Tag Archives: Environment

Trash on the table again? @ LCC 2012-12-10

Will the County Commission table trash again, or will they make a hasty decision to privatize, granting a monopoly in a public-private partnership, and leaving many people in the unincorporated parts of Lowndes County to burn their trash, probably including materials that the rest of us don’t want to breathe? We can’t tell from yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session. They vote or table tonight at 5:30 PM.

6.b. Solid Waste Ordinance.

County Manager Joe Pritchard reminded the Commissioners they tabled it last time. Maybe they’ll table it again tonight. They said nothing yesterday morning.

Here’s Part 1 of 2:

Trash on the table again? Part 1 of 2:
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 10 December 2012.

8.b. Exclusive Franchise Agreement for Residential Solid Waste Collection Services with Advanced Disposal Services of Central Alabama, Inc.

Staff finally told us publicly that Continue reading →

Rezoning near Moody: fire code would prohibit a single entrance @ LCC 2012-12-10 @ LCC 2012-12-10

Commissioner Crawford Powell may have found solid grounds to deny the proposed rezoning for a development near Moody AFB, he revealed at this morning’s Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

County Planner Jason Davenport explicitly linked this rezoning case,

7.a. REZ-2012-17 Lowndes Development, LLC, Davidson Rd MAZ II and MAZ III to R-10, County Water & Sewer, ~23.49 acres

to the zoning text code amendment on the same meeting agenda.

7.d. TXT-2012-02 MAZ II Residential Density

He also mentioned the TRC (the Technical Review Committee composed mainly of Lowndes County and Valdosta staff) had a split vote on this item, although he didn’t say how it was split. And he said the Commissioners had the Planning Commission recommendation before them, although he didn’t mention the Planning Commission recommended against.

Commissioner Crawford Powell brought up a good point:

The fire department and the TRC say in the notes that it fails to comply with fire rescue ingress-egress requirements.

Fire Chief Guyton appeared to confirm that was the case, although since he wasn’t at a microphone, it’s hard to hear. Commissioner Powell continued:

Continue reading →

More developer favors at the County Commission Work Session this morning? @ LCC 2012-12-10

At the 8:30 AM Work Session this morning, will the Chairman

Clint Joyner and J.D. Yeager of Joyner Realty
Clint Joyner (speaking) and J.D. Yeager (seated on right)
of Joyner Realty at LCC Work Session 2012-11-12

invite Clint Joyner of Joyner Realty to speak like he did last month, without inviting anybody else? Will Chairman Ashley Paulk invite J.D. Yeager of Joyner Realty (and formerly Sheriff Paulk’s lieutenant at the Sheriff’s office) to speak? That plus solid waste (if privatization is bad for Moody, why is it good for a county public health and safety service like solid waste collection?), Dollar General (where’s the marketing plan to indicate whether tiny Naylor needs the area’s nineteenth Dollar General?), Library, (Houston County’s SPLOST passed in a landslide after they held public hearings; maybe Lowndes County should try that), and Alcohol (county staff say they’re coalescing previous changes into the body of the ordinance), all at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session this morning; here’s the agenda.

When he spoke 12 November 2012, Clint Joyner started by referring to a nearby subdivision “In 2007”. 2007 was the year Mr. Joyner got (according to the Commission’s minutes of 26 June 2007) $130,000 in road construction labor from the Commission because of “an unforeseen Department of Transportation requirement regarding a costly intersection improvement.” Why couldn’t the County Engineer or Mr. Joyner forsee such a requirement?

This time many people do forsee that rezoning to develop in the Moody Activity Zones would be a bad idea. Houston County is using state and local tax money to buy up houses in similar zones around Warner Robins Air Force Base. Doubtless Houston County would love it if Lowndes County encroached enough on Moody AFB that Moody’s missions moved to Robins AFB.

-jsq

Privatization: if it’s bad for Moody AFB, it’s bad for county trash collection

Why is Lowndes County Chairman Ashley Paulk decrying alleged privatization of Moody Air Force Base while promoting actual privatization of a basic Lowndes County public service, trash collection?

