Tag Archives: Ethics

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 →

Veolia bought by Advanced Disposal Services of Alabama, owned by Highstar Capital of New York City @ LCC 2012-12-10

Received today on Solid Waste, Developer Favors, Dollar General, Library, and Alcohol: Agenda @ LCC 2012-12-10:

Veolia was acquired by Advanced Disposal, there is no conspiracy theory here or a change of vendor than was previously voted for. http://www.wasterecyclingnews.com/article/20121120/NEWS01/121129990/advanced-disposal-closes-veolia-deal, Continue reading →

Houston County and Georgia buying houses in Warner Robins AFB encroachment zone

Update 8 December 2012: Actually, Houston County does have enforceable encroachment zones around RAFB.

Houston County hasn’t had a enforceable encroachment zone around Warner Robins Air Force Base (RAFB) and is now fixing the problem after the fact by using state money to buy up houses near the base. Tommy Stalnaker Houston County Commission Chairman Tommy Stalnaker labelled encroachment his number one priority, in stark contrast to Lowndes County Commission Chairman Ashley Paulk, who has put two items on the agenda for Monday and Tuesday related to a proposed rezoning next to Moody Air Force Base, and already at a previous Work Session invited the developer to speak without letting anyone else speak.

Gene Rector wrote for WRWR “10 months ago”, Stalnaker ‘ecstatic’ over state action on Robins encroachment issue,

In a word, Houston County Commission Chairman Tommy Stalnaker was “ecstatic” last week when he learned state officials Warner Robins Air Force Base encroachment buy-back map will allocate $7.5 million to help resolve the encroachment issue affecting Robins Air Force Base.

State Rep. Larry O’Neal called and gave him a heads-up before Gov. Nathan Deal made the announcement on Friday.

“I felt like jumping up and down and screaming and hollering,” Stalnaker admitted. “But then I remembered we hadn’t done our part yet.”

Encroachment has dogged Robins for a number of years. Some 250 parcels — mostly private residences — spread over 1,600 acres in south Bibb and north Houston counties fall within the base’s noise or potential mishap zone.

That risk to homes in the designated region could restrict or limit current operations or force the Air Force to look elsewhere for future workload and mission growth.

Stalnaker has labeled resolving encroachment his number one priority.

Mike Stucka wrote for the Telegraph 31 May 2012, Interactive map: Robins AFB encroachment and property purchases,

Continue reading →

Text Amendment —Richard Raines

Received yesterday, 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

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

Gretchen,

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.

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.

We have discovered

Continue reading →

Solid Waste, Developer Favors, Dollar General, Library, and Alcohol: Agenda @ LCC 2012-12-10

Updates 9 Dec 2012: Marked with *.

Will the Lowndes County Commission Tuesday evening finish railroading through their non-solution to solid waste disposal, without shouldering its legal responsibility to protect the environment and the public health, safety, and well-being from solid waste, and what’s this about a vendor change? Will the Chairman once again invite a developer to speak in Monday morning’s Work Session without letting anyone else speak? Will the Commission change the zoning code and rezone inside and against the Moody Exclusion Zone for that same developer they already provided $130,000 in road construction labor to back in 2007? Does Naylor need the area’s nineteenth Dollar General, and who’s behind it, anyway? How come the Five Points library is still on the agenda even though SPLOST VII failed? And what are they doing to the Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance this time? Come Monday morning at 8:30 AM and Tuesday evening at 5:30 PM and see! Better yet, also call or write your Commissioner before then.

Trash

6.b. Solid Waste Ordinance

Will the Commissioners finish railroading through their already-failing non-solution to solid waste disposal in the last session of this Chairman? The plan for which they held zero public hearings while any of the Commissioners who voted on it this October were on the Commission, yet someone down there feels free to anonymously ridicule concerns about that plan failing? Two citizens spoke up anyway, even though Citizens Wishing to Be Heard was after the scheduled vote last time, and another on this blog, all willing to state their names, unlike the anonymous pro-trash-railroad ridiculer. What was that unspecified new information that caused them to table it last time, anyway?

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

What happened to Veolia; Continue reading →

Lowndes County’s 2007 and 2012 favors for the same developer

According to the Lowndes County Commission’s minutes, the developer for whom the Commission now proposes to change the zoning code back in 2007 got $130,000 in road construction labor from the Commission.

In the 26 June 2007 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session Minutes:

County Engineer, Mike Fletcher, presented an item that was brought to the Commission during the previous work session regarding the paving of Davidson Road. Further, Mr. Clint Joyner was in the process of building a previously approved development that was being affected by an unforeseen Department of Transportation requirement regarding a costly intersection improvement. Mr. Fletcher further stated that Mr. Joyner was required to pave a portion of Davidson Road; however, due to the intersection cost he was offering to purchase the materials for the funding of the entire road, if the county would provide the road construction labor at a cost of approximately $130,000.00. Commissioner Lee made a motion to approve the request, Vice Chairman Carter and Commissioner Roberts offered a second. Motion carried.

Somebody help me here, is not that the same Clint Joyner back in 2007 getting a $130,000 subsidy from the County Commission who last month got invited to talk to the Commission in a Work Session with nobody else invited to speak? The same one for whom the same Commission is now proposing to change the zoning code? For another development on the same Davidson Road? A development the Chamber and Moody and the Planning Commission are all opposing, while the VDT channels Ashley Paulk in promoting it?

What is it about this Clint Joyner or Joyner Realty or Davidson Road that the County Commission should favor him or them so? It can’t be the individual Commissioners: not a one of them is the same now from 2007. What is the same then and now?

Maybe we should find out before the Commission grants any more favors.

-jsq

Chamber opposes zoning code change for developer near Moody

Apparently it’s the Chamber and Moody and the Planning Commission Red arrows on MAZ and the TRC all against Ashley Paulk on the Moody rezoning-and-zoning-code case, with the VDT sidling towards Paulk. The VDT claimed Lowndes County Chairman stated something that’s not true according to the agenda and LAKE’s videos of the recent Planning Commission meeting. And the VDT buried opposition by the Chamber of Commerce’s relevant committee at the end of its article.

Jason Schaefer wrote for the VDT today, County disagrees with proposed zoning amendment, Paulk: Military intervention could prevent development near base, and the caption of the picture on the right says:

The Greater Lowndes Planning Commission proposed a text amendment to the Unified Land Development Code in November that would reduce lot density restrictions from 2.5 acres to one acre, allowing landowners within the Moody Activity Zoning (MAZ) district “more flexibility” to parcel off their land holdings, Paulk said.

The Planning Commission’s own agenda says TEX-2012-02 was proposed by “Lowndes County Board of Commissioners”. And the Planning Commission voted to recommend against approving that text amendment to the ULDC. According to Planning Commissioner John Page, that vote was following the recommendation of the Technical Review Committee (TRC), which consists of staff of Lowndes County and the City of Valdosta. Page is also an incoming Lowndes County Commissioner, to take office next month. So either Paulk said something he as the Chairman of the Lowndes County Commission should know not to be true, or the VDT wrote erroneously.

The VDT also seemed to indicate that Paulk was speaking for Continue reading →

Developer didn’t get his way: change the zoning code! @ GLPC 2012-11-26

A developer didn’t get his way at the Lowndes County Commission last month, so now the county is proposing to change the zoning code for him! To change zoning right next to Moody Air Force Base, the largest employer in this area. A change opposed by Moody because of flight safety and safety of property, and “the longterm viability of Moody Air Force Base.” A change that would set a precedent for further sprawl, as Moody indicated indirectly when the related rezoning first came before the Planning Commission. Apparently a developer can get whatever he wants around here, no matter how much it threatens the livelihoods or well-being of the rest of the citizens. Does that seem right to you? To their credit, the Planning Commission at its 26 November 2012 meeting unanimously voted against this TEX-2012-02 just as they did the rezoning case REZ-2012-17 last month. Both will be decided by the Lowndes County Commission at its 11 December 2012 meeting.

4. TEX-2012-02

Lowndes County Board of Commissioners
A proposed text amendment to the Unified Land Development Code as it pertains to Single Family residential Density and Minimum Lot Area within the MAZ (Moody Activity Zone)

County Planner Jason Davenport introduced this item.

TEX-2012-02 ULDC changes Ultimately at the end of the day this text amendment is a request to change the minimum lot sizes allowed and the minimum residential densities allowed in a MAZ-3 zoning district. We have those changes highlighted on the screen but they have also been highlighted in the packet…. At the end of the day that is what has happened.

Well, yes, at the end of that day. At the end of many future days this zoning code amendment if approved will be used as a precedent for more sprawl right next to Moody Air Force Base, which is by far the biggest employer in this area. The packet he referred to is not available to the public. The changes he mentioned are not on his Unified Land Development Code (ULDC) web page. A view of them as seen from the back of the room is shown on the right here. Can you read them?

Moody insert in ULDC Map The ULDC map linked on that page includes the Moody Area insert map shown here on the right.

Davenport added that he had received one open records request and a response from Moody. Plus state law requires 30 days for Moody to respond and it had been 31 days. Then he walked through some history using pages in Commissioners’ packets that we the taxpayers, voters, and residents of Lowndes County can’t see.

Davenport specifically tied this text amendment to a tabled zoning case:

Continue reading →

Planning Commission recommends nineteenth Dollar General @ GLPC 2012-11-26

The Planning Commission 26 November 2012 ignored a Naylor citizen’s questions about a market survey, traffic, trees, peace and quiet, rural living, and sprawl and unanimously recommended a rezoning request for the eighteenth Dollar General in the area. They did this for a developer who doesn’t live in Lowndes County, and who didn’t even have her name revealed by the Planning Commission, even though anyone who spoke against had to show up in person and state name and address. All this for a location that wasn’t specified in the agenda. Does this seem right to you?

Dr. Bobbie Robinson 3. REZ-2012-19 Robinson Milltown Properties, LLC

US Highway 84 East, Naylor, Georgia
Request to rezone 2 acres from E-A (Estate Agriculture) to C-G (General Commercial)

It’s for a Dollar General. County Planner Jason Davenport said nobody had called in. The agenda doesn’t say which parcel is the subject, and the County Planner didn’t specify. Robinson Miltown Properties map Judging by the map displayed on the screen, it’s the southeast corner of parcel number 0250 003, 101.91 acres owned by Robinson Milltown Properties LLC of 2605 Hall Ave., Tifton, GA 31794. Dr. Bobbie Robinson of ABAC According to the Georgia Secretary of State, that LLC’s agent is Bobbie Ann Robinson of 2605 Hall Avenue, Tifton, GA 31794. I’m told she is the Dr. Bobbie Robinson Professor of English and Dean, School of Liberal Arts at ABAC in Tifton. It’s curious how anybody speaking in opposition had to show up in person and state their name and address, but she the developer didn’t have to do any of those things.

Clayton Milligan of Lovell Engineering Clayton Milligan of Lovell Engineering spoke for, merely saying he offered to answer questions. Commissioners asked him no questions.

Matthew Richard of 5569 Upper Grand Bay Road spoke against.

Continue reading →