Tag Archives: Cherry Creek

Videos: Trash collection, drainage, reports, candidate @ LCC 2022-03-22

A rare split vote on a bid, in 7.a. ENG 2021-02: Repairing 3 Box Culverts.

ADS wants to raise its trash colleciton rates but can’t do that without an ordinance change, which was not on the table this time.

Ashley Tye gave a weather report as part of the County Manager Reports.

A candidate for Superior Court Judge spoke in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard, which is an interesting change of policy; previously the Commission didn’t allow candidates for office to speak in CWTBH.

[Trash, Drainage, Reports, CWTBH]
Trash, Drainage, Reports, CWTBH

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

Packet: 0.277 acres for a county detention pond @ LCC 2022-03-21

Update 2022-03-22: Videos: Trash collection, drainage, reports, candidate @ LCC 2022-03-22.

The replacement for the built-on detention pond on Little Viking Road turns out to be 0.277 acres horse-shoed around it. That’s what was quit-claimed to Lowndes County Tuesday.

[Waste collection and water retention]
Waste collection and water retention

[EASEMENT]
EASEMENT

This is at the request of Rubber Tire, LLC, Franklin Bailey, Member/Manager.

[Signed, sealed,* and delivered]
Signed, sealed,* and delivered

The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website. See also the Continue reading →

Videos: Delinquency, water, roads, and subdivisions @ LCC 2022-03-21

Update 2022-03-22: Packet: 0.277 acres for a county detention pond @ LCC 2022-03-21.

Update 2022-03-23: Three LAKE videos inadvertently omitted are added back to this blog post and the LAKE playlist: 6.d. Advanced Disposal Services Residential Solid Waste Franchise Renewal (9,500 customers), 6.e. Deep South Sanitation, LLC, Residential Solid Waste Franchise Renewal (6,200 customers), and 6.f. Little Viking Road Drainage Easement and Quit Claim Deed.

Yesterday morning they read out the items with almost no discussion, at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session, which lasted 13 minutes. They vote this evening at 5:30 PM.

The only item to get more than one question was 6.c. FY2022 Delinquency Prevention Grant.

The audio feed in the room is still not working, thus the second or so of no sound at the start. For the thousands of dollars they have spent on the system, it would be nice if the sound in the room worked.

[Lighting, TIA, Juvenile delinquency, box culverts]
Lighting, TIA, Juvenile delinquency, box culverts

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the agenda.

Road paving TIA agreements, ADS ands DSS waste renewawals, 3 water items, street lighting @ LCC 2022-03-21

Update 2022-03-22: Videos: Delinquency, water, roads, and subdivisions @ LCC 2022-03-21.

More road building TIA projects to promote more sprawl, a redot to let a developer off the hook for not doing drainage as required, a subdivision special tax lighting district, several water projects in already-developed areas, a grant to prevent juvenile delinquency, and the annual renewal of permits for both waste collection companies, all on the agenda for this morning’s Lowndes County Work Session, for voting Tuesday evening.

Funny how they never count the later cost of box culverts and water main extensions when they approve rezonings for subdivisions, but here some of those are later.

Cost What
$448,621.14Exit 22 Water Main Extension
$296,726.73ENG 2021-02: Repairing 3 Box Culverts
$0.00 Deep South Sanitation, LLC, Residential Solid Waste Franchise Renewal, March 31, 2023
$0.00Advanced Disposal Services Residential Solid Waste Franchise Renewal
$-41,500.00 FY2022 Delinquency Prevention Grant
$703,847.87Total

That former detention pond site is actually parcel 0144 205A now, and it’s at 4115 Little Viking Road. They also don’t tell we the taxpayers and voters where the new detention area is.

HISTORY, FACTS AND ISSUES: Map 0144 Parcel 205 owned by Rubber Tire, LLC was originally designed for the entire lot to be one of the detention areas for Roswell Place Subdivision and has been the detention area since the subdivision was built. Rubber Tire, LLC had the detention area redesigned, approved, and constructed so the lot could become a buildable lot. Lowndes County will need to Quit Claim the existing detention area back to Rubber Tire, LLC and accept a drainage easement for the new detention area from Rubber Tire, LLC.