Jason Shaefer wrote for the VDT 5 December 2012, County disagrees with proposed zoning amendment,

Paulk alleged Moody’s intervention has prevented development before—the establishment of a small schoolhouse within a church near the base, for example, he said. He told the committee that Moody had 30,000 acres to the east on which to build, and that the air base has become “privatized.”

According to the free dictionary:

pri·va·tize: To change (an industry or business, for example) from governmental or public ownership or control to private enterprise:

And yet at the upcoming commission meeting, Chairman Paulk will ask the commissioners to vote on this agenda item:

8.b. Exclusive Franchise Agreement for Residential Solid Waste Collection Services with Advanced Disposal Services of Central Alabama, Inc.

Seems to me that’s a privatization of one of our own county governmental services. Perhaps the commissioners will reconsider the “curbside only by a private firm” path they are on and conduct some public hearings in an effort to understand what the citizens might want in solid waste disposal.

-gretchen

Re: The proposed text amendments —Richard Raines

Richard Raines answered again. He continues to be communicative and genial. -gretchen

From: Richard Raines
To: Gretchen Quarterman
Subject: RE: Text Amendment

The motion to table the issue is made by the Commissioners. Chairman Paulk thinks (and I agree) that this issue cannot be satisfactorily settled by December 11th and that the new Commission should take it up. It is not unusual for Chairman Paulk to weigh in on whether or not we should table an item. Often times he is in a unique position to give an informed opinion and in this case I concur.

The proposed text amendments, if approved, do not endanger Moody’s mission or survival. If I have my way, the MAZ will be strengthened in the areas closer to the base while easing development restrictions in the areas furthest away. Even a cursory glance at the ULDC and MAZ 1-3 reveals certain issues which must be addressed in an effort to be equitable.

I reject the template which argues

Continue reading →

New biomass plant near Dublin, GA: what it’s really about

Not really about jobs, and not about feeding electricity into the grid: the new biomass plant near Dublin, GA is about saving that company money on electricity: but at what cost to the state and to local residents?

Mike Stucka wrote for Macon.com 6 December 2012, Deal announces $95 million biomass power plant for Laurens County,

A new biomass power plant announced Thursday is expected to bring hundreds of related jobs and a direct $95 million investment.

A statement from the office of Gov. Nathan Deal said the plant itself will bring 35 permanent jobs to Laurens County.

Compare 35 permanent jobs for $95 million to MAGE SOLAR’s 350 jobs for $30 million. That’s about $2,700,000 per job for this deal, vs. $85,714 per job for MAGE SOLAR. Which would make MAGE SOLAR’s facility more than 30 times more effective at producing permanent jobs.

OK, but what’s this one supposed to do?

Continue reading →

Houston County has exclusion zones around Warner Robins AFB like the Lowndes County MAZ

Lowndes County is not “the only community in the country with a MAZ”: Houston County has very similar zones of encroachment protection around Warner Robins Air Force Base (RAFB).

As we’ve already seen, Houston County is buying up houses around RAFB using $7.5 million from the state of Georgia. That’s in addition to $6 million from Bibb County and some unspecified amount from the Defense Department. Plus Houston County allocated $7 million from SPLOST funds, and their SPLOST won by a landslide, apparently partly for that reason.

But what are Warner Robins Air Force Base encroachment zones those encroachment zones around Warner Robins AFB depicted on the buyback map? I called Houston County to find out. Their Community Planner, Jacob Cox, said yes, Houston County has crash zones, and noise attenuation zones in which they can have businesses but not residences.

He pointed me to The Robins Air Force Base and Middle Georgia 2004 Joint Land Use Study, which notes:

The 2004 JLUS examines land issues as they relate to RAFB flying missions and suggests measures to ensure compatible land use in the Base environs now and into the future. The 2004 JLUS process utilizes information provided in the 1998 RAFB Air Installation Compatibility Use Zone study (AICUZ) to evaluate land use compatibility and regulatory adequacy in areas subject to air hazard potential and noise impact. Additional considerations related to air navigation, including air protection surfaces are examined. Clear Zones and Accident Potential Zones are all considered compatible with AICUZ guidelines. Incidences of incompatible development are predominantly restricted to a limited number of non-noise attenuated residences built prior to 1994.

