Category Archives: Water

Packet: Tourism Authority appointments, rezonings, water repairs, hurricane damage @ LCC 2024-12-09

The board packet for the Lowndes County Commission meetings of December 9 and 10, 2024, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website.

[Collage, Packet @ LCC 2024-12-09]
Collage, Packet @ LCC 2024-12-09

See also the agenda and the LAKE videos of the December 9 Work Session.

Plus the packet and LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission Meeting.

-jsq

Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!
http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/donate

Continue reading →

Videos: Tourism Authority appointments, rezonings, water repairs, hurricane damage @ LCC Work 2024-12-09

Update 2024-12-23: Packet: Tourism Authority appointments, rezonings, water repairs, hurricane damage @ LCC 2024-12-09.

Almost an hour might be a record for the Lowndes County Commission Work Session yesterday morning.

Part of that was three Special Recognitions and a twelve-minute Special Report – Ashley Tye and FEMA Deputy Director, none of them on the agenda.

[Collage @ LCC 9 December 2024]
Collage @ LCC 9 December 2024

The longest actual agenda item was 6.a. REZ-2024-18 LSO Invest, 3910 Old US 41 N, ~0.93ac, R-21 to C-C at three and a half minutes. Remember the Planning Commission voted 7-1 to recommend denial, and I hear the underlying applicant is a County Commissioner.

Then the $3,068,176.54 TSPLOST project, 8.a. PI# 0016279 TIA-07 Coleman Road NW Paving and Drainage Improvements Bids, at three minutes.

All others took less than two minutes each.

They vote tonight at 5:30 PM.

Below are LAKE videos of each agenda item (or Special Recognition), with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist.

See also the agenda. Continue reading →

Agenda: Tourism Authority appointments, rezonings, water repairs, hurricane damage @ LCC 2024-12-09

The Lowndes County Commission be busy Monday morning at their Work Session and Tuesday evening at their voting Regular Session.

[Collage @ LCC 2024-12-09]
Collage @ LCC 2024-12-09

It will be interesting to see what they do with REZ-2024-18 LSO Invest, 3910 Old US 41 N, since the Planning Commission voted 7-1 to recommend denial, and I hear the underlying applicant is a County Commissioner.

They will vote on two members for the Valdosta Lowndes County Conference Center and Tourism Authority, one reappointment, and one to replace Michael Smith, who was elected to the Lowndes County Commission.

They will also be voting on close to $5 million, most of it in one paving project, of Coleman Road NW, that one using TSPLOST funds.

The other big ticket items are hurricane damage repair, new motor graders, and several kinds of insurance. Continue reading →

Packet: Insurance cancellation, annexation and rezoning for Development Authority, final bond resolution for water and wastewater, and $679,832.40 for tasers @ VCC 2024-12-05

The board packet has a couple of pages on why city staff want to cancel the insurance broker contract, while the broker is posting his version on his ValdostaFirst facebook group.

Valdosta Police Department wants $679,832.40 for Conducted Electrical Weapons (CEW), which say taser on the side.

I’m told this is the final resolution required before issuing the $67 million bonds for water and wastewater projects.

[Packet: Issue water and sewer bonds, cancel insurance contract, $679,832.40 for tasers, VLDA rezoning and annexation, raise wrecker rates @ VCC 2024-12-05]
Packet: Issue water and sewer bonds, cancel insurance contract, $679,832.40 for tasers, VLDA rezoning and annexation, raise wrecker rates @ VCC 2024-12-05

See also the agenda.

The board packet, received in response to an open records request, is on the LAKE website.

For the rezoning and annexation, see also the preceding Planning Commission meeting. Continue reading →

Agenda: Annexation and rezoning for Development Authority and final bond resolution for water and wastewater @ VCC 2024-12-05

Update 2024-12-05: Packet: Insurance cancellation, annexation and rezoning for Development Authority, final bond resolution for water and wastewater, and $679,832.40 for tasers @ VCC 2024-12-05.

I’m told this is the final resolution required before issuing the $67 million bonds for water and wastewater projects.

[VLDA Annexation & Rezoning @ VCC 2024-12-05 Final Bond Resolution for water and wastewater]
VLDA Annexation & Rezoning @ VCC 2024-12-05 Final Bond Resolution for water and wastewater

Here is the agenda.

We do not have the board packet yet. However, the Old Clyattville Road annexation materials will probably be similar to those in the preceding Planning Commission meeting.

AGENDA
REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL
5:30 PM Thursday, December 5, 2024
CITY HALL, COUNCIL CHAMBERS

Continue reading →

Videos: DRC Emergency Services, VSU South Campus Purchase, missing HOA, and Navigability @ LCC Regular 2024-10-23

As Gretchen noted, “There was no work session for this meeting. Shockingly there was discussion.”

The Commissioners and even the County Attorney and County Manager were quite chatty in the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, Tuesday, October 22, 2024, about hurricane debris, and especially about their upcoming $2 million purchase. They also heard from two citizens.

[Collage @ LCC 23 October 2024]
Collage @ LCC 23 October 2024

They revealed in 5.a. Agreement with DRC Emergency Services, LLC that the hurricane debris removal would probably last six months.

In 5.b. Purchase of VSU South Campus Property they revealed that the likely future occupant is is the Board of Elections. They discussed this one item for ten minutes! Unheard of. Good, though.

In 6. Reports – County Manager Paige Dukes estimated about $1.5 million in property damage to Lowndes County assets. Not counting VLPRA, Hospital, and other authorities with their own budgets.

Two citizens spoke: 7. CWTBH: Jesse Bingham of 2563 Naples Lane recounted a tale of multiple developers building wildly different buildings around his house, and still no HOA.

7. CWTBH: John S. Quarterman, speaking for WWALS Watershed Coalition as Suwannee Riverkeeper, talked about the Georgia House Study Committee on Navigability and recommended Commissioners contact statehouse members. See separate post.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist.

See also the Continue reading →

Packet: ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn LTD rezoning, adoption of millage rates, USGS stream gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection @ LCC 2024-10-14

Update 2024-10-21: Agenda: DRC Emergency Services and VSU South Campus Purchase @ LCC 2024-10-21.

The TXT-2024-03 ULDC Text Amendments are quite long and detailed. The county still has not published them for the tax-paying and voting public to see. You can see them now, because LAKE got them with an open records request, and now they are on the LAKE website.

[Packet: ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn rezoning, millage rates, river gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection: Grove Pointe, Nelson Hill @ LCC 2024-10-14]
Packet: ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn rezoning, millage rates, river gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection: Grove Pointe, Nelson Hill @ LCC 2024-10-14

It’s good the Lowndes County Commissioners decided Tuesday to table those amendments (and the rezoning) until the Planning Commission can review them.

Cost What
$3,369,213.71 Sprayfield Expansion Phase
$78,392.6.00 Grove Pointe Nelson Hill Watermain Interconnection
$3,025.00 Joint Funding Agreement with USGS for Stream Gauge Maintenance
$3,450,631.31Total

The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website.

See also Continue reading →

Videos: ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn LTD rezoning, adoption of millage rates, USGS stream gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection @ LCC Regular 2024-10-15

Update 2024-10-17: Packet: ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn LTD rezoning, adoption of millage rates, USGS stream gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection @ LCC 2024-10-14.

As Chairman Bill Slaughter said they would in the preceding Millage Public Hearing, they adopted the roll back millage rate of 7.356 rather than the advertized rate of 7.804. Last year (2023) the rate was 8.778.

The Fire District Millage Rate is continuing at 2.5 mil. The commission plans to continue this rate for 5 years from the start date. This is probably year 3, so apparently 2 more years.

[Collage @ LCC 15 October 2024]
Collage @ LCC 15 October 2024

They actually did table the 5.a. TXT-2024-03 ULDC Text Amendments and the rezoning 5.b. REZ-2024-15 Loch Laurel – Carroll Ulmer so the Planning Commission could hear them at the October 28 meeting and then voted on at the November 12 Lowndes County Commission Regular Meeting.

There was quite a bit of discussion between Commissioners and Lowndes County Manager Paige Dukes and Utilities Director Steve Stalvey about the Sprayfield Expansion. Continue reading →

Videos: Forestry, Weather, ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn LTD rezoning, adoption of millage rates, USGS stream gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection @ LCC Work 2024-10-14

Update 2024-10-17: Videos: Millage Public Hearing @ LCC 2024-10-15.

Only in the Work Session this morning, and if you weren’t there, only in these LAKE videos:

[Collage @ LCC Regular 14 October 2024]
Collage @ LCC Regular 14 October 2024

In regular items, County Planner JD Dillard recommended tabling the ULDC Text Amendments until stakeholders have more time to comment. He referred to the copy Commissioners had in their packet. We the taxpayers and voters do not have a copy.

He also recommended tabling 5.b. REZ-2024-15 Loch Laurel – Carroll Ulmer until the Planning Commission can review it. Which indicates that GLPC did not meet last month, even though there was no announcement that it had been cancelled.

Finance Director Stephanie Black said there would be a Millage Public Hearing at 5PM tomorrow, Tuesday, October 15, before the 5:30 PM Regular Session.

There was discussion in 7.a. Sprayfield Expansion Phase I. Continue reading →

Agenda: ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn LTD rezoning, adoption of millage rates, USGS stream gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection @ LCC 2024-10-14

Update 2024-10-14: Videos: Forestry, Weather, ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn LTD rezoning, adoption of millage rates, USGS stream gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection @ LCC Work 2024-10-14.

The long-quorum-and-hurricane–delayed REZ-2024-15 Loch Winn LTD rezoning will probably be decided Tuesday evening by the Lowndes County Commission. Before that, it will be heard at the Work Session Monday morning 8:30 AM, along with suprise ULDC text amendments, two millage rates, river gauges, sprayfield, and watermain interconnection between two northside subdivisions.

The adoption of the regular and Fire District millage rates will presumbably get presentations much like the last Millage Public Hearing on September 19.

We get a one-paragraph summary of TXT-2024-03 ULDC Text Amendments, but not the actual text.

We would have seen the text in the GLPC packet, but back in June the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission abdicated oversight of ULDC text amendments. And in June, the Lowndes County Commission rubberstamped that abdication.

The agenda item says, “9/2024 VDT Advertisements Published (Public Notice)” but I can’t find that in GeorgiaPublicNotice.com.

What is it the county planners and Commissioners do not want the public to see?

[ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn rezoning, millage rates, river gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection: Grove Pointe, Nelson Hill @ LCC 2024-10-14]
ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn rezoning, millage rates, river gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection: Grove Pointe, Nelson Hill @ LCC 2024-10-14

Here’s a refresher for where this would be, between Old US 41 North and Val Del Road: Grove Pointe Nelson Hill Watermain Interconnection. Continue reading →