It’s great that the local cities and the county government
think they can negotiate how to share Local Option Sales Tax (LOST)
money this time without spending a lot of money suing each other
like they did back in 2002.
It’s not so great that they’re doing it at an unannounced time and place.
As required by state law, Lowndes County issued a letter to the
mayors of all the municipalities in the county, requesting they
attend a renegotiation meeting Monday, April 9 to discuss LOST
(local option sales tax) distributions.
“This has to be done and approved by the end of the year in
order to stay in place, so we have to start the process now,”
said Commission Chairman Ashley Paulk.
Well, that’s interesting.
When is this meeting?
Ah, the time of day wasn’t included in the article.
A little reading in local histories of the area or talking to people
who were involved even a generation or two back indicates that Lowndes
County has always been a cliquish sort of place, mostly run by old boys,
for reasons that made some sense in the early days (lack of resources,
mainly), but doesn’t so much anymore in these days of I-75 and I-10,
airport, railroads that still go everywhere, Moody AFB, VSU as a regional university, technical and community colleges,
two hospitals and medical industry, TitleTown, Grand Bay WMA, Wild Adventures,
and south Georgia sunshine we can export to Atlanta and points north.
Here are a few books about the old days, all available in local libraries
and possibly in local bookstores:
Continue reading →
There are many injustices of socialism and redistribution of wealth (or garbage) and I’m glad to see you recognize this in the shifting of illegal dumping costs to landowners. I am also glad to see that at least the county is talking about privatization and not public/private partnerships (so far). When Hahira almost succeeded in placing a regional waste transfer station on city owned property
REZ-2007-32 City of Hahira, 0028 027 6751 Union Road, 2 lots, R-21 to M-2, DRI
I was concerned that the county was complacent in this because the Lowndes Board of Commissioners November 2007 meeting minutes showed they agreed to rezone the property for the purpose of the transfer station against the recommendations of the county planner, Jason Davenport. That rezoning action replaced a DRI (Development of Regional Impact) request for waste transfer station rezoning so it was easy to assume the county and possibly the region had a mutual agenda for the transfer station. During a recent discussion on the dangers of regional government with Valdosta mayor, Larry Hanson, I asked if the transfer station was a regional interest. He assured me the City of Valdosta had no knowledge and no interest in that transfer station prior to articles in the Valdosta Daily Times. I’ve not had an opportunity to discuss the possibility of mutual agenda with the county and if it comes up again in the future I am assuming proper procedures will be followed which mandate public meetings and input into the planning before a third DRI is entered, not after.
I worked a contract for the IT of a Pensacola, FL software company that had waste management software contracts all over the US. It was my job to be
Has this ever happened before?
Both school boards and the Valdosta City Council and Lowndes County Commission
all meeting together?
Maybe this way we can get some actual improvements in education!
The first annual Valdosta-Lowndes Governmental Leadership Meeting
will be held on March 29, 2012 at 6:30 pm in the Lowndes High School
Lecture Hall. Valdosta City and Lowndes County Board of Education
members, Valdosta City Council members, and Lowndes County
Commissioners will be in attendance. Lowndes County Schools will
host a dinner for the leadership at 6:00 pm.
The purpose of the meeting is to promote the enhancement of
communication and allow leaders to share ideas and plans pertinent
to the development and expansion of our local governmental entities.
It will also allow members to discuss long-range strategic plans,
including any special projects, while providing greater insight as
to what will transpire within our community over the next five
years. The meeting is open to the public.
Agenda
Welcome and Introductions
Dr. Steve Smith, Superintendent Lowndes County Schools
Sharing of Long Range Plans and Vision
Lowndes County Board of Education
Lowndes County Board of Commissioners
Valdosta City Board of Education
Valdosta City Council
Questions, Comments, Suggestions
Wrap Up
Wes Taylor, Superintendent-elect,
Lowndes County Schools
Before selling it off to a private landowner who
who two years later got a contract with private prison company CCA
to resell it for almost 100% profit,
the Industrial Authority acquired a road easement through county-owned wetlands
from Lowndes County:
Further, Grantor hereby conveys a Non-Exclusive Ingress and Egress Easement
in that certain 0.685 acre tract or parcel of land
situate, lying and being in Land Lot 153 of th 11th
Land District of Lowndes County, Georgia.
