “This will really attract people to start or relocate business in our county when we sue one of our local business owners.”

If I were considering a business move, I wouldn’t move to a county that eats its own.

I ask that you drop the lawsuit and stop wasting taxpayer money. Thank you.

We don’t have to be a county like that. Let’s change some Commissioners and stop this waste of taxpayer money.

LAKE supports Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes County Commission District 5. Please vote tomorrow, Tuesday May 20th. It’s not a primary: that’s Election Day for this Special Election for District 5. Your vote matters.

-jsq

Local elections affect you most: time to vote

It’s time to vote, today and tomorrow in early voting at the Board of Elections, 2808 North Oak Street, Valdosta, or Tuesday May 20th at your polling place. Turnout is very low for elections that will affect everyone in Lowndes County and beyond.

Two of the Lowndes County Commission districts will be decided May 20th (District 5 is a Special Election and District 2 has only candidates in one party): they will affect your water, sewer, trash, rezoning, road building, and taxes. All the Lowndes County School Board elections Continue reading →

Change order, KLVB, and Pipeline @ LCC 2014-04-08

$78,892.56 for an unbid change order for Val Del Road. The Board of Tax Assessors’ appeal to a Board of Equalizations decision to grand PCA an unusual depreciation was approved by the Lowndes County Commission by a rare split decision, 2 to 1. Greg Powell of Langdale Industries appointed to KLVB. And Citizen Noll recommended the Commission pass a resolution or ordinance about the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline.

Three voting Commissioners (Raines was absent and Page vacated his seat) unanimously approved three rezonings with nobody speaking for or against. They granted permission to the Sheriff’s office and to Emergency Management to apply for equipment grants. There was a weather report, and a report on an animal adoption event the previous weekend.

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

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Defibrilators from Homeland Security @ LCC 2014-04-07

The KLVB presentation told us up to three states dump in the Pecan Row Landfill in Lowndes County, for which the county gets some unspecified amount of tipping fees, which go to fund KLVB. An appointment to KLVB was added to the agenda, although nobody deigned to reveal who was “that individual that has requested to serve on that board”. The Homeland Security grant application turned out to be for defibrillators.

Here’s the agenda, with a few annotations and links to the videos.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
AMENDED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Videos: Garbage falling off trucks @ LCC 2014-03-25

If the County Commission hadn’t privatized garbage collection, Frenchie could have registered his complaint about garbage falling off trucks through the new turnkey government website service once it’s online. No mention of the annexation request by the City of Hahira from the Work Session.

Commissioner Powell noted the three SPLOST VII projects were “a direct reinvestment into the community of those funds”. The road resurfacing of four roads is actually mostly from a GDOT LMIG grant, but the other three, shoulder paving on Val Del Road and Boring Pond Road and a bridge replacement on Cat Creek Road are all from SPLOST VII funds. Plus some trucks for Animal Control and tablets for the Fire Department, an alcohol license, and some alphabet-soup agreements, one of which turned out to be for a grant for a victim advocate position in the Solicitor General’s office.

Here’s the agenda. See also the previous morning’s Work Session.

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 →