Tag Archives: Ben Copeland

Videos: Comprehensive Plan, rezonings, tower, Hospital Authority, elections @ LCC 2021-11-09

All the main items breezed by unanimously, including the Comprehensive Plan and the Hospital Authority re-appointment of Ben Copeland, at the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, November 9, 2021.

The only things taking longer than three minutes were the County Manager’s Report and Citizens Wishing to Be Heard about how the Board of Elections is appointed and funded.

[Comprehensive Plan, Communications Tower, Manager's Report, Electios]
Comprehensive Plan, Communications Tower, Manager’s Report, Electios

Below are LAKE videos of each agenda item with a few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the LAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session, the agenda and Board packet, and, for the rezonings and the tower, the LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission meeting.

For the Comprehensive Plan, see also the LAKE videos of the preceding Comprehensive Plan Update Meeting 2 and the Character Area Maps for it, the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session before that, and the quite lengthy first Comprehensive Plan Public Hearing.

Videos: One Valdosta-Lowndes, Troupville River Camp, Hospital Authority re-appointment, Godfrey rezoning, VAWA staffing @ LCC 2021-11-08

By far the longest item at 33 minutes at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session was a presentation about One Valdosta-Lowndes (OVL).

[OVL River Camp, Hospital Authority appointment, Godfrey rezoning, VAWA staffing]
OVL River Camp, Hospital Authority appointment, Godfrey rezoning, VAWA staffing

Second longest at almost five minutes was 8.e. Request For Cash Match Increase For VAWA ASG Salary Supplement, about the Violence Against Women Act. Third at four minutes was 7.c. REZ-2021-24 Barry Godfrey, Mt. Zion Church Road.

The likely re-appointee to the Hospital Authority did attend.

Everything else got little discussion, including the final approval of the Comprehensive Plan Update.

They voted the following Tuesday evening.

Below are LAKE videos of each agenda item, with a few notes, followed by

Comprehensive Plan approval, Hospital Authority re-appointment, 3 small rezonings, AT&T cell tower, Regional Transit, LMIG Restriping, Budget Calendar, Second Harvest, Code Red @ LCC 2021-11-08

The Lowndes County Commission will probably re-appoint Ben Copeland to the Hospital Authority, and approve three rezonings, only one (REZ-2021-24 Barry Godfrey) apparently controversial, as well as an AT&T telecommunications tower, Tuesday evening after hearing them Monday morning.

The item with the biggest effect is the 2021 Comprehensive Plan Adoption.

[REZ-2021-24 Barry Godfrey, Mt. Zion Church Road; TWR-2021-01 CitySwitch II, LLC, Bemiss Road, New 265' Telecommunications Tower]
REZ-2021-24 Barry Godfrey, Mt. Zion Church Road; TWR-2021-01 CitySwitch II, LLC, Bemiss Road, New 265′ Telecommunications Tower

The big ticket near-term item is for roads, 2021 LMIG Safety Action Plan Restriping.

Cost What
$281,529.502021 LMIG Safety Action Plan Restriping
$32,266.00Request for Cash Match Increase for VAWA ASG Salary Supplement
$31,500.00Code Red Annual Renewal
$345,295.50Total

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

For the Comprehensive Plan, see the LAKE videos of the preceding Comprehensive Plan Update Meeting 2 and the Character Area Maps for it, the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session before that, and the quite lengthy first Comprehensive Plan Public Hearing.

For the rezonings and the telecommunications tower, see also the LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission meeting.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2021, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

  1. Call to Order Continue reading →

Videos: 3 Hospital Authority appointments, 3 road abandonments @ LCC 2016-11-08

They appointed Ben Copeland to the Hospital Authority. More later on why they seem to be doing it backwards. Nobody spoke in the Public Hearing for abandonment of Excession RoW off Payton Place, so they abandoned it and quit-claimed it to the adjoining landowner. Then they determined to hold a Public Hearing to abandon unopened RoW of Avenue I, although there was an ownership question from Commissioner Clay Griner, which County Engineer Mike Fletcher answered. They approved in this public meeting a list of three elected officals using county-issued credit cards, but they did not reveal to the public who was on the list. The County Manager had no report and there were no citizens wishing to be heard so they adjourned.

Here are links to each LAKE video of the Tuesday 8 November 2016 Regular Session, with a few notes, followed by a video playlist. See also Continue reading →

Videos: 3 Hospital Authority appointments, 3 road abandonments @ LCC 2016-11-07

Discussion at Monday morning’s Work Session of the Hospital Authority appointment clarified that it’s just for one opening, but didn’t explain why they seem to be doing it backwards to what Georgia law says. Commissioner Demarcus Marshall asked for resumes for the applicants. The Commissioners vote tonight at 5:30 PM.

