Most of the budget dollar items on the Lowndes County Commission agenda are recurring, but the
Purchase of Between the Rivers, L.L.C. Property
for incorporation into the proposed Troupville Nature Park
is one-time.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2022, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2022, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
The Commissioners unanimously denied the rezoning for the
subdivision on Miller Bridge Road.
Applicants spoke a minute over their time, yet did not present the slides
they said the previous morning they were going to present;
we include scans of those slides here for historical reference,
for when the next subdivision like this comes up, next week or next year.
Commissioners unanimously approved the other two rezonings.
Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker wanted to know if this was for private wells.
County Planner JD Dillard said the application was for a community well,
and while the lots were big enough for private wells, the soils had
not been tested for that.
Don Powell spoke for the applicant.
Jesse Bush also spoke for, listing many things they were not there to talk about,
including aquifer recharge or community wells.
He said the only question was six homes (which the landowner can do by right anyway) or twelve homes.
Chairman Bill Slaughter cut them off saying he’d given them an extra minute,
and he’d give the other side an extra minute.
Brad Folsom spoke against on behalf of a room full and a 360-signer petition of opponents.
He reminded the Commissioners that the subject property was in an Agricultural and Forestry Character Area.
While R-A was permissible in such an Area, it was not appropriate.
He discussed nearby zonings and lots that had been brought up by staff previously.
Among the many other points he brought up was flooding would be exacerbated by tree cutting and paving for a subdivision.
He reminded the Commissioners that they had told him they did not want any more community well systems.
Somebody else (unnamed, but see below) speaking against said it would be spot zoning.
He said he owned 320 acres and had been there for more than a hundred years.
This rezoning would change the character of the community and would be
a precedent for other rezonings.
He said he owed this community a debt and he would like to repay it.
Elton D. Redding, 7649 Webb Road, representing the Redding property,
John L. Redding his brother.
Demarcus Marshall moved to deny, Mark Wisenbaker seconded, unanimous vote to deny.
Unanimously voted down: Miller Bridge Road subdivision @ LCC 2022-02-08
Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Lowndes County adheres to Local and State standards when in the Groundwater Recharge Area
Notable Developments in Recharge Area in Lowndes County)
Landfill
Kinderlou Forest and Foxborough Subdivisions
Valdosta Regional Airport
Moody Airforce Base
City of Dasher
City of Lake Park and surrounding area
Lake Park Industrial Park
While probably all these points are true (I haven’t checked each location),
most of them precede current concerns about groundwater recharge,
and there is no need to make the problem worse.
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!
In a milestone for Valdosta’s ongoing upgrades to its sewer system,
tonight the Mayor and Council will approve the last two of 37 emergency standby generators for lift stations.
Plus three small rezonings, recommended by staff and the Planning Commission, some with conditions.
Another rezoning and annexation were withdrawn by applicant because his sale fell through.
HISTORY: To ensure continued sewage lift station operations during
power outages and to satisfy the Georgia Environmental Protection
Division requirements, the Utilities Department developed a scope of
work to purchase two emergency standby generators. These generators
are needed to prevent lift station failures due to power outages
from storms or other unexpected causes. Several years ago, the City
initiated a program to purchase standby generators or emergency
standby diesel pumps for all of its existing sewage lift stations.
These are the final two generators needed to complete the Program.
Once they are installed, all 37 of our lift stations will have some
form of dedicated emergency backup capability from generators and/or
backup diesel pumps. Additionally, this will complete Condition 18
of the EPD Consent Order which requires the installation of fixed
generators and/or backup pumps at all lift stations by September,
2023. Moving forward, all new City lift stations will include a
dedicated emergency backup capability as part of their construction.
The developer of the proposed
5.c. REZ-2022-03 Windy Hill Subdivision, 7532 Miller Bridge Rd.
plans to make a presentation this evening at the voting Regular Session,
we heard at yesterday morning’s February 7, 2022, Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission.
Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes by Gretchen, who was there, followed by a LAKE playlist.
See also the agenda and board packet,
and that post has links to the previous relevant meetings and materials.
On the agenda for tomorrow morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session,
county staff included the petition against
REZ-2022-03 Windy Hill Subdivision, 7532 Miller Bridge Rd..
County staff note “RECOMMENDED ACTION: Board’s Pleasure or Deny”,
unlike the other two options, where the second option is “Approve”.
Those who do not want that rezoning to pass would do well to contact their Commissioners before the meetings, and then show up at the meetings,
or at least the Tuesday 5:30 PM voting Regular Session.
As usual, county staff say rezonings do not cost the county anything.
Nevermind that subdivisions far from county services will never pay enough
in property taxes to fund sending school buses, fire trucks, and Sheriff vehicles,
so all the taxpayers subsidize those costs.
It’s almost enough to make you wonder why the Lowndes County Commission does not want the public to know what it is doing?
A state-funded road restriping with the list of roads
not revealed to the public for three months, and no minutes for the relevant meetings on the Lowndes County website (but LAKE kept a copy from their old website).
County Commission staff do take videos of the Commission meetings,
but they only post videos of the Regular Session (not the Work Session),
and not even those between October 2020 and October 2021.
This is despite spending more than $100,000 for new audio visual equipment for the Commission Chambers, while the Valdosta City Council has livestreamed through the pandemic using an employee’s iPhone.
I could go on about
the stealth reapportionment of Commission Districts
and the half million dollar bailout of a developer,
both at the same January 25, 2022, Lowndes County Commission meeting,
both not revealed to the taxpaying public before the voting Regular Session.
But just items related to the Miller Bridge Road rezoning requests
are enough to raise questions about the secrecy of Lowndes County Commission and staff.
Why don’t they want the public and the taxpayers to know?
Everything else sailed through, but the Miller Bridge Road rezoning took half an hour.
Nick Clark from Quitman spoke for the rezoning.
As Brad Folsom remarked on behalf of the opponents,
the only significant difference between this and the previous request is the lot size, with the newly requested R-A zoning for
6. REZ-2022-03 Windy Hill Subdivision 7532 Miller Bridge Rd., E-A to R-A.
Some new arguments were heard against.
Gretchen Quarterman said the taxpayers don’t need any more community wells
that the county has to assume and pay for if there are problems with it.
Chase Gregory
said the current zoning is working well. People do buy larger size parcels (4-80 acres); he gave several examples.
Tommy Kenny,
spoke against as immediate neighbor to north and active local farmer.
The Planning Commissioners voted to recommend denial, 8 for, and
3 against.
The Lowndes County Commission decides next Tuesday at 5:30 PM.
Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item,
with some notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist.
See also the
agenda,
the
Lowndes County board packet items,
returned late by Lowndes County in response to a LAKE open records request,
the
Dasher packet item,
returned in less than ten minutes by SGRC.
Minutes from SGRC vs. too many days from Lowndes County.
In the previous post I detailed how Lowndes County had
referred me to the Southern Georgia Regional Commission (SGRC) to get the board packet item for the
Dasher item on the agenda for tonight’s Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) meeting, Monday, January 31, 2022.
So I sent email to Loretta Hylton at the SGRC.
She returned a PDF of the document within less than ten minutes.
No need for an open records request.
You may ask, why did it take me four days to put this packet item online?
Fair question, but I ask: why doesn’t Lowndes County put the entire GLPC board packet online
where everyone can see it, like many counties larger and smaller in Georgia and Florida
have been doing for years? Continue reading →
![[Dollar General sprawl and Land Between the Rivers park]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-12-12--lcc-agenda/many.jpg)
![[WINDY HILL SUBDIVISION, Lowndes County Rezoning Application, REZ-2022-03]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0001.jpg)
![[Requested Zoning Change]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/small/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0002.jpg)
![[WINDY HILL SUBDIVISION CHARACTERISTICS]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/small/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0003.jpg)
![[Location of Property]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/small/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0004.jpg)
![[Justification for Zoning Request]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/small/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0005.jpg)
![[Zoning map]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/small/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0006.jpg)
![[OPPOSITION POINTS ADDRESSED (1 of 3)]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/small/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0007.jpg)
![[OPPOSITION POINTS ADDRESSED (2 of 3)]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/small/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0008.jpg)
![[OPPOSITION POINTS ADDRESSED (3 of 3)]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-08--lcc-videos/small/REZ-2022-03-applicant-slides-0009.jpg)
![[Rezonings and Generators]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/valdosta/2022-03-10--vcc-packet/many.jpg)
![[Photograph]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/valdosta/2022-03-10--vcc-packet/031022-Agenda-Packet-R-1-0082.jpg)
![[Rezonings, Public Defender, Public Works]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-03-07--lcc-videos/many.jpg)
![[Rezonings]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-03-07--lcc-packet/many.jpg)
![[Chairman and Miller Bridge Road rezoning]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-07--lcc-videos/many.jpg)
![[Miller Bridge Road rezoning: Petition, Opposition parcels; Bemiss Road rezoning]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-07--lcc-packet/many.jpg)
![[Lowndes County Agenda Center for 2013]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-02-02--lcc-secrecy/2022-02-02--lcc-agenda-center.jpg)
![[6. REZ-2022-03 Windy Hill Subdivision, 7532 Miller Bridge Rd., 0010 022, ~34 ac., E-A to R-A.]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/glpc/2022-01-31--glpc-videos/many.jpg)
![[Land Use and Rezoning maps, DA-21-01, GLPC 2022-01-31]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/glpc/2022-01-31--glpc-packet/da.jpg)