On their
calendar,
but no
agenda,
it’s another
Special Called Meeting-Solid Waste Management.
Will they talk about
illegal trash dumping?
Why can’t they wait until their regular meetings next week?
Equally mysterious is why
it took almost two months to get back to this after the
two meetings
in
January.
Here’s their announcement of the meeting this afternoon: Continue reading
Videos of the 9:15 AM 26 January 2015
Special Called Meeting on Solid Waste Management
by the Lowndes County Commission.
There’s another such meeting
today 2-4 PM.
Both ADS and Deep South Sanitation spoke Monday morning, which is a welcome change from the county suing the one on behalf of the other. Rather than give ADS the raise it wants, let’s not forget there is a termination clause in that exclusive franchise. Continue reading
Yay open government symposium!
But why in Macon, why not in Valdosta,
if it’s organized by the new VDT editor?
Sure, Macon is the geographic center of the state, but it’s only
about an hour from Atlanta, and one thing most people in Atlanta don’t
understand is how big Georgia is, so asking them to drive four hours
to Valdosta would be educational for them.
And if the VDT is so interested in government transparency,
why doesn’t it investigate the county’s lawsuit against local business Deep South Sanitation
at the expense of the local taxpayers that benefits nobody but
“exclusive franchise” ADS and its investors in New York City?
Why is the VDT’s front page story that gave a platform for
Spectra’s Andrea Grover no longer online, especially now that
the Sabal Trail deadline she announced has been busted?
Let’s see the VDT lead the way.
Here’s a first test:
Gretchen is going to Macon with the LAKE video camera.
Will the VDT let her video?
Unsigned article, VDT, 11 October 2014, VDT leading way in open government, Continue reading
Lowndes County suing a local business with our tax dollars
has produced a preliminary Georgia Supreme
Court ruling overturning the appeals court and favoring
the county’s “exclusive franchise” with ADS, a company owned
by New York City investors.
Local company Deep South Sanitation vows to keep going.
Do you think this lawsuit is a good use of your tax dollars? What will you think if ADS’ rates go up from Veolia’s bid of $13.05/month ($156.60/year) just before ADS bought Veolia, to ADS’s bid of $13.39/month ($220.68/year)? Continue reading
Could there be any problem with selecting a county attorney without
any open process?
CNHI in VDT today, Officials violate Iowa’s open meeting law,
CENTERVILLE, Iowa. — The Appanoose County Board of Supervisors and County Auditor Linda Demry violated the state open meeting law three times in less than three weeks recently when they interviewed candidates for the vacant county attorney’s position, a state agency has determined.
Well, apparently we don’t have that problem here Continue reading
Personal recollection from Valdosta City Council Tim Carroll received today on ADS fails to recycle, appeals DSS ruling anyway, adding detail that wasn’t in the VDT article.
The main problem the City was having with ADS was they included household trash in their recycled items. Used diapers and other household products mixed in with recycle materials is not allowed. The City advised ADS back to this past October of the issue and no improvements were made. Eventually the city had no choice but to cut them off. The City is a regional hub for recycle material and proud to offer the service.
OK, so is that a violation of the county’s
“exclusive franchise”
with ADS?
-jsq
Why is Lowndes County leaving the City of Valdosta to subsidize the county’s failed “exclusive franchise”? And is ADS’ failure to recycle recyling a breach of its contract with the county?
Adam Floyd wrote on the front page of the VDT today, Advanced Disposal appeals Deep South decision,
Requests made to Advanced Disposal Service’s corporate office and Robert Norman, the lawyer who filed the appeal, to learn the company’s reasoning behind the appeal were not returned by press time.
Meanwhile, the City of Valdosta’s recycling center has denied Advanced Disposal further access to its facilities, citing concerns about volume.
John Whitehead III, deputy city manager for operations, said that the center could not process the company’s deliveries fast enough, and material was beginning to pile up. The suspension is temporary, Whitehead said, and was done to ensure that the city could process its recycling which increases during the holidays.
“We had been taking our recycling to the City of Valdosta, and Monday they cut us off without any notice,” said Greg Walk, local general manager for Advanced Disposal. “We’ve constructed a bunker at the landfill, and the material that is being collected in that bunker will be taken to a processing plant in Milledgeville.”
The company had to dispose of recycled materials collected Monday and Tuesday but continued recycling service Wednesday.
“It was the last thing we wanted to do to our recyclables, but we responded as quickly as possible,” said Walk.
Does that mean the city of Valdosta sent the recycling to the landfill? And is that a violation of the county’s contract with ADS?
-jsq
According to Deep South Sanitation, their next court date is
Monday 25 November 2013 at 9:30 AM, presumably at the
Lowndes County Judicial Complex, 327 N. Ashley Street, Valdosta, GA 31601.
The longer you drag this out, Lowndes County, the more
good press DSS gets out of it.
DSS reports 25 new customers for the fourth quarter,
providing $125 to Lake Park Elementary School.
Oh yes, the alleged county attorney spending our tax dollars to sue Deep South Sanitation was the attorney for many of the cities that sued about LOST and just lost before the Georgia Supreme Court, resulting in many cities and counties scurrying around to make rapid agreements, including Lowndes County and Valdosta.
-jsq
The longer you drag on
that lawsuit,
Lowndes County Commission,
about your bogus
exclusive franchise
that benefits nobody but
ADS investors in New York City,
the more good PR local company DSS gets.
We could use
better than trash government around here.
Advertisement by Deep South Sanitation in the VDT yesterday: Continue reading
That’s five ADS purchases since Veolia. So much for Steve Edwards not being able to foresee any further acquisitions back in April. Somebody remind me, why was it a good idea for the Lowndes County Commission granting an exclusive franchise to a monopoly that’s only getting bigger, and already had little reason to keep prices down? County Commissioners certainly have not been able to explain it.
Allan Gerlat wrote for Waste Age 2 July 2013, Advanced Disposal Buys Three Waste Haulers,
Advanced Disposal Services Inc. continued its recent buying spree with the acquisition of waste haulers in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Illinois.
The Ponte Vedra, Fla.-based Advanced Disposal said in news releases it purchased Winsor Disposal in Kane Pa.; Valdosta Waste Services in Valdosta, Ga.; and Benson Disposal Services Inc. in Macon, Ill.
Here’s a list of just the ADS purchases I know of, not counting the rumor: Continue reading