Unfortunately I missed this meeting as well, and not by choice.I vaguely remembered that Roy Copeland mentioned after the October meeting that the December date might be changed to December 6. Thus, I called Tuesday shortly after 5pm to verify if a meeting was indeed scheduled. I only got the answering machine (indicating to me that the office was closed) and the IA website (as so often) was no help.
Thus I, too, was assuming the meeting would be later this month … only to find out the next day in the VDT that there had been a meeting after all.
Our community has gone through so much these past couple of months, highlighting more than ever the need to communicate and cooperate. I was hoping after all this that we could finally start working together, despite any differences we might have. That would, however, not only require a certain amount of transparency but also communication of such simple matters as meeting agendas and calendars. How difficult can that be?
Communication is, and always will be, the key to success. Whether this is about your children’s education, such matters as energy efficiency and energy conservation, or a Strategic Planning Process which can only benefit the community … if that very community (not just the same old status quo) is actually included in the process.
Michael G. Noll, President
Wiregrass Activists for Clean Energy (WACE)
Category Archives: VLCIA 2011-10-18
After the VLCIA meeting: brain storming sessions —Dr. Noll
I was approached after the meeting and informed that the Industrial Authority intends to invite communal leaders like myself to brain storming sessions in the future, although I do not know yet the design for such a forum, nor have I received any invitations as of today. Still, if there is one thing that has again become clear in the context of the consolidation issue, our community desperately needs structures that a) allow for more transparency and b) forums in which we can take advantage of the creative energy that exist in our community, INSTEAD of trying to shut people out, to hide information from them, or to push through divisive agendas.It is my hope that the leaders of the Industrial Authority, as well as the City Council, the Lowndes County Commission, and the Chamber of Commerce for that matter, understand the opportunity we have: to turn a weakness (as exposed by the way we handled biomass, and are currently handling the consolidation issue) into a strength … via communication and cooperation … as is appropriate for a true community.
-Michael.
What can we do as a community to better cooperate? —Dr. Noll
Dr. Michael Noll, longtime opponent of the Industrial Authority’s formerly proposed biomass plant, asked that same board at their most recent meeting:
What can we do as a community to better cooperate, to better communicate?He also referred to the school consolidation issue and to the nuclear vs. renewable energy issue among the reasons he gave, along with some suggestions on how to proceed, and said he would take the same message to other bodies.
Here’s the video, and a transcript is appended.
What can we do as a community to better cooperate? –Dr. Noll
Regular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Tom Call, Roy Copeland chairman, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett,
Andrea Schruijer Executive Director, J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Project Manager,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 18 October 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Dr. Noll sent an edited transcript removing some of the repetition to clarify what he was trying to say: Continue reading
Opposed to a private prison in Lowndes County, Georgia. —John S. Quarterman, et al.
If you’d also like to sign, I’m still collecting signatures, and will periodically drop off more signed copies. Or, even better, write your own letter and send it to the Industrial Authority. Submit it to this blog and we’ll probably publish it.
Here’s the video:
Opposed to a private prison in Lowndes County, Georgia. —John S. Quarterman
Regular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Tom Call, Roy Copeland chairman, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett,
Andrea Schruijer Executive Director, J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Project Manager,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 18 October 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Text of the letter is appended; follow the link for the documentation. Continue reading
Industrial Authority Board meets Tuesday 5:30 PM
Also, aren’t they supposed to say what an executive session is for?
- Project Report-Allan Ricketts
But at least they do post an agenda now!
So, when will they be posting minutes?
Continue readingValdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority
Agenda
Tuesday, October 18, 2011 5:30 p.m.
Industrial Authority Conference Room
2110 N. Patterson Street