Tag Archives: Economy

Regional T-SPLOST public meetings in Pearson and Valdosta 2018-01-29-30

Update 2018-01-28: LAKE videos of Valdosta Mayor and Council talking about $406 million and 25% discretionary funds which can be used for things like public transportation.

Preparing for a vote on the May 22, 2018, primary election ballot, SGRC is holding two public meetings next week to review what the regional roundtable has come up with for a project list for a regional one-percent sales tax. Most of the projects, ranging from $18 thousand to $26 million dollars, are for roads and bridges, but there are also sidewalks and one airport tower light. There is nothing in the project list for public transportation, but 25% of the funds are not on the project list, and counties or cities could choose to use some of those funds for example for paying for the urban area parts of trips by the Lowndes County MIDS on-call bus service.

When: 4-6PM, Monday, January 29, 2018

Where: Pearson Sports and Civic Complex,
786 Austin Avenue East, Pearson, Georgia

When: 10AM-6PM, Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Where: Southern Georgia Regional Commission Valdosta Office,
327 West Savannah Ave. Valdosta, Georgia

Distribution by Jurisdiction, Revenue
Estimated Revenue Distribution by Jurisdiction, Southern Georgia Regional Transportation Sales Tax

SGRC Press Release, 19 January 2018, Public Meetings Set for Transportation Sales Tax Project List, Continue reading →

Videos: Resolution against state fee diversion, economic strategy, road abandonment @ LCC 2018-01-22

1. Call to Order 4. Minutes for Approval, Movies The tire amnesty went well, and added to the agenda: a county resolution in support of HR 158 in the Georgia legislature, to stop state fee diversions.

The County Manager reminded them they had heard about the Community and Economic Development Strategy a few months before (apparently under another name), and there was some confusion about Georgia Power’s continued involvement.

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

Economic strategy, road abandonment, alcohol @ LCC 2018-01-22

The big item on the agenda for 8:30 AM Monday morning is an MoU and $25,000 to fund a Community and Economic Development Strategy. Presumably this is the 2013-2018 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) that the VDT says the Southern Georgia Regional Commission (SGRC) recently adopted.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2018, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Videos: Emergency road repair bids! Appointments: Library Board, Development Authority, millage @ LCC 2017-08-22

The added agenda item 6e. Emergency Repairs to Rocky Ford Road got a couple of bids (unusual procedure; different from their usual no-bid emergencies) passed. The Chamber sent Gary Wisenbaker to speak in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard to ask for (after a very long preamble by John Page) apparently money from GDOT for a long list (in a letter the taxpayers did not get to see) of transportation projects to help “the business community”, apparently including the truck bypass.

They only appointed six of the seven members of the Development Authority of Lowndes County, although a Commissioner did ask about that. It’s also curious they said all the terms expired right then, since the Wayback machine has a snapshot of 4 April 2017, which shows three expiring in June 2017 and four already expired in December 2016. Apparently they just didn’t bother to appoint anybody to the four slots that expired in December 2016 until eight months later, and then they didn’t appoint anybody to one of the 2017 slots.

Below are links to Continue reading →

Update: Chemical smell, schools, and industry on Clay Road

Maybe ask the company that adopted Clay Road? Response yesterday from the EMA Lowndes facebook page:

Hi, as a point of clarification emergency personnel responded to reports of an odor; however, after thorough investigation no evidence of a chemical leak or release could be identified or confirmed. As a precaution, the Board of Education property was accessed by responders. No evidence of contamination was present. A follow up visit to the area later this morning reports the odor was no longer present.

Thank you, EMA Lowndes, for responding, and on a weekend, too.

However, people couldn’t get home that night.

ADM Adopt-A-Street, From Howell Road
Adopt-A-Street ADM, Clay Road north from Howell Road google street view.

I still think it would be good to check with nearby industry. Maybe start with Continue reading →

SGRC Regional Plan Update Workshop in Valdosta 2017-09-21

Received yesterday:

Good Morning,

A quick reminder for our 1st Regional Plan Update Workshop on:

September 21st, 2017 9:30a to 12:30p

Valdosta SGRC Offices at 327 W. Savannah Ave

The first workshop will cover the following topics:

Regional Bicycle Corridors
Regional Bicycle Corridors

  1. Review the existing issues and opportunities within the Region and determine whether Continue reading →

Videos: Bids for emergency road repair! Appointments: Library Board, Development Authority, millage @ LCC 2017-08-21

Bids for an emergency repair! This could be a first, instead of their usual sole source approve-it-right now method. See the County Manager’s Report, in which County Engineer Mike Fletcher describes bids incoming from both Scruggs and Reames for temporary repair to Rocky Ford Road.

Below are links to each LAKE video of yesterday morning’s Work Session with a few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the agenda with notes about appointments and millage. And see also the 5 PM today Millage Rate Meeting.

Continue reading →

Lowndes County Millage Rate Meeting @ LCC Millage 2017-08-22

This is all she wrote on Lowndes County’s web pages: no agenda, no draft documents. Lowndes County Millage Rate Meeting

Date: August 22, 2017

Time: 5:00 PM - 5:30 PM

Location: Board of Commissioners Administration Building

Address: 327 N. Ashley Street
2nd Floor
Valdosta, GA 31601

What is the millage?
Still from WWALS video of Millage Public Hearing @ LCC Millage 2016-08-23

Rummaging around in the agenda sheet for 6.a. Adoption of Millage on the 5:30 PM Regular Session agenda, we find: Continue reading →

Appointments: Library Board, Development Authority, millage, cameras @ LCC 2017-08-21

Maybe the county would have enough applicants their Work Session, Monday morning at 8:30 AM, if they advertised for applicants for open board seats, such as on the Development Authority of Lowndes County, And if they posted the application sheets for the applicants they did get, such as for the Lowndes County Library Board, we’d have some idea of who they are. They could even say whether the millage is going up or down.

According to the agenda sheet for the appointment to the Lowndes County Library Board,

There is a vacant seat on the Lowndes County Library Board. The Board of Trustees of the South Georgia Regional Library System respectfully requests the appointment of Mr. Gene Toffolo to fill the vacant seat.

They don’t say who applicant Gene Toffolo is. According to the South Georgia Regional Library he’s a 2016 Friends of the Library Board member:


Front Left to Right: Kay Scott, Janet Toffolo, Mary Helen Watson (President), Merrilee Casady, Sarah Smart (Vice President), Robert DeVan (Treasurer)
Back Left to Right: Gene Toffolo, Patricia Marks, Riley Howard, Karl Osmus, John Swiderski (Secretary)

The county’s agenda and agenda sheet for the Lowndes County Library Board don’t say whose seat expired or maybe somebody resigned. The county’s web page for this board is no more helpful, listing these members and expirations, none of which expires in 2017: Continue reading →

Videos: Budget, Tax, Sewage Pump Station, Road Abandonment @ LCC 2017-06-27

They unanimously approved everything except the one withdrawn item, and except for the Executive Session, the whole thing took 9 minutes. They meet again 8:30 AM Monday morning 24 July 2017.

Below are links to each LAKE video of the 27 June 2017 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, with a very few notes, followed by a video playlist. See also the LAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session including the Zika Presentation by Ken Lowery; and the agenda.