In these LAKE videos of the February 27, 2024, Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, you can see they spent three minutes discussing the 6.e. Spring Creek Well Pilot Study. Everything else they breezed through.
They vote again this evening at 5:30 PM on three rezonings and other items.
![[Collage @ LCC 27 February 2024]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-02-27--regular-videos/many.jpg)
Collage @ LCC 27 February 2024
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: Continue reading
Update 2024-03-09: ULDC Text Amendment Status @ LCC 2024-03-26.
Yesterday morning at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session, they went straight into the ULDC Text Amendment. The changes County Planner J.D. Dillard discussed were not in the board packet. I have filed an open records request to get them. It’s fine that they want to be business friendly for incoming businesses, as he said. A little more friendly to we the taxpayers and voters would also be good, for example by publishing the board packet and proposed ULDC changes on the county’s own website, lowndescounty.com.
They could even put the proposed ULDC Text amendments on lowndescounty.com before they vote this evening at 5:30 PM.
![[Collage @ LCC 26 February 2024]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-02-26--lcc-work-videos/many.jpg)
Collage @ LCC 26 February 2024
While discussing minutes for approval, Chairman Bill Slaughter asked when the rezoning cases that were not decided two weeks ago due to the meeting being cancelled due to Commissioner illness: when will those rezoning cases be heard? Answer: March 12 there will be five rezoning cases. So apparently the old ones plus the new ones from yesterday’s Planning Commission meeting. County Manager Paige Dukes further clarified that they had to go back through the process of public announcements of the rezoning Public Hearings. Thank you, Chairman, for asking that question.
Those were the two longest items, at 3 minutes and 30 seconds and one minute and 20 seconds, each. The entire meeting took eleven minutes.
About 6.e. Spring Creek Well Pilot Study, Gretchen noted, “I hope this money comes from the enterprise fund for water and sewer and not the general fund.”
About 7.d. Golden Oaks Subdivision Force Main she noted “$100,500 to service around 30 homes. Again, I hope this is funded by the enterprise fund. Perhaps in the interest of transparency, the source of funds could be mentioned.”
Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, followed by a LAKE video playlist.
See also Continue reading
Update 2024-02-27: Videos: ULDC Text Amendment, new well, force main, and elevator with For Consideration and Bids from previous cancelled session @ LCC Work 2024-02-26.
In the board packet Lowndes County sent this morning in response to yesterday’s LAKE open records request, there is more information on the 6.e. Spring Creek Well Pilot Study and 7.d. Golden Oaks Subdivision Force Main, including bid sheets and a contract. There was nothing additional on the third new agenda item, 7.a. Bid to Upgrade the Main Elevator at the Human Resource Building.
The ULDC Text Amendment (TXT-2024-01) Update Presentation was not included in the board packet. I have filed an open records request to get it.
![[Packet: new well, force main, and elevator @ LCC 2024-02-26]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-02-26--lcc-packet/many.jpg)
Packet: new well, force main, and elevator @ LCC 2024-02-26
Since no map was included of the Golden Oaks Subdivision, I have added one from VALORGIS. Continue reading
Update 2024-02-27: Packet: Missing ULDC Text Amendment, new well, force main, and elevator with For Consideration and Bids from previous cancelled session @ LCC 2024-02-26.
Another stealth ULDC presentation heads this morning’s Work Session at the Lowndes County Commission. You will be able to see it in the LAKE videos Gretchen is taking. You won’t see it in Lowndes County’s own videos, because they no longer post video of their Work Sessions.
![[Old and new items @ LCC 2024-12-26]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-02-26--lcc-agenda/many.jpg)
Old and new items @ LCC 2024-12-26
Other new items are:
Everything else is carried forward from the cancelled previous Regular Session.
But none of the rezonings were carried forward, possibly because they had to advertise the Public Hearings again. I guess they’ll handle those next month along with the new ones on tonight’s Planning Commission agenda.
Here is the agenda.
I neglected to request the board packet after the previous meeting was cancelled due to lack of quorum due to Commissioner illness. However, I have included on the LAKE website the board packet items from the previous meeting’s packet.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Continue reading
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2024, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2024, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Andrew Toussaint gave a report about the Small Business Administration and EMA Director Ashley Tye gave reports on hurricane assistance and local disaster group COAD, in this Lowndes County Commission Regular Session of September 26, 2023. Because of those reports and a second recognition of Leadership Lowndes (they showed up late), the meeting took 49 minutes.
![[Collage @ LCC 26 September 2023]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2023-09-26--lcc-regular-videos/many.jpg)
Collage @ LCC 26 September 2023
Like the previous morning, Commissioners were unusually chatty.
Commissioner Scottie Orenstein had some questions and comments about 5.a. Quiet Pines Golf Course Ezgo Golf Cart Lease Agreement. and 5.b. Mental Health Model Resolution for ACCG. Commissioners Clay Griner, Demarcus Marshall, County Manager Paige Dukes, and Chairman Bill Slaughter discussed which statehouse bills the mental health resolution mentions, and that it does not support any particular current bill, specifically not HB 520. They passed the resolution unanimously. Continue reading
It turns out the board packet for today’s Lowndes County Commission meeting contained little or nothing beyond the one-page agenda sheets for the four Bid items.
![[Collage, LCC Packet, 2023-09-25]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2023-09-25--lcc-packet/many.jpg)
Collage, LCC Packet, 2023-09-25
So you actually learn more about those items from the LAKE post with the agenda and bid documents.