The results of the 2004 JLUS demonstrate that previously adopted land use regulations have been effective in limiting incompatible development within the Base environs. The 1994 adoption of the Base Environs Zoning District (BEZD) model by the surrounding communities has served to check most encroachment-type development. Only a very low number of sporadic, isolated examples of noise-related incompatible development was observed to have been built since implementation of the BEZD land regulation strategy. Consistent local government implementation of adopted provisions must be maintained in order to continue to provide the protection necessary to prevent incompatible development from restraining Base operations in the future.

So as far back as 1994 the communities around RAFB were using zoning to limit base encroachment. The 1998 AICUZ recommended further Clear Zones and Accident Potential Zones. Why? Mission changes at RAFB. So the 2004 JLUS made recommendations and the local governments, including Houston County, decided to go ahead and do something about it.

Continue reading →

SPLOST won in Houston County but not in Lowndes County: why?

Why did SPLOST in Houston County, Georgia win by a landslide while SPLOST VII in Lowndes County lost?

Houston County’s SPLOST passed in March 2012 by a landslide. Christina M. Wright wrote for The Telegraph 6 March 2012, UPDATE: Houston officials celebrate landslide SPLOST approval,

“This is a ‘thank you’ for the voters,” said Houston County Chairman Tommy Stalnaker as Warner Robins Councilman Paul Shealy presented the black and white sign. “They are the real victors of this thing tonight.”…

Unofficial results showed the SPLOST received 10,029 ‘yes’ votes to 4,799 ‘no’ votes. More affirmative than negative votes were cast in every precinct.

That’s 67.6% to 32.4%, and a difference: Houston County local elected officials thanked the voters. Lowndes County Chairman Ashley Paulk, who rushed through a SPLOST vote a year early, Continue reading →

Text Amendment —Gretchen Quarterman

Received today, referring to TXT-2012-02, which is on the agenda for Monday morning’s Work Session and Tuesday evening’s Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission. -jsq

Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2012 13:42:37 -0500
From: Gretchen Quarterman
To: Richard Raines
Subject: Re: Text Amendment

On Thu, Dec 06, 2012 at 12:25:31PM +0000, Richard Raines wrote:
Gretchen,
Richard,

Thanks for your thoughtful and indepth answer.

Based on a conversation with the Chairman yesterday, it is my understanding that this issue will be tabled until sometime next year (Chairman-elect Slaughter will decide when to put it back on the agenda) because we are working with MAFB on a compromise as they are well aware of our mandate to balance property rights with protecting against base encroachment.

Interesting, I thought that the commissioners made the decisions about hearing or tabling an issue, not the chairman. While the chairman can set the agenda, it is my understanding that the voting members of the commission are the ones that actually get to make the decisions.

Since I’ve been on the County Commission we have made it a priority to constantly evaluate the ULDC and all zoning districts. MAZ 1-3 is no exception and must be evaluated to make sure that it is balanced and consistent.

I appreciate that.

We have discovered a few inconsistencies with the MAZ which are not practical and making adjustments will in no way put Moody Air Force Base in peril. I was recently informed that Lowndes County is the only community in the country with a MAZ, which means we have gone to greater lengths than any other community to protect against encroachment. Making minor adjustments is necessary with all ordinances and, even if the proposed changes are made, we still have the only MAZ in the country. Making minor adjustments in an effort to promote consistency and eliminate duplication is not equal to an all out assault on Moody.

I have many concerns about the continued presence of Moody AFB in our community. Moody is a $400M+ economic engine and its loss or reduction

Continue reading →

Changes to the alcohol ordinance @ LCC 2012-12-10

Being curious about the changes to the alcohol ordinance, I had the opportunity to talk with a county staff member who said that the changes were to incorporate recent amendments regarding brown bagging, social hosts (serving alcohol at private events to underage drinkers), and the Sunday package sales into the body of the ordinance, rather than having those items as amendments to the document. Also, the setting of the license fees for Sunday sales will be established (from the referendum that passed 59.80% to 40.20%).

-gretchen