The agenda is below. The board packet will follow when LAKE gets it. My fault this time: I didn’t send the open records request. Although it is still mysterious why Lowndes County doesn’t put the board packet on its own website like many counties larger and smaller have been doing for years in Georgia and Florida. The rudimentary expanded agenda with one-sheet agenda items is on the LAKE website.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2022, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2022, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Videos: Deannexation + 2 Valdosta cases, 2 Lowndes County cases @ GLPC 2021-07-26

Here are LAKE videos of each agenda item of the Monday, July 26, 2021, Regular Session of the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC), followed by a LAKE video playlist. The big item was 5. VA-2021-16 (pt 1) Uvalde Land Co. Deannex 310 acres from the City of Valdosta.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission 2021-07-26

See also the agenda and Deannexation east of Withlacoochee River linked to subdivision west @ GLPC 2021-07-26. LAKE videos of the following Lowndes County Commission and Valdosta City Council meetings will also be up soon.

Tourism Authority appointment, 3 rezonings, wetlands, solar, UPS, Lake Alapaha water treatment, body cameras @ LCC 2021-08-09

Update 2021-08-09: The never-ending Lake Alapaha Water Treatment Plant saga @ LCC 2021-08-10.

The biggest ticket item is yet more public money to be spent on water for the private Lake Alapaha subdivision next to the Alapaha River, in the Lowndes County Commission agenda for Monday morning, August 9, 2021, and voting Tuesday evening, August 10.

On the Tourism Authority appointment, Molly Deese succeeded the previous General Manager of Wild Adventures, so it’s a safe bet that the current GM, Jonathan Vigue, will succeed her on that Authority. But he’s got some competition with Rita Hightower of the Garden Center and The Crescent.

As usual, none of the three rezonings are counted as affecting the county budget, although all three will have long-term effects, two negative because of school buses and Fire and Sheriff Department calls, and one maybe positive because it’s for solar panels: REZ-2021-12 US 84/I-75 Industrial Park ~542 ac., County Utilities, I-S, M-1, M-2 and P-D (Amended).

[The three rezonings]
The three rezonings

Note the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determination that the remaining part of Val Del Villas off Val Del Road is not jurisdictional wetlands, so more houses can be built. Northside Property Development has the same registered agent as Uvalde Land Company that bought the Cherry Creek Mitigation Bank next to the Withlacoochee River and wants to deannex the upland half of it from Valdosta. The uplands in that Bank tract are not jurisdictional wetlands, either.

The other subdivision also involves wetlands, two creeks leading to Bay Branch and the Withlacoochee River, plus at least one retention pond: REZ-2021-09 Building Valdosta Subdivision (0070 018), R-A to R-21, Community Well & Septic, ~64.84 acres.

Cost What
$173,000.00Alapaha Plantation Water Treatment Pilot Study
$102,812.00Purchase of Body Cameras and Dash Cameras for Various Departments
$24,778.59Vertiv Service Contract for the Liebert UPS at the 911 Center & the 4 Tower Sites
$300,590.59Total

The $300 thousand total is a bit apples and oranges, since the cameras are for five years and the UPS is annual.

Here is the agenda. The board packet, received after a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website:
http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2021-08-09–lcc-packet

See also the preceding Planning Commission meeting.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 2021, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Deannexation of Cherry Creek Wetlands Mitigation Bank @ VCC 2021-08-05

The Greater Lowndes Planning Commission recommended 6-3 to deny the de-annexation of 310 acres of the Cherry Creek Wetlands Mitigation Bank. Thursday evening at 5:30 PM the Valdosta City Council decides.

[Map, Agenda]
Map, Agenda

Among other items on the agenda are Consideration of an Ordinance for Film Production in the City of Valdosta and Consideration of an appointment to the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Citizens Advisory Committee. We don’t know who they are considering appointing.

AGENDA
REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL
5:30 PM Thursday, August 5, 2021
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL

  1. Opening Ceremonies
    1. Call to Order
    2. Invocation
    3. Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag
  2. Awards and Presentations
    1. Consideration of the August, 2021 Employee of the Month Award (Patrol Officer Jermaine Johnson, Valdosta Police Department).
  3. Minutes Approval
    1. The Minutes from the July 22, 2021 Regular Meeting are forthcoming.
  4. Public Hearings
    1. Consideration of an Ordinance for a Conditional Use Permit for a Car Wash and Quick Oil Change business in a Community-Commercial (C-C) Zoning District as
      requested by SHJ Construction Group (File No. CU-2021-03). The property is located at 3205 Inner Perimeter Road. The Planning Commission reviewed this at their July 26, 2021 Regular Meeting and recommended approval with four conditions (9-0 vote).

