What would you be willing to vote for in SPLOST VII this November?
There will be a presentation on the proposed SPLOST VII projects at the work session.
in Valdosta News posted yesterday Valdosta City Council Holds Work Session and Council Meeting This Week. And as an ad in the VDT Sunday:
Scan by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2013.
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Valdosta’s proposed SPLOST list will be presented Tuesday at the city’s Work Session 5:30PM Tuesday 9 July 2013: be there, or be blindsided by what’s on that list.
Scan by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2013.
You know that if you read to the middle of the ad in today’s VDT about the Work Session and Regular Session. That’s in the paper paper; ads in the paper don’t get put online. There’s no agenda online for the Work Session. The agenda for the Regular Session says nothing about SPLOST. There’s nothing on the city’s calendar about SPLOST. There’s no PR about this on the city’s website. There’s nothing about it in any of the city’s TV videos that I can find. Don’t be surprised if nobody shows up….
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Ironically,
Portland is the prime example in both
Amy Liu’s slides and
the book
The Metropolitan Revolution:
How Cities and Metros Are Fixing Our Broken Politics and Fragile Economy
by Jennifer Bradley and Bruce Katz.
Here’s Bruce Katz in the Guardian 23 April 2012, Urbanization and Inventing a Clean Economy of Place,
Portland, Oregon, is also internationally renowned for its commitment to sustainable development. The Portland metropolis has an expansive public transit system and an urban growth boundary to control development at the urban periphery. The city boasts a green investment fund to provide grants for residential and commercial building projects.
Now the city is striving, like Copenhagen, to reap the economic rewards of sustainable development through business formation, firm expansion, job growth and private investment. In February, Portland released its first regional export plan to double exports over five years by building on the region’s distinctive economic and physical attributes. A critical pillar of this strategy involves increasing the export orientation of firms in the burgeoning clean technology sector to serve growing markets in Asia, Latin America and elsewhere.
Hm, a clean economy of place; there’s an idea. Here’s one of Portland’s green investments: 12W (Indigo) Project Report, Continue reading
“Hopefully” there will be four town hall meetings before
the final SPLOST lists are settled, said
Lowndes County Commissioner Joyce Evans (District 1)
at last night’s
Lowndes County Democratic Party Annual 4th of July Barbecue.
We’re beginning to put things together for the SPLOST.
Hopefully we’ll be able to do several…. I know the mayor has stated that they were going to do two town hall meetings and the county’s going to do a couple of town hall meetings and then we’re going to come together with the information that we’ve received from the community and go and put together an overall SPLOST for the city and the county.
So please, take time, think about it, and be involved.
We shall see. At least it’s a small change in the old boy backroom behavior so popular among elected officials around here that the famously reclusive commissioner said this in front of a video camera.
Here’s the video:
Four SPLOST town hall meetings –Joyce Evans
July 4th BBQ, Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP),
Gretchen Quarterman (Chair), Dennis Marks (Vice-Chair / Elections),
Amanda Hall (Vice-Chair / Membership), Richard Saeger (Vice-Chair / Qualifying), Jerrell Anderson (Secretary), James J. Parker (Treasurer),
Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 2 July 2013.
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The homeless formerly living under the James Beck Overpass now have homes and most have jobs, said Valdosta City Council Deidra White at last night’s Lowndes County Democratic Party Annual 4th of July Barbecue.
White said the encampment under the overpass had been growing for some time, and people in her district, which contains the overpass, were increasingly concerned yet had had little success in dealing with the situation.
So I contacted many people in the community, homeless advocates, churches, governmental, civil, nonprofits; anyone that I’ve ever come across who has ever worked in any capacity helping with the homeless situation. And in a very,almost seemingly the stars all lined up a couple of weeks ago. Many people came together to do something about the specific eleven homeless persons who were living under the James Beck Overpass.
A private citizen donated property and said that they could stay on this property for a temporary time until we find a permanent solution. Members of the homeless coalition immediately began identifying potential employers….
She referred listeners to the recent newspaper stories for some details, and then continued:
Continue reading
Is your home unsafe?
If you live in certain parts of Valdosta, you may be able to get a grant
to help fix that.
PR from the City of Valdosta, 27 June 2013, City Helps Valdosta Home Owners Apply for Grant Funding for Home Repairs
From July 1 to August 15, 2013, the City of Valdosta Neighborhood Development Division will be accepting applications for owner-occupied home rehabilitation grants from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta. Valdosta home owners who qualify as low to moderately-low income residents (according to HUD FY 2013 Income Limits) may be eligible to use this grant funding to make much-needed home repairs.Grants are limited to home repairs which cost under $10,000, and each applicant must meet the following criteria: Continue reading
I guess some things are just not to be questioned, at least at this morning’s Lowndes County Commission Regular Session. However, although Commissioners did not, I do have a question.
5.b. Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority
County Chairman Slaughter:
“Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority Appointment.”County Manager Pritchard:
“The term currently held by Ashley Paulk will expire June 30th. Mr. Paulk has expressed an interest in being reappointed if the board so chooses.”
County Chairman Slaughter:
“Any questions?
OK, hearing none, let’s move on to agenda item number 6.”
I have a question. Why isn’t it Continue reading
Local Lowndes County and city officials are awaiting breathlessly the news from Atlanta today about new rules on LOST negotiations. Currently, negotiators have to choose one of the positions submitted by the contending parties. The GA Supreme Court may decide to let negotiators pick some other division of LOST funds. Valdosta Mayor John Gayle cancelled a meeting here yesterday so he could be in Atlanta for this court decision. Lowndes County Commissioners are rumored to be planning a meeting tomorrow morning after the decision.
Fox 31 posted 30 May 3012,
Supreme Court of Georgia to hear Turner County LOST case
There’s much more detail in that article. Also, Tim Omarzu wrote for timesfreepress.com 9 May 2013, Georgia top court to consider LOST negotiations.On June 4th, the Georgia Supreme Court will hear the case between Turner County and three cities over the distribution of Local Option Sales Taxes. Below is the entirety of the facts in the case as released by the court:
In this dispute between the governments of Turner County and three cities over how Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) proceeds should be distributed, the county is appealing a superior court ruling which picked the cities’ plan for distribution over the county’s.
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Received 26 April 2013. Basically Valdosta is accelerating its plans to do something about wastewater, including adding pumpstations and force mains, as well as relocating the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant uphill. Here are the summary pages; there’s much more detail in the plan. -jsq
Utilities Department 5-Year Action Plan:
Continue readingSince 1992, the City has received $179 million in SPLOST funding and over the same time period has invested nearly $168 million in capital projects for the Water and Wastewater system. This includes SPLOST funding, system revenues, bonds, and GEFA loans.
Since 2009, the Utilities Department has expended over $49 million on sewer system improvement with approximately $5.6 million spent on the Withlacoochee Treatment Plant. When the projects listed below are completed by December 2018, the City will have invested approximately $230 million in capital projects for its Utilities system from 1992 to 2018, a 26-year period.
PUMP STATION, FORCE MAIN, HEADWORKS AND EQUALIZATION BASIN PROJECT
Valdosta is finally announcing the 11 April 2013 watershed-wide flooding meeting organized by the Army Corps of Engineers.
WCTV yesterday carried a press release from the City of Valdosta; PR which, oddly, does not appear to be on the city’s website. I have added a few links. Prominently missing from the PR is any mention of water quality, the Floridan Aquifer, or sinkholes. -jsq
Continue readingThe City of Valdosta initiated planning discussions recently that brought together representatives from key local, state and federal agencies to seek solutions to a regional flood issue.
The 50-year flood event that occurred in late February, early March 2013 was a vivid reminder of the 2009 flood event that significantly impacted south Georgia. Since 2009, the city has worked to help identify potential causes and the scope and area of the regional flooding that occurred. This information has been shared with various state and federal officials and agencies in the hopes of gaining their interest and support to work together to address the regional flooding. Since Valdosta is located