Category Archives: VLCIA

Videos: Georgia Power, Rotary, Tires @ VLCIA 2014-08-19

They (maybe) finally settled on their new name: Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority; see Minutes. Interesting discussion about Express Scripts, and some details about presenters at the next day’s Community Economic Development meeting. I talked about the Alapaha River Water Trail.

And they are talking about spec[ulative] building, such as they liked when they saw it in Douglas and Valdosta Mayor Gayle liked in Vidalia.

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

300x225 VLCIA, in VLCIA, by John S. Quarterman, 19 August 2014 Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority
Tuesday, August 19, 2014 5:30 p.m.
Development Authority Conference Room
103 Roosevelt Drive
Monthly Meeting Agenda
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Update on Economic Development meeting @ VLCIA 2014-09-16

The big item tonight is the update on their local economic development meeting last month, plus election of officers and the usual project and marketing updates.

Here’s the agenda, with a couple of formatting typos fixed (not sure I got it right, either).

Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority
Tuesday, September 16, 2014 5:30 p.m.
Development Authority Conference Room
103 Roosevelt Drive
Monthly Meeting Agenda
Continue reading →

Nydia Tisdale’s offense: she sat in the front row

Landowner Johnny Burt’s excuse for having Nydia Tisdale ejected from an event advertised as a public campaign rally:

“She promptly sat down on the front row on the end where she would be right in their face and was making everybody uncomfortable.”

Shades of Ashley Paulk’s excuse for wanting that illegal bill of attainder Continue reading →

Power, Rotary, Tires @ VLCIA 2014-08-19

I’ll give them an A for effort, including branching out: from tires to agribusiness this month, and Valdosta North Rotary today, too. That Community Ecomomic Developmeent Meeting is still on for tomorrow, at the Conference Center.

And they are talking about spec[ulative] building, such as they liked when they saw it in Douglas and Valdosta Mayor Gayle liked in Vidalia.

Here’s the agenda. Continue reading →

Stealth VLCIA real estate meeting last Wednesday @ VLCIA 2014-08-13

Well, the agenda says the Invocation was “For the purpose of discussing real estate”; it doesn’t say what the Executive Session was for.

Maybe they’ve got a customer for one of those empty industrial parks Brad Lofton talked them into building before he left the state.

Maybe they’re going to build some of those spec buildings they and Valdosta Mayor Gayle admire in Vidalia and Douglas.

Maybe they’re still negotiating with Continue reading →

Videos: New name, new member @ VLCIA 2014-07-15

They’re aiming at 20 August 2014 for a meeting with local educational and business leaders. After mulling it over for more than two years, VLCIA waited until somebody in Atlanta told them to, and finally added a trading name of Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority (VLDA), which two board members immediately said wrong. Still, much actual thought, discussion, investigation and potential courses of action was presented, especially in the Executive Director’s Report and in the answers to Alvin Payton’s questions.

Only three board members attended VLCIA’s first meeting in its new office near the hospital: Roy Copeland, Vice-Chairman Jerry Jennett (presiding), and new member Georgia Power VP Terri Lupo, who was just appointed to VLCIA by the Lowndes County Commission. They did not have the expected officer nominating committee report, because Chairman Mary Gooding and Tom Call were not there; they barely had a quorum with 3 out of 5 board members. Also attending were Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter, Valdosta Mayor John Gayle, and Valdosta City Council Alvin Payton. All three spoke in Citizens To Be Heard, as did I, delivering the traditional welcome gift.

This move uptown leaves their old building to Sabal Trail and its proposed fracked methane pipeline. Has VLCIA ever developed an opinion on that boondoggle?

Here’s the agenda, with links to the videos, followed by a video playlist.

Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority
Tuesday, July 15, 2014 5:30 p.m.
Industrial Authority Conference Room
103 Roosevelt Drive
Monthly Meeting Agenda
Continue reading →

Brad Lofton leaving Myrtle Beach, SC

Looks like Horry County, SC stuck to its initial three-year offer, both for Lofton, and for millage to fund his development authority there. There are things the newly-renamed Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority could do to let sunshine turn Lofton’s local land legacy green.

Jason M. Rodriguez and Amanda Kelley wrote for Myrtle Beach Online yesterday, Brad Lofton leaving Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation,

Membership to the EDC increased earlier this year, but revenue from the membership decreased by nearly $60,000, impacting the organization’s marketing services and more.

Loton has had many projects succeed, and met some challenges during his time in Horry County.

Earlier this month Continue reading →

New place, new member, new officers, new name? @ VLCIA 2014-07-15

Six years in the making! Finally VLCIA meets in its new office near the hospital. Georgia Power VP Terri Lupo was just appointed to VLCIA by the Lowndes County Commission (without ever showing up and speaking). On this VLCIA agenda is the annually expected officer nominating committee report. Plus “Proposed VLCIA Name Change”. How about SolarTown?

Hm, this move uptown leaves their old building to Sabal Trail and its proposed fracked methane pipeline. Has VLCIA ever developed an opinion on that boondoggle?

Here’s the agenda. Continue reading →

Videos: a few appointees spoke @ LCC 2014-07-08

The Commission awarded no-bid contracts to Lovell Engineering (for Zipperer Road and Boring Pond Road) and ASA Engineering (for Coppage Road). Three of the seven board appointees showed up and spoke: Sam Allen and Penelope Schmidt for Library Board, and and Russell Mast for VLPRA. The Commission appointed all of them unanimously, including no-shows Terri Lupo to VLCIA, Martha Cunningham and Matt Lawrence to Library Board, and Susan Prince to VLPRA. Chairman Bill Slaughter consistently omitted the “Valdosta” from the names of all these boards, even though the reason VLCIA and VLPRA exist is a state law requirement for no overlap between uninincorporated and incorporated area taxation for such services.

There was no public hearing for Whitewater Road because the applicant withdrew it, and half of Nelson Hill was withdrawn while the other half was tabled.

Four of the nine contracts were approved all at once. Mr. Anti-Grant Commissioner Richard Raines actually made the motion to approve the EPMG grant request.

They finally posted an agenda after the Work Session. And they added another item to an amended agenda between the Work Session and the Regular Session.

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

Here are links to the videos in the order they actually held the meeting. See the videos of the previous morning’s Work Session for more detail on many of these items.

Here’s a video playlist:


Videos: a few appointees spoke
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 8 July 2014.

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Videos: opaque appointments @ LCC 2014-07-07

Terri Lupo (Georgia Power regional VP) for the Industrial Authority; Martha Cunningham, Sam Allen, Penelope Schmidt, Matt Lawrence for the Library Board, and Dan Deaver, Susan Prince, and Russell Mast (Chairman) for two positions on Parks and Rec. Apparently the public was supposed to guess about the two public hearings (one about the frequently-staff-varianced subdivision Nelson Hill) or the nine contracts, since the county didn’t post an agenda before the meeting. Commissioner Joyce Evans did ask if the applicants would be at the Regular Session Tuesday evening, and was told they would. Will they speak this time, unlike the applicants two weeks ago?

They finally posted an agenda after the meeting.

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