Old State Road at the Alapaha River is a county-maintained public road.
How could Lowndes County not have known that it was
blocked by two huge blocks of concrete
at Hotchkiss Landing from late 2010 through at least early 2012?
Why did Code Enforcement do nothing about it?
These blocks of concrete have to be quite heavy.
This is not random litter, and no partier or hunter or 4-wheeler would
have any motivation to block the road, much less with blocks this size.
Who would?
Why didn’t the county find out and do something about it?
NOTICE OF PROPOSED
ROAD ABANDONMENT
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that pursuant to O.C.G.A. 32-7-2(b)(1) the
Lowndes County Board of Commissioners has determined that a section
of Old State Road (CR # 16) has ceased to be used by the public to
the extent that no substantial purpose is served or by it that its
removal from the county road system is otherwise in the best public
interest. The section of Old State Road that is proposed for
abandonment lies .85 miles to the east of Good Hope Road (CR # 126)
and travels approximately .17 miles before termination at the
Alapaha River.
YOU ARE ALSO HEREBY NOTIFIED that pursuant to said Code section the
Lowndes County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing for
the purpose of determining whether to declare the subject section of
the subject road abandoned. The public hearing will be at 5:30 P.M.
on February 12, 2013, at the Lowndes County Administration Building
located at 327 North Ashley Street, Valdosta, Georgia.
Any citizen of Lowndes County or any person wherever residing may be
heard by the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners during the
aforesaid public hearing.
This 28th day of January, 2013.
Joseph D. Pritchard
County Manager
Lowndes County, Georgia
00046658
2/1,8/13
Note that last part:
“or any person wherever residing may be heard by the
Lowndes County Board of Commissioners during the aforesaid public hearing.”
That means you do not have to be a citizen or resident or taxpayer
of Lowndes County to speak at this public hearing.
There’s no public hearing sign on the affected portion of that road.
Why is that?
Here’s
O.C.G.A. 32-7-2(b)(1):
This access to the Alapaha River is the only remaining public access
within Lowndes County. It has great historical significance to the
Naylor community. It continues to be used by boaters, fishermen and
families for recreation.
To:
Lowndes County Commission
Keep County Road 16 leading to the Alapaha River open to public access.
The camera aim is a bit erratic, and you can see why we hadn't already
posted this video (which is actually several briefer videos pasted together
with a few gaps).
Yet you can clearly see, after
Glenda Cofield and
Steve Bays
spoke against closing the road,
someone else
started speaking from the audience.
Then
Commissioner Joyce Evans asked those opposed to stand up,
and many people did.
You can see County Engineer Mike Fletcher in the background.
Presumably some of the people who stood were among the 450 people
mentioned in
the minutes:
Glenda Cofield, Mullins Lane, spoke against the request, and presented
a petition submitted prior to the work session with the unverified
signatures of 450 area residents included.
Why were the signatures still unverified if she submitted the petition
before the work session of the previous day?
Continue reading →
In 2010, 450 people signed a petition to keep open
the road leading to Hotchkiss Landing on the Alapaha River,
according
the Lowndes County Commission minutes
for the 26 October 2010 Public Hearing.
Photograph by Brett Huntley.
Abandon a portion of Old State Road (CR 16), County
Manager, Joe Pritchard, presented the road closure for consideration,
adding that the engineering department had indicated twenty-five
vehicles per day on the road. Glenda Cofield, Mullins Lane, spoke
against the request, and presented
Do big box stores count as development? Are they worth millions in tax incentives and bond investments? Maybe we can find something better for local industry and jobs.
Rumors have been flying for years about a Bass Pro store coming to Valdosta, like this one on a Georgia Outdoor News forum:
01-22-2008, 09:05 PM, bear-229 ive heard the land has been bought. very close to the new toyota lot but it has not made it to the “new locations” on the web site
That’s on James Road, in that huge proposed development that Lowndes County approved around that time.
Both Bass Pro Shops and its archrival, Cabela’s, sell hunting and fishing gear in cathedral-like stores featuring taxidermied wildlife, gigantic fresh-water aquarium exhibits and elaborate outdoor reproductions within the stores. The stores are billed as job generators by both companies when they are fishing for development dollars. But the firms’ economic benefits are minimal and costs to taxpayers are great.
An exhaustive investigation conducted by the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity found that the two competing firms together have received or are promised more than $2.2 billion from American taxpayers over the past 15 years.
What kind of investigation can you do in a minute and a half? –Chris Gay for Coroner of Lowndes County 1st Annual Reunion, South Georgia Semi-Pro Baseball & Softball League (Baseball), Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 July 2012.
Allen Lane is one of the two Democrats running for the new County Commission District 4 for the east half of Lowndes County. He spoke at a baseball reunion in Naylor, 14 July 2012.
When you cry, I'm gonna cry; when you laugh, I laugh —Allen Lane for Lowndes County Commission District 4 1st Annual Reunion, South Georgia Semi-Pro Baseball & Softball League (Baseball), Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Naylor, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 July 2012.
Demarcus Marshall is one of two Democrats running for the new County Commission District 4 that covers the eastern half of Lowndes County. He spoke at a baseball reunion in Naylor, 14 July 2012.
Invest in our future now or watch our kids leave —Demarcus Marshall for Lowndes County Commission District 4 1st Annual Reunion, South Georgia Semi-Pro Baseball & Softball League (Baseball), Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Naylor, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 July 2012.
At the Monday morning Work Session, County Manager Joe Pritchard reiterated that there would be a Public Hearing on Millage 5PM 24 July 2012. He added that the millage is “less than calculated rollback”, Two weeks before, at the previous Work Sessioni and Regular Session, he already said staff did not anticipate any increases in millage.
This time he added these details:
Millage
Recipient
7.31
Lowndes County
1.00
Industrial Authority (VLCIA)
1.25
Parks and Recreation (VLPRA)
9.56
Total
Commissioner Richard Raines wanted to know whether the school board was only the unincorporated area. He got two answers: “yes”, and “it’s not the city of Valdosta.” Those are not the same answer, since people from some of the cities, such as Hahira, Lake Park, and I think Dasher, go to county schools and are taxed for that. I don’t know about Remerton. Valdosta has its own school system and its own school tax. All the school taxes are separate (and greater than) the county taxes in the table above.
Announcement of Millage Hearing 5PM 24 July 2012 Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC), Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 23 July 2012.
at Hotchkiss Landing from late 2010 through at least early 2012?
Why did Code Enforcement do nothing about it?