In the Minutes for the Work Session of September 11 and for the Regular Session of September 12, about REZ-2023-04 Chase, 6119 Quarterman Road, the LAKE letter is only alluded to as “a report from the opposition” in this passage: Continue reading
Update 2023-09-26: Packet: Golf carts, mental health, wetland credits, regional transit, Lift Station and Fire Station Access Roads, 2 TIA Road Bids @ LCC 2023-09-25.
Lowndes County Commissioners were unusually chatty in yesterday morning’s Work Session, about 5.b. Mental Health Model Resolution for ACCG, in which they sounded like prison reform advocates.
![[Collage @ LCC 25 September 2023]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2023-09-25--lcc-work-videos/many.jpg)
Collage @ LCC 25 September 2023
Also about 6.a. Grove Point Lift Station Access Road, 5.c. Purchase of Wetland Credits for Shiloh Road Bridge Project, and 5.a. Quiet Pines Golf Course Ezgo Golf Cart Lease Agreement.
They had no questions about the almost $4 million dollar item, 6.b. TIA 2023-05 Briggston Road Grading, Drainage, Base, and Paving Bids, which leads to Wild Adventures.
See below for more notes on those items, with the LAKE videos of each agenda item, followed by a LAKE video playlist.
See also the agenda and bid documents.
We have not yet received a response to the LAKE open records request for the board packet.
Sure, I only sent that request Sunday. But it is stil mysterious why Lowndes County does not put its board packets on its own website, like many counties smaller and larger in Georgia and Florida have been doing for years. Continue reading
Update 2023-09-26: Videos: Golf carts, mental health, wetland credits, regional transit, Lift Station and Fire Station Access Roads, 2 TIA Road Bids @ LCC Work 2023-09-25.
This week the Lowndes County Commission proposes to authorize spending $4.5 million on road projects, plus golf carts for the Quiet Pine Golf Course at Moody AFB that the county now operates.
![[Collage @ LCC Agenda 2023-09-25]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2023-09-25--lcc-agenda/many.jpg)
Collage @ LCC Agenda 2023-09-25
The biggest project at almost four million dollars is TIA 2023-05 Briggston Road Grading, Drainage, Base, and Paving Bids, leading from Madison Highway to Old Clyattville Road, where you will find Wild Adventures.
| Cost | What |
|---|---|
| $3,892,229.54 | TIA 2023-05 Briggston Road Grading, Drainage, Base, and Paving Bids |
| $240,119.00 | Fire Rescue Station 10 Pavement Resurfacing Bids |
| $222,377.49 | Grove Point Lift Station Access Road |
| $194,166.66 | NC-TIA 2023-01 Rocky Hill Church Road Grading, Drainage, Base, and Paving Bids |
| $85,440.00 | Purchase of Wetland Credits for Shiloh Road Bridge Project |
| $50,160.00 | Quiet Pines Golf Course Ezgo Golf Cart Lease Agreement |
| $4,684,492.69 | Total |
Perhaps a longer search would find information on the county website about the Purchase of Wetland Credits for Shiloh Road Bridge Project. At least we can say what it is a bridge (or box culvert) over: Big Creek, which runs into Franks Creek, which ends up in the Little River.
![[Shiloh Road Bridge in WLRWT]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2023-09-25--lcc-agenda/2023-09-24--map-shiloh-road-bridge-wlrwt.jpg)
Shiloh Road Bridge in
the WWALS
map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT).
However, the Lowndes County Finance Department has a Bids web page that leads to specifics on each bid, including for the Grove Point Lift Station, Briggston Road, Rocky Hill Church Road, and Fire Rescue Station 10 projects. Three of them include a location map and engineering drawings. The exception is for Fire Station 10, but its Bid Documents do reveal the location of that fire station: 2981 US Hwy 84 East, Valdosta, Georgia.
Copies of all these documents and images of their pages are on the LAKE website.
We do not have a copy of the board packet, because I forgot to send the open records request.
Although it is still mysterious why the board packet is not on the county’s webiste where they have an option “packet” that only produces the agenda and an agenda sheet for each item.
Here is the agenda.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Continue reading
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2023, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2023, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
A million dollar loan wasn’t worth scheduling on the regular agenda for the May 9, 2023, Lowndes County Commission Regular Session?
Apparently not, since Chairman Bill Slaughter added it after the previous morning’s Work Session. Commissioner Demarcus Marshall wanted to know Continue reading
Big news: One Valdosta-Lowndes has hired an Executive Director, Mary Beth Brownlee, previously with ACCG. See 8. Reports.
Almost three minutes on 5.c. REZ-2023-06 Wild Adventures, 3766 Old Clyattville Road, P-D amendment was the longest at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session yesterday morning. They vote tonight at 5:30 PM.
In her 8. Reports, County Manager Paige Dukes said for the tire amnesty starting that day (yesterday), people could take tires to either the county or city locations. Ordinary vehicle tires, not for tractors or semi-trucks.
She said the tax assessment notices will go out mid-May. There will be some increases, since Continue reading
![[Hightower Road, Wild Adventures, Briggston Road, $1 million housing loan, @ LCC Regular Session, 9 May 2023]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2023-05-09--lcc-regular-videos/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 8 May 2023]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2023-05-08--lcc-work-videos/many.jpg)