Said 0.685 acre tract being designated as “0.685 acres — Ingress/Egress
Easement reserved for future right-of-way extension”
as depicted on that certain map or survey
“Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority” dated
September 8, 2004 and recorded September 9, 2004 in Plat Cabinet A, Page 2659,
Lowndes County records, to which
map and survey is hereby referred in further aid of description.
An easement that a private landowner might have more difficulty getting
from the county.
Isn’t that convenient?
Heading out Drive Away CCA 2012 03 06
No private prison in Lowndes County,
Motorcade against Corrections Corporation of America, Drive Away CCA,
CCA, VLCIA, Corrections Corporation of America, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority,
Valdosta City Council, Lowndes County Commission, incarceration, prison, private prison,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 6 March 2012.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
5PM today,
Drive Away CCA, from the prison site at East US 84 and Inner Perimeter Road,
honk at Valdosta City Hall, and march at the Industrial Authority office.
John Quarterman, who is with a group informally called “Drive
Away CCA” visited The Morning Drive to discuss the group’s
displeasure with a possible private prison that is being discussed
in Lowndes County. A possible extension for the company to continue
its plans here is up for renewal and the group feels its location
here would be bad for area businesses and citizens alike.
Do you want to live in a prison colony?
Help us say, CCA Go Away!
Join us 5PM Tuesday March 6th 2012 at the private prison site (Dasher-Johnson
Road off US 84 at Inner Perimeter) for a motorcade by Valdosta City
Hall to the Industrial Authority offices: for education and against the
private prison.
When:
5PM (rush hour) Tuesday March 6th
How:
Cars, trucks, motorcycles, and bicycles
Who:
Everybody is invited
What:
Oppose the Private Prison
From:
Proposed Private Prison Site
US 84 @ Inner Perimeter Road
(Staging on Dasher-Johnson Road next to US 84)
By way of:
Valdosta City Hall
Valdosta City Council Work Session
Honk to say No CCA!
To:
Industrial Authority Office
2110 N. Patterson Street
(Patterson at Park Avenue)
Bring a sign: No Private Prisons!
Contact:
noprivateprisons@gmail.com
Winn Roberson, 229-630-2339, winnroberson@bellsouth.net
John S. Quarterman, 229-242-0102, politics@quarterman.org
Winn Roberson read the newspaper Friday (February 24th)
and realized the prison site
was down the street from him, so the news finally sunk in.
This motorcade was his idea to drive the point across to the
Industrial Authority: we don’t want a private prison!
John S. Quarterman lives about as far away from the prison site
as you can get in Lowndes County, but realizes it will affect
everybody for many counties around.
So let’s say CCA Go Away!
Valdosta City Council and Mayor, who may not have been following the private prison issue,
now know about it and are aware that they are all implicated in the private prison
decision, due to events at the Industrial Authority board meeting
and the Valdosta City Council meeting, both Thursday 23 February 2012.
After remarking that I’d rather be talking about the additional solar panels
recently installed on my farm workshop up here in the north end of the county,
I recapped the
case against a private prison
and referred the Valdosta City Council to
my LTE in the VDT of that morning
(Thursday 23 February 2012).
I remarked that I was disappointed the Industrial Authority
hadn’t done anything to stop the prison at its meeting earlier that same day.
Since they might be wondering what all this had to do with them, I pointed out that,
if I could use the word,
they were all implicated as mayor and council
in the private prison decision because
Jay Hollis, CCA’s Manager of Site Acquisition, in his Valdosta-Lowndes County, GA / CCA Partnership: Prepared Remarks of August 2010,
lavishly praised the Lowndes County Commission and Chairman and the
Valdosta City Council and mayor.
Although the mayor was different now, and maybe some of the council,
nonetheless it was the same offices of council and mayor, still implicated.
I asked for their opinions on that subject.
Per their custom, they did not offer any at that time.
So, maybe we’ll hear from them later.
Or maybe the Industrial Authority board will hear from them….
Valdosta Mayor and Council are implicated in the private prison —John S. Quarterman @ VCC 2012 02 23
VSEB, employment,
Regular Session, Valdosta City Council (VCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 23 February 2012.
Videos by George Boston Rhynes for K.V.C.I., the bostongbr on YouTube.
As required by state law, Lowndes County issued a letter to the mayors of all the municipalities in the county, requesting they attend a renegotiation meeting Monday, April 9 to discuss LOST (local option sales tax) distributions.