    2. Consideration of an Ordinance to rezone 0.59 acres from Single-Family Residential (R15) to Community-Commercial (C-C) as requested by SW North Valdosta, LLC (File No. VA-2021-15). The property is located at 3277 North Valdosta Road. The Planning Commission reviewed this at their July 26, 2021 Regular Meeting and recommended approval (9-0 Vote).

    3. Consideration of an Ordinance to deannex 310 acres from the City of Valdosta as
      requested by Uvalde Land Company (File No. VA-2021-16). The property is the City portion of the Cherry Creek Wetlands Mitigation Bank property which is located between the Withlacoochee River and the Cherry Creek residential neighborhoods. The Planning Commission reviewed this
      request at their July 26, 2021 Regular Meeting and recommended denial (6-3 Vote).

  5. Ordinances and Resolutions
    1. Consideration of an Ordinance for Film Production in the City of Valdosta. (First Reading)

    2. Consideration of a Resolution to approve an Amendment to the Georgia Municipal Employees Benefit System (GMEBS) Master Defined Benefit Retirement Plan.

  6. Bids, Contracts, Agreements and Expenditures
    1. Consideration of bids for 95 Gallon Roll Out Cart Containers for the Public Works Department (Bid No. 58-20-21 95).

  7. Local Funding and Requests
    1. Consideration of a request to declare two vehicles from the Valdosta Police Department as surplus property.

  8. Boards, Commissions, Authorities, and Advisory Committees
    1. Consideration of an appointment to the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Citizens Advisory Committee.

  9. Citizens to be Heard

  10. City Manager’s Report
  11. Council Comments
  12. Adjournment

-jsq

Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!

Deannexation east of Withlacoochee River linked to subdivision west @ GLPC 2021-07-26

What does a big parcel of flood plain property on the east (left) bank of the Withlacoochee River have to do with a subdivision to the west, both on the agenda for this Monday’s Greater Lowndes Planning Commission?

Well, both seem to have been requested by the same person, who is also somehow involved with the owner of the land in between.

What do the various LLCs and people involved want to do with hundreds of acres of floodplain next to the Withlacoochee River? They probably can’t build subdivisions on it, but they could log it, dig sand mines, put a shooting range there, or many other possibilities that might not be good for the river or nearby homeowners.

I have filed an open records request with Lowndes County so we can find out more.

Let’s start with the Valdosta deannexation case:

City of Valdosta Cases:

  1. VA-2021-16 Uvalde Land Co. (Cherry Creek — Withlacoochee River) Deannex 310 acres from the City of Valdosta

[Map: Uvalde Land Company, LLC:]
Map: Uvalde Land Company, LLC:

The Lowndes County Tax Assessor says: Continue reading →

Deannexation + 2 Valdosta cases, 2 Lowndes County cases @ GLPC 2021-07-26

A Valdosta deannexation and a Lowndes County rezoning case seem linked, although that is not obvious by the agenda for Monday’s Greater Lowndes County Planning Commission. See the next blog post for how.

[GLPC Agenda July 2021]
GLPC Agenda July 2021
PDF

Here is the agenda.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
~ Lowndes County ~ City of Valdosta ~ City of Dasher ~
~ City of Hahira ~ City of Lake Park ~ City of Remerton ~

Monday, July 19, 2021 5:30 P.M. Work Session
Monday, July 26, 2021 5:30 P.M. Regular Session
Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue, Valdosta, Georgia

Continue reading →

Videos: KLVB appointment, Stafford Wright Road R.I.P., GEFA, pumps, and dollars @ LCC 2017-10-23

They vote today at 5:30 PM. At yeasterday morning’s Work Session, Commissioner Scottie Orenstein, the current Vice Chair, presided in the absence of the Chair. Chairman Bill Slaughter was in Atlanta on his way to D.C. The Vice Chair said what they were not going to cover until the Regular Session, which was unusual: 8.f. GEFA Loan Agreement. Also at the end he mentioned Citizens Wishing to be Heard is in the Tuesday evening meeting.

Below are links to each LAKE video, with a very few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the agenda and the notes I put in that previous post. Continue reading →