While FPL wastes $3 billion on the 20th century Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline,
PRNewswire, 24 February 2016, Southern Company to Acquire PowerSecure International, Inc.: Addition of PowerSecure’s proven expertise positions Southern Company to advance distributed infrastructure development, Continue reading
Some of our elected officials wonder few people ever speak up around here.
It’s simple: they owe their soul to the company store.
If you don’t go along, you don’t get business.
As Tennessee Ernie Ford sang in that old Merle Travis song:
Continue readingYou load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store
Suing local businesses
helps run up fees to the county attorney, says County Manager Joe Pritchard.
He didn’t mention that continuing to promote sprawl for example through the county’s thoroughfare plan also runs up fees that property taxes will never meet.
Commissioners seemed
very concerned about “stakeholders” whom they said were “the development community, the real estate community” and “the construction and homebuilder industries”.
Maybe somewhere they mentioned the agricultural and forestry industries,
or sales tax payers even if they don’t own real estate; if so I missed it.
At least they’re thinking about the Comprehensive Plan
and the general direction of the county in a public forum.
And the County Planner did talk about quality of life.
Plus it seems business prospects bringing that up got the attention of the County Manager.
They said they have a responsiblity to set the direction of the county.
How about instead of continuing to drive sprawl outwards,
which is a fiscally (and environmentally) irresponsible path,
turn to directing development to be more dense in already-developed areas?
They continue this morning at 8:30 AM, and Gretchen is there again with the LAKE video camera.
Here’s the agenda followed by links to each LAKE video with a few notes. See also two previous pictures.
We are looking forward to the improved communication that was touted in the VDT headline. Jason Stewart, VDT, 4 February 2016, Slaughter wants to strengthen communication, Continue reading
County government and local issues: change orders, sole-source contracts, suing local companies, meetings with little notice, going back on their own resolutions, can’t see what they are voting on, and what are their ordinances?
If you want to help, we have a little list of tasks you can do.
And two County Commission seats and the Chair are up for election this year,
plus county school board, sheriff, and a bunch of other offices.
What: LAKE Meeting
When:
6:15PM Tuesday 9 February 2016
after the
Lowndes County Commission meeting
Where:
Michael’s Deli
1307 N Ashley St.
Valdosta, GA 31601
If you’re on Facebook, please Like the LAKE facebook page. You can sign up for the meeting event there, Or just come as you are.
-jsq
Received Friday 5 January 2016:
Subject: Lowndes Comprehensive Plan Kickoff Jan. 19th
The kick-off public hearing for the joint Lowndes County and Cities of Dasher, Hahira, Lake Park, Remerton, and Valdosta 2016 Comprehensive Plan Update will be held on:
Tuesday, January 19, 2016, 5:30 p.m.
Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 W. Savannah Avenue
Valdosta, GeorgiaThe purpose of this public hearing will be Continue reading
Citizen Billy Rowland complained about poor road grading,
his dogs being shot, and misuse of Knights Ferry Landing on the Withlacoochee River.
Maybe the Commission will listen to what he said this time, at last Tuesday’s Lowndes County Commissioner Regular Session.
Apparently G. Norman Bennett wants Hall Web Road paved for the mile to his house at the Little River, but
Julia Bass,
Ralph Niehenke,
and
Diane Guess
spoke up saying they don’t want it paved.
Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker tried to ask them questions,
but Chairman Bill Slaughter cut him off.
Slaugher did have time earlier fo
an extra announcement of a joint governmental meeting Tuesday morning.
It’s not clear citizens will even get to speak there, much less get questions answered.
See
separate post.
They passed the resolution to ask the legislature to start the proecess to appoint rather than elect Lowndes County Tax Assessors.
They already did emergency repairs to Clyattville Nankin Road Bridge (problem discovered by a local citizen) and Jumping Gully Road Bridge (found by GDOT), and the Commissione approved payment after the fact. So two more no-bid contracts were let, this time without even a Commission vote before the work was done.