New intern, Hampton Rawlinson(sp?), working with Finance and Clerk. Finance reported on credit cards for elected officials. Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker stumped County Engineer Mike Fletcher. County Manager Joe Pritchard had no report.

Here are links to each LAKE video, with a few notes, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading →

3 Hospital Authority appointments, 3 road abandonments @ LCC 2016-11-07

On this morning’s Work Session agenda, Lowndes County is replacing 3 of its 4 Hospital Authority board members. Of those, 2 of 3 are on the Hospital Foundation board, so how much change is this? And why does the Lowndes County Commission seem to be doing this appointment backward to the way Georgia law requires?

These appointments are especially interesting after the Valdosta City Council’s call for Hospital Authority resignations back in September. The city’s list of Authority board members is out of date, still listing Continue reading →

Tina Anderson new President of Wiregrass Georgia Technical College

From Moultrie to Valdosta, Dr. Tina Anderson unanimously appointed new Wiregrass Tech President.

Wiregrass Tech PR of 6 June 2013, Commissioner Jackson Appoints Dr. Tina Anderson to be the Next President of Wiregrass Georgia Technical College

Atlanta — Commissioner Ron Jackson today informed the state board that oversees the Technical College System of Georgia that Dr. Tina Anderson, who is currently the president of Moultrie Technical College, is his choice to become the next president of Wiregrass Georgia Technical College in Valdosta.

Board Member Ben Copeland of Valdosta made the motion to approve the appointment of Anderson to the position, and the full board voted unanimously in favor of the selection. The announcement and vote were made during the board’s monthly meeting at the TCSG headquarters in Atlanta.

Anderson will move into her new position at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College on July 1. She will replace Dr. Ray Perren, who left the college in May to become president of another TCSG college, Lanier Technical College in Oakwood, Georgia.

Jackson told the board members Continue reading →

Valdosta confused about water uses

Is there an outdoor water restriction in Valdosta, or isn’t there? The city and the newspaper seem confused about that. Also remember much of Lowndes County gets its water indirectly from Valdosta through the county’s utility system. And that with groundwater levels at all-time lows, we need to be conserving all the time anyway, and thinking about how much and what kind of growth we want.

The City of Valdosta front page says:

In the Spotlight

The City of Valdosta has issued an outdoor water restriction suspending all outdoor water uses for 72-hours, or until further notice. Click here for more.

Yet if you click there, you get this error page:

Error The page you have requested does not exist. Please click here to go back to the home page.

Similarly, there was a VDT article on that subject, but that link also goes nowhere now.

Stephen Abel wrote for WALB yesterday, Temporary water restrictions in effect for Valdosta,

Folks in Valdosta need to think twice about washing their cars, or doing anything else that uses much water, this weekend.

“The city of Valdosta is urging all citizens to immediately cease outdoor irrigation use and all other nonessential uses of water. Now and throughout the weekend,” said Public Information Officer Sementha Mathews.

Severe vibrations in the water pumps is what put them out of commission. “The city’s water treatment plant experienced some mechanical issues this week with two of its raw water well pumps which caused the low levels in water,” said Mathews.

So, did the city fix its pumps? Or is it just confused about what to do?

WCTV posted this update, and seemed to indicate the water restrictions were still in place:

The City of Valdosta sincerely thanks the citizens who responded quickly to its request today to cease all outdoor irrigation and non-essential use of water. Currently, there are no water quality issues in the system, and the water provided by the city is safe for all purposes.

People should be conserving all the time anyway. These suggestions from the city are pretty good for a start:

Continue reading →

This is what a mayor with vision sounds like

Mayor Julian Castro of San Antonio speaks at 44:25 about
…the nexus between sustainability and job creation. Every now and then, perhaps once in a generation, there presents itself a moment, an opportunity, for those cities that are willing to seize it, to truly benefit the region for generations to come.
Here’s the video: Continue reading →

South Georgia already in drought: parameters for industry?

Droughts and floods: maybe we need to manage water better, including managing industrial use of water.

According to the AP, Ga. foresters brace for busy wildfire season:

A cold, wet winter has left northern parts of the state in decent shape, but in southern Georgia river flows and soil moisture are both at some of the lowest points that would be expected in a century, said David Stooksbury, Georgia’s state climatologist at the University of Georgia.
The nearterm effects:
“We have a good fuel load with plenty of dry vegetation, the soil is dry and there’s a low relative humidity and there’s wind,” Stooksbury said. “That is the simple recipe for a trash fire to get out of control very quickly and become a wildfire.”
Yes, Sunday Georgia Forestry cut off burn permits in Lowndes County because some fires had gotten out of control.

The long term problem? Continue reading →