On their
calendar,
but no
agenda,
it’s another
Special Called Meeting-Solid Waste Management.
Will they talk about
illegal trash dumping?
Why can’t they wait until their regular meetings next week?
Equally mysterious is why
it took almost two months to get back to this after the
two meetings
in
January.
Here’s their announcement of the meeting this afternoon: Continue reading
The room was packed as
the Chairman commented on
Dr. Amanda Hall’s proposal
for an
anti-tethering ordinance,
as did
four citizens
(realtor Alan Canup,
veterinarian Jeff Creamer,
LCDP Chairman Tom Hochschild,
and
Carol Kellerman),
plus
Chairman Slaughter again.
Citizen
Frenchie DePasture
commented on trash,
at Tuesday evening’s Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.
Mike Allen, Utilities Director until last Friday,
got an offer he couldn’t refuse from Hilton Head, South Carolina
and
a presentation from County Manager Joe Pritchard.
Finance Director Stephanie Black
read from the agenda
about
a budget award (or
passing grade) received by Lowndes County for the ninth year in a row,
as one of 1400 awardees this year.
No rezonings, but Continue reading
Videos of the 9:15 AM 26 January 2015
Special Called Meeting on Solid Waste Management
by the Lowndes County Commission.
There’s another such meeting
today 2-4 PM.
Both ADS and Deep South Sanitation spoke Monday morning, which is a welcome change from the county suing the one on behalf of the other. Rather than give ADS the raise it wants, let’s not forget there is a termination clause in that exclusive franchise. Continue reading
“ There were overwhelming complaints about Advance Disposal Sanitation customer service.” Many other issues and concerns are listed in this text published by Demarcus Marshall (PDF) of feedback received and and LAKE videos of the Town Hall Meeting 5 December 2014. -jsq
Lowndes County Board of Commissioners
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall
Super District 4
Post Office Box 1349 ● Valdosta, Georgia 31603-1349 ● Phone (229) 671-2400 ● Fax (229) 245-522Super District 4 and Concerned Citizens,
I want to thank those who came to my Town Hall Meeting on December 15, 2014. It was a pleasure to hear from you. Your presence made the event a success and I look forward to another one in the near future. I have listed the “Topics and Highlights” addressed at the Town Hall Meeting below for your review. As well, I have released my State of the District Address for the public. It is my sincere hope that you will remain actively involved in our local community. In the meantime, I want to wish everyone Happy Holidays and a blessed New Year!
Sincerely,
[signed] Demarcus A. Marshall Continue reading
Yay open government symposium!
But why in Macon, why not in Valdosta,
if it’s organized by the new VDT editor?
Sure, Macon is the geographic center of the state, but it’s only
about an hour from Atlanta, and one thing most people in Atlanta don’t
understand is how big Georgia is, so asking them to drive four hours
to Valdosta would be educational for them.
And if the VDT is so interested in government transparency,
why doesn’t it investigate the county’s lawsuit against local business Deep South Sanitation
at the expense of the local taxpayers that benefits nobody but
“exclusive franchise” ADS and its investors in New York City?
Why is the VDT’s front page story that gave a platform for
Spectra’s Andrea Grover no longer online, especially now that
the Sabal Trail deadline she announced has been busted?
Let’s see the VDT lead the way.
Here’s a first test:
Gretchen is going to Macon with the LAKE video camera.
Will the VDT let her video?
Unsigned article, VDT, 11 October 2014, VDT leading way in open government, Continue reading
Lowndes County suing a local business with our tax dollars
has produced a preliminary Georgia Supreme
Court ruling overturning the appeals court and favoring
the county’s “exclusive franchise” with ADS, a company owned
by New York City investors.
Local company Deep South Sanitation vows to keep going.
Do you think this lawsuit is a good use of your tax dollars? What will you think if ADS’ rates go up from Veolia’s bid of $13.05/month ($156.60/year) just before ADS bought Veolia, to ADS’s bid of $13.39/month ($220.68/year)? Continue reading
Oregon
denying a permit for a coal dock on the Columbia River Monday
may seem far away, but the effects of coal ash are right here
in Lowndes County.
Effects that an Alabama county is calling a toxic chemical civil rights violation in the Arrowhead Landfill in Uniontown.
AP reported 14 August 2014, EPA investigating claims west Alabama landfill violates civil rights of black property owners,
It’s not the first time that the Arrowhead has been in the news. In 2009, an estimated 3.9 million tons of coal ash was dumped at the landfill. It was brought in after a Tennessee Valley Authority dam breached in east Tennessee, spilling toxic ash into a river and damaging about 300 acres. To date, it’s the largest coal ash spill in U.S. history.
Much of that ash ended up being dumped at the landfill in Perry County, which in return received Continue reading
Could there be any problem with selecting a county attorney without
any open process?
CNHI in VDT today, Officials violate Iowa’s open meeting law,
CENTERVILLE, Iowa. — The Appanoose County Board of Supervisors and County Auditor Linda Demry violated the state open meeting law three times in less than three weeks recently when they interviewed candidates for the vacant county attorney’s position, a state agency has determined.
Well, apparently we don’t have that problem here Continue reading
In Georgia Public Notice for the VDT, but not on the county’s calendar or website public notice list:
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
In accordance with Section 12-8-24(d) of the Georgia Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Act, the Board of Commissioners of Lowndes County gives notice of a public hearing to be held at 5:30 p.m. on July 17, 2014, in Chambers of the Board of Commissioners in the Lowndes County Judicial and Administrative Complex, located at 327 North Ashley Street, Valdosta, Georgia. The purpose of the hearing is to receive public comments regarding the issuance by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division of a proposed modification to the solid waste handling permit for an expansion of the existing Evergreen Municipal Solid Waste Landfill located off Wetherington Lane in Lowndes County, Georgia, requested by Advanced Disposal Services Evergreen Landfill, Inc., for the purpose of modifying the boundaries and waste disposal capacity of that solid waste handling facility.
Board of Commissioners of Lowndes County
00073850
6/13/14
Interesting things sometimes turn up when a landfill is investigated.
Taylor West wrote for the AJC 5 June 2014, Police: Arrest warrants issued in connection with $1 million scam,
Multiple arrest warrants have been issued in relation to a trail of criminal activity resulting in the theft of more than $1 million from a Fulton County business, authorities said.
Police began an investigation in mid-April when Waste Management Inc. made a complaint regarding Willow Oak Landfill, which it owns, following an anonymous tip and a private investigation, according to the Palmetto Police Department today.
In this case it was the landfill operator that filed a complaint. Waste Management is one of the two largest solid waste companies in the U.S.; the other is ADS.
The complaint alleged Continue reading