They agreed to the North Lowndes Park Quitclaim and Custodial Agreement by which Valdosta-Lowndes Parks & Rec. Authority (VLPRA) takes charge of some land west of I-75 north of Hahira for a soccer field.
A few citizens spoke about rezoning for the mysterious Project Max, but of course they passed the rezoning anyway, even though apparently none of the Commissioners know who the prospective tenant is.
The Lowndes County Commission agenda contained quite a few other items as the Commission caught up after the holidays. See also the LAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session. Below are links to each LAKE video of the Tuesday evening 12 January 2016 Regular Session, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading
Why did
bridge repairs turn up on the agenda for yesterday morning’s Work Session and tonight’s Regular Session only after problems were reported by citizens (Clyattville Nankin Road) or
GDOT (Jumping Gully Road)?
Also, “>neither GDOT restriping nor county road resurfacing
take into account the complete streets initiative for bike lanes or sidewalks, even though two Commissioners asked about that.
Hm, three Commissioners could vote to require it.
County Clerk didn’t have the minutes of December’s Work Session ready, so Lowndes County Commissioners will get very little time to review them before voting this evening.
This is the only county in Georgia that does not appoint its Tax Assessors, and the County Commission is considering a resolution to ask the General Assembly to start the process to change that. For hush-hush Project Max, the big-fish container manufacturing plant proposed for Rocky Ford Road, next to the protected watershed of Mud Swamp and near Valdosta Airport, see separate post for what little the public (or the Planning Commission) is allowed to know. Also on the Lowndes County Commission agenda for Monday morning and voting Tuesday evening, are quite a few other items as the Commission catches up after the holidays.
Below are links to each LAKE video of yesterday morning’s Work Session, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading
Here’s the item summary for the hush-hush REZ-2016-01 Project Max
on Monday morning’s
the Lowndes County Commission agenda,
after the rush-rush
Special Called Planning Commission meeting. -jsq
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA ITEMSUBJECT: Rezoning Case REZ-2016-01
DATE OF MEETING: January 12th 2016
Regular Meeting (x)
Work Session (x)
Recommendation (x)
Policy/Discussion ( )
Report ( )BUDGET IMPACT:
FUNDING SOURCE:
( ) Annual ( ) SPLOST ( ) Capital (X) N/AREZ-2016-01 Project Max, Rocky Ford Rd
E-A to M-2, County Water and Sewer, ~123 acresACTION REQUESTED ON:
HISTORY, FACTS AND ISSUES: Continue reading
Appointing
Tax Assessors will take an act of the legislature and a local referendum to repeal
the 1972 state law that made Lowndes County the only county in Georgia to
elect them, but the Lowndes County Commission Monday morning will consider
a resolution to ask the General Assembly to start that process.
in Lowndes County, subject to approval by voters, so after 1 January 2021 they’d be appointed, not elected.
This is the only county in Georgia that does not appoint its Tax Assessors,
and after
the extremely unusual rural land revaluation last year,
it does seem something needs to be changed.
For hush-hush Project Max, the big-fish container manufacturing plant proposed for Rocky Ford Road, next to the protected watershed of Mud Swamp and near Valdosta Airport, see separate post for what little the public (or the Planning Commission) is allowed to know. Also on the Lowndes County Commission agenda for Monday morning and voting Tuesday evening, bridge repairs on Clyattville Nankin Road and Jumping Gully Road, and quite a few other items as the Commission catches up after the holidays.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Continue reading
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, January 11, 2016, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, January 12, 2016, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
There’s more to
the North Carolina solar town story:
/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/5784355/nrel-community-solar.png)
they have already approved other solar farms, one of which is almost built,
and they approved the one in question once it was moved to a different location.
And there are real reasons they are concerned about solar farms;
reasons which solar developers can address (unlike pipeline companies).
Snopes reviewed the original story and found it mostly true. The town of Woodland posted its own update 14 December 2015, which clarifies what they were up to, concluding: Continue reading