Category Archives: Water

Tower, Water, Sewer, Personal Care Home, Hahira Gateway Corridor Overlay District @ GLPC 2019-05-28

The tabled tower on US 84E is back. The Lowndes County Commission meets at the same time. Since the Planning Commission usually spends more than five minutes on Call to Order, Pledge, and reading the boilerplate about what GLPC does, and the County Commission brags about having 5 minute meetings, the County Commission could make a decision before the Planning Commission even gets that far in its agenda.

There’s also a Lowndes County request for water and sewer on Bemiss Knights Academy Road.

Valdosta has a request for conditional use for a Personal Care Home.

And two requests for Variances from the Hahira Gateway Corridor Overlay District, which is presumably the coral-colored area around W. Main St. on both sides of I-75.

VALORGIS.

Here is the agenda.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park
REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
AGENDA
Monday, May 28, 2019 * 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing
Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue
Continue reading →

Tower, GDOT Utilities, 2 appointments, various agreements @ LCC 2019-05-28

Both the Work Session and the Regular Session are Tuesday, due to Monday being a holiday. That puts the Regular Session at the same time as the Planning Commission.

The proposed 300′ tower is back on the agenda. Its agenda sheet says they’re still waiting for Moody AFB to do a Terminal Instrument Procedures (TERPS) analysis, and for a response from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). So the County Commission could make a decision and adjourn before the Planning Commission even gets that far on its agenda.

Utilities has a Standard Utility Agreement/Preliminary Engineering Agreement with GDOT that “that covers the engineering cost of Water and Sewer Distribution facilities relocations incurred by Lowndes County for improvements of the interchange on CR 274/Lake Park-Bellville Road. The amount of the contract is $49,270.00, of which the DOT will bear 100 percent of the cost.”

Two appointments: somebody unnamed resigned from the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) and Berinda Nwakamma wants to be appointed. Naturally, the agenda says nothing about who she is, but linkedin says “Program Director at Georgia Home Visiting Program”, ResearchGate says “Valdosta State University | VSU · department of social work”, and Great Start thanks providers, by Daniel DeMersseman, VDT, 10 June 2017, says “GSGL [Great Start Georgia Lowndes] supervisor.” I’m guessing she’s the one in the front left of the picture, not holding a certificate, because she’s the one organized giving them out.

Daniel DeMersseman | The Valdosta Daily Times Great Start Georgia Lowndes thanks social services providers at its Thank-a-Provider event.

Commissioner Joyce Evans’ term Continue reading →

Videos: Tower, appointments, sewer main, boat ramp, water trails, Paddle Georgia @ LCC 2019-05-14

All three rezonings breezed through, except slightly the longest was the tabling of the proposed 300′ communications tower off of US 84 East. The tower had the most people: those sitting in the back.

Surprisingly, one of the two Authority appointments was not the incumbent. None of the candidates were introduced, and none spoke.

One Citizen spoke, me, on behalf of WWALS, thanking them and inviting them.

Commissioner Clay Griner was not present. The other four voting Commissioners unanimously approved everything, including the one tabling. At least two staff speakers were not introduced, one not named except by last name, and one never named at all.

Below are Continue reading →

Videos: Tower and online packets @ LCC 2019-05-13

As expected, the longest item was about the 300′ communications tower proposed south of US 84 E. Second was bids for rotary mowers (really). And a Commissioner wanted to know what’s a blade.

Afterwards, at 9AM, was a special appearance by Tax Commissioner Rodney Cain and his staff, which at 16 3/4 minutes, took almost as long as the entire Work Session.

In between, Commissioners answered my question: Continue reading →

Videos: Taxes, water, sewer, LAS, paving, road abandonment @ LCC 2019-03-12

~~Five minutes and 46 seconds~~ Sixteen minutes to vote on the people’s business in the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session. Where do they actually discuss things?

By far the longest item at three minutes and fourteen seconds was 5a. REZ-2019-04 Southeastern Freight 2120 West Hill Ave., C-H/R-1 To M-2,, and that only because somebody spoke in favor of the request in the Public Hearing.

Second longest at one minute and 46 seconds was the controversial 7 a. North Lowndes Spring Creek Utility Inter-connection Project Phase II, for which they made a decision about the yellow paper. They still never said who the rest of the bidders were, nor how much they bid, on this $3,889,825.23 project.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with Continue reading →

Videos: Taxes, water, sewer, LAS, paving, road abandonment @ LCC 2019-03-11

They don’t have any wheelchair seating areas, so Jody Hall planted his wheels in front of the front row, to see the county not tell the public who bid what on an almost $4 million item.

By far the longest item at almost seven minutes was North Lowndes Spring Creek Utility Inter-connection Project Phase II, because one bidder objected that the others did not use the correct color paper. They never said who any of the bidders were, nor how much they bid, on this $3,889,825.23 project.

The third longest was 6.f. Water and Sewer Service Areas – Lake Park Area, as the county continues its plan to encircle Valdosta. Yet the county has no plan for additional sewage treatment beyond the Land Application Site (LAS), where Lowndes County sprays sewage onto land near Grassy Pond, close to the state line, and where they’re reducing the Row Crop Lease Agreement by 71 acres for unexplained reasons.

Second longest was Continue reading →

Taxes, water, sewer, LAS, paving, road abandonment @ LCC 2019-03-11

How much will they drive development into places it does not belong this time? GMASS Rural Land Maintenance Contract:

The Lowndes County Board of Assessors has approved a contract between the Board of Assessors and GMASS to perform maintenance updates to the Rural Land schedules for the 2019 Digest.

They continue encircling Valdosta with county water and sewer, with the North Lowndes Spring Creek Utility Inter-connection Project Phase II. And on the south side of Valdosta, Water and Sewer Service Areas within and in the Vicinity of Lake Park, with “maps… attached” that as usual they did not show we the taxpaying public. Is the one rezoning, REZ-2019-04 Southeastern Freight Lines, 2120 West Hill Ave., C-H/R-1 To M-2, County Water/Sewer, ~18.96 Acre , related to the recent expansion of water and sewer across that same US 84? Apparently not: “existing water and sewer customer.” They’re removing 71 acres from the 219 acres they rent at the Land Application Site (LAS), where Lowndes County sprays sewage onto land near Grassy Pond, close to the state line.

They’re buying the former office of Coleman-Talley law firm at 910 N. Patterson Street for use by the Public Defender.

And no agenda is complete without a road abandonment.

Here is the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2019, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Videos: Fire, Library, rezonings, water main, road abandonments @ LCC 2019-02-11

The longest item was not on the agenda: Special Recognition of Fire Rescue.

Second longest at two minutes was 7d. MOU with City of Remerton for Fire Inspection and Plan Review Services.

They’re adding to the agenda for voting Tuesday evening Carter Way emergency access. Maybe by then they’ll know Continue reading →

Library, rezonings, water main, road abandonments @ LCC 2019-02-11

On the agenda for this morning, with voting Tuesday evening, $18,250.00 of $73,000.00 to bore under US 84 for a water main to we don’t know who (see also LAKE videos of previous Regular session), and $7,500.00 paid in full by GDOT to close the CSX railroad crossing at Dasher-Johnson Road and to improve the crossing at Good Hope Road. Also final Public Hearing to abandon part of McLeod Road (see also previous Regular Session), first consideration of Abandonment of Doyle Kelly Road. Plus reappointment of attorney Karl Osmus to the Lowndes County Library Board, the three rezonings from the recent Planning Commission meeting, an MOU with City of Remerton to provide Fire Inspection and Plan Review Services, and Lowndes County Historic Courthouse Architect Selection, 4.5 years since the Courthouse Preservation Committee Meetings.

Gretchen is heading to the Commissioner meeting now with the LAKE video camera.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Videos: All aye, Simpson Road paving, taxes, alcohol, emergency, roads, and law @ LCC Regular 2019-01-22

They approved everything that Tuesday evening that they discussed that same morning, including a special tax assessment rate.

No item took as long as two minutes. There were no special reports and no citizens wishing to be heard. The whole thing took 16 minutes and 44 seconds.

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange