Tag Archives: Bemiss Road

Boards * 2, Sewer * 4, Court * 4, Beer, Computers, Pest, Fire, Grounds, Road truck @ LCC 2021-06-21

The biggest item on this week’s Lowndes County Commission agenda, for voting this eventing, is Grounds Maintenance. Planting some native shrubbery, flowers, and trees instead of all that lawn would reduce that cost.

Three sewage system items add up, for Whitewater Lift Station Control Panel Emergency Repair, Bemiss Low Pressure Sewer Main Replacement Change Order, and the $2,500,000.00 GEFA Loan for the Sewer System Rehabilitation Project. That last does not show up in the agenda sheet as BUDGET IMPACT, but county taxpayers will pay for it over time. However, proactive sewer system fixes are lot better than reactive sewage spill repairs.

Four courts in three agenda items require cash match. Plus a road work truck and pest control round out the dollar figures.

Cost	What
$158,140.00	Bid for Grounds Maintenance for County Buildings
$53,140.00	Whitewater Lift Station Control Panel Emergency Repair
$48,307.21	Compute and Storage for South Lowndes Data Center
$46,777.50	Purchase of Fire Turnout Gear
$39,135.00	Office of the Governor Criminal Justice Coordinating Council Accountability Court Lowndes County DUI Court Grant Award – State Court
$33,989.00	Bemiss Low Pressure Sewer Main Replacement Change Order
$28,074.84	Purchase of a Truck for Public Works
$23,557.16	Lowndes County Accountability Court Adult Drug Court Program – Grant (Cash Match)
$10,000.00	Lowndes County Juvenile Accountability Court – Drug Court Program – Grant (Cash Match)
$6,734.40	Bid for Pest Control Service
$447,855.11	Total

There’s a reappointment to Children’s Services and a new appointment to the Library Board.

And there’s a beer license, which brings in fees of $250 Off Premises + $150 Administration = $400.

Beer, Lawns

Here is the agenda. The board packet is on the LAKE website, received in response to a LAKE open records request.
http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2021-06-21–lcc-packet

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JUNE 21, 2021, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2021, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Former Harveys on Bemiss as Storage, Daycare not for teenagers, many Remerton cases @ GLPC 2021-05-24

Two items were contentious at the May 24, 2021 meeting of the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC): repurposing the former Harvey’s supermarket on Bemiss Road as a storage facility, and a daycare facility that some people were mysteriously concerned would have teenagers hanging around.

There was also rezoning of 32.06 acres on Ulmer Avenue for solar panels. Plus many Remerton cases.

Here are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, followed by a LAKE playlist. See also the agenda. Continue reading →

Videos: Insolvent tax list tabled, Lowndes Co. Dev. Auth. Reappointments, subdivision infrastructure, wine license, radios, bottled water, trucks, clothes washers, mowers, tractors, backup generator

Two weeks ago at their May 25, 2021, Regular Session, Lowndes County Commissioners unanimously approved everything except one agenda item. They tabled Tax Commissioner Rodney V. Cain’s request to write off $437,823.30 in insolvent taxes.

At the Monday, May 24, 2021, Work Session, Cain said the insolvent taxes were because the seven-year statute of limitations had been exceeded, or property had been moved out of the county. He said Gander Mountain accounted for half of the total. (I compute that at slightly less than 40%.) This item is back on the agenda for this morning’s Work Session and voting Tuesday evening, June 8, 2021.

At that previous Work Session, Cain seemed rather vague about details such as how much might need to be written off next year. He also did not say why he had not dealt with this earlier, even though he was first elected in November 2016. (His opponent in that election, Felicia Williams, is now an appointed Tax Assessor.)

In response to questions from more than one County Commissioner, Cain did say most Tax Commissioners deal with this annually, and he plans to do that from now on.

Cain previously made statewide news for Continue reading →

Lowndes Co. Dev. Auth. Reappointments, Insolvent property, subdivision infrastructure, wine license, radios, bottled water, trucks, clothes washers, mowers, tractors, backup generator 2021-05-24

Less than a million tax dollar expenditures to be decided upon Tuesday after discussion Monday, by the Lowndes County Commission. Not counting future expenses from accepting streets for a subdivision, and not county almost half a million in insolvent taxes to be written off.

Wine license, Subdivision Infrastructure

Cost	What
$274,780.32	Purchase of Trucks for Various Departments on State Contract
$236,056.00	Bid for Four (4) Tractors for Public Works
$71,600.00	Bid for Four (4) Bat-Wing Mowers for Public Works
$60,421.00	Bid for Washers/Dryers for Fire Stations
$47,500.00	Val-Tech Booster Station Generator
$6,000.00	Bids for Bottled Water Service
$696,357.32	Total

This, Acceptance of Infrastructure for Two Oaks Subdivision Phase II, will result in ongoing tax dollar expenses for sending school buses, sheriff, fire and rescue, and repairs to water and sewer and streets. But the County Commission never counts that in its budget. They also don’t count as related however many millions they’ve already spent preparing roads, water, and sewer for a subdivision.

Also not included is the $437,823.30 to be written off the tax rolls as insolvent, due to statute of limitations, moved property out of the county, etc., at the request of the Tax Commissioner.

Not the same as the Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority: “The terms of Commissioner Clay Griner, Mr. Crawford Powell, and Mr. Barry Broome to the Lowndes County Development Authority will expire on June 8, 2021. They have all expressed an interest in being reappointed.”

I wonder what this was about, in the May-10-2021-Work-Session-Minutes.pdf”> Minutes of the previous Work Session? “County Attorney, Walter Elliott, requested in writing, that the regular session minutes be revised regarding the motion to enter the executive session meeting.”

The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website: https://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2021-05-24–lcc-packet

Here is the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MAY 24, 2021, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 25, 2021, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Lift Station Pump, Juvenile Justice Grant, Fees for Web and Telephone Payments, 3 rezonings, 1 withdrawn, 1 lighting, beer @ LCC 2020-10-12

Here is a map of “North Central Lowndes County” which is the area the county wants most to develop with subdivisions. It’s in the board packet materials for Addition to Basic Decorative Street Lighting District – Coventry Villas Subdivision, for last week’s Lowndes County Commission meeting.

Exhibit B: Basic Decorative; North Central Lowndes County 2; Revised 9/2020
PDF

This the first table of tax dollar amounts we’ve had add up to a positive total.

Cost	What
($1,107,500.64)	2021 LMIG Resurfacing Grant Application
($99,938.00)	2020 Addressing Victimization within the Juvenile Justice System Grant Application
$42,067.69	Nelson Hill Lift Station Pump Upgrade
$5.00	Approval of Increase in Convenience Fees for Web and Telephone Payments
($1,165,370.95)	Total

The real total should be both less than that (the LMIG grant has a 10% match) and more (the $5.00 is times each telephone or online payment).

Here’s a list of what they plan to do with the 2021 LMIG Resurfacing Grant Application: Continue reading →

Packet: Moody AFB, Library board, renaming and dedicating roads, two subdivisions, liability insurance @ LCC 2020-07-27

Will it take fifteen minutes, or twenty minutes, to approve almost a million dollars, in a packed agenda for Monday and Tuesday at the Lowndes County Commission? It’s mostly Property & Liability insurance, followed by a consulting contract for a go-between with Moody AFB, plus UPSes for county radio sites.

Cost	What
$818,021.00	ACCG IRMA Property & Liability Program Renewal
$96,000.00	Agreement with Cornerstone
$24,257.88	Vertiv Service Contract for the Liebert UPS at the 911 Center & the 4 Tower Sites
$0; past gate name it Harper’s Lane	Renaming a Portion of Sara Road
$0	Acceptance of Infrastructure for Brayden Place Subdivision
$938,278.88	Total

They’ll also appoint Thomas Lovett to the South Georgia Regional Library Board, rename a road, and accept some subdivision roads.

Aerial Map: Sara Road Renaming

Received Friday 5:14 PM in response to a LAKE open records request, the board packet is on the LAKE website.

Here is the agenda:

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JULY 27, 2020, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2020, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Video: New County Planner, Juvenile Justice, TIA Old US 41, Two Oaks at Bemiss, Hazard Mitigation @ LCC 2020-05-12

Video has appeared on lowndescounty.com of the May 12, 2020 Regular Session, and the minutes. It is 11:48 long, of which 10:48 was actual business. The video reveals there is a new County Planner, J.D. Dillard. We also learn from the video (but not from the minutes) the extent of the Old US 41 widening.

Below are a few notes with timestamp links into the county’s video. See also the agenda and the board packet. Here again is what they said they spent:

Cost		What
$330,854	CJCC Funding	FY 2021 Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant Application Regular Session DATE OF MEETING: May 12, 2020
$20,000.00	FEMA	Lowndes County Hazard Mitigation Request for Proposal Regular Session DATE OF MEETING: May 12, 2020
$350,854	Total

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, May 12, 2020, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
*To comply with the guidelines of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in regard to the Coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic and social distancing, face coverings (masks) are required for all meeting participants.

Call to Order
At 0 minutes. Chairman and all five Commissioners were present and sitting up front. Staff, including the County Manager, were sitting in the audience, where they could hardly be heard when they spoke. Portable microphones would be useful for this arrangement. Continue reading →

Packet: Juvenile Justice, TIA Old US 41, Two Oaks at Bemiss, Hazard Mitigation @ LCC 2020-05-12

Update 2020-06-05: Lowndes County video has appeared, revealing several things not in the minutes.

LAKE did not video the May 12, 2020, Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission, due to pandemic. There was no telephone dial-in and no facebook live. The last Lowndes County Commission video of its own meeting was February 25, 2020. So the only record will be the Minutes, which we may or may not see before their next meeting, which is this Tuesday.

We get a location map but no indication of future county tax-paid costs of upkeep for the infrastructure for Two Oaks at Bemiss.

Location Map

Yet we get evaluations by three different people of three proposals for the Lowndes County Hazard Mitigation RFP; winning bid $20,000.

The packet contains only the agenda sheet and a signature page for a resolution for the GDOT TIA Old US 41 Widening; the actual Resolution is missing. Continue reading →

Juvenile Justice, TIA Old US 41, Two Oaks at Bemiss, Hazard Mitigation @ LCC 2020-05-12

Update 2020-06-05: Lowndes County video has appeared, revealing several things not in the minutes.

Update 2020-05-23: Packet: Juvenile Justice, TIA Old US 41, Two Oaks at Bemiss, Hazard Mitigation @ LCC 2020-05-12. There are no videos.

The lightest agenda for Tuesday’s Lowndes County Commission Regular Session that I’ve seen in a while will be voted on Tuesday in the Commission Chambers with masks. No teleconference. Presumably the County will be videoing and putting that on YouTube, as they usually do with Regular Sessions. There is no Work Session.

Also less expensive than most Commission meetings:

Cost		What
$330,854	CJCC Funding	FY 2021 Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant Application Regular Session DATE OF MEETING: May 12, 2020
$20,000.00	FEMA	Lowndes County Hazard Mitigation Request for Proposal Regular Session DATE OF MEETING: May 12, 2020
$350,854	Total

Even on the least expensive item this time, Lowndes County Hazard Mitigation Request for Proposal, “Lowndes County recently requested pricing proposals from qualified contractors…” The RFP is on the county’s website.

Unlike the more expensive stream monitoring project of last month’s meeting, for which there was no RFP and no bids.

This item has no cost cited, but will cost the taxpayers for road maintenance in the future: Adopt Resolution accepting Infrastructure for Two Oaks at Bemiss.

Case Point (Two Oaks at Bemiss)
Map: Lowndes County Tax Assessors

All the agenda sheet says for where is “located on Case Point, off Old Pine Road.” I’m guessing that includes Continue reading →

Five Public Hearings; Ten For Consideration, and Troupville River Camp @ LCC 2019-12-09

A very full agenda for the last Lowndes County Commission meetings of calendar year 2019, plus an unscheduled item to be raised Tuesday in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard: the WWALS Troupville River Camp project.

Dignitaries at Little River Confluence with Withlacochee River, 2019-06-15,
including Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2019, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2019, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange