Tag Archives: Georgia

Videos: Coal ash, Calles, Val North PD Water Sewer, Habitat CDBG, Sewage Valves, Stone Creek Antenna, Sheriff, Alcohol @ LCC 2017-03-14



Not on the agenda:
Coal Ash
and

Y-Lead from Hahira Middle School and Teen Explosion.
Also

Stone Creek train quiet hours.

In a fifteen minute item, the Commission approved a split rezoning for
REZ-2017-02 Calles,
and they approved the removal of conditions from
REZ-2017-03 Val North Dr, Stewart Circle.
They approved the
CDBG Grant preparation,
but they didn’t mention they can’t actually apply until the resolve
their feud with the local cities about tax allocation.

Below are links to each LAKE video of the 14 March 2017 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission, with a few notes, followed by a video playlist.
See also Continue reading →

Deep South Solid Waste Management Authority after privatized landfill

Local counties and cities
sold off one landfill in Lowndes County in the late 1990s,
and a second one in 2005 through the Deep South Solid Waste Management Authority.
Yet in 2007 the


Deep South Municipal Regional Solid Waste Management Authority (WMA),
with the same county and city member governments,
was still active, discussing a regional recycling station.
And it is still active today, including some of the same board members
the entire time since 2005,
such as

Valdosta City Manager Larry Hanson.
Hanson was not present last week

when Valdosta Mayor John Gayle said
Valdosta does not control the landfill, or perhaps he would have
mentioned that Valdosta through its longterm seat on the WMA board
does have some degree of control over the landfill’s operations.

I notice quite a few of the Valdosta City Council’s own minutes

record discussions and votes related to that WMA
including this item from

their Regular meeting of 4 October 2014, which was called to order by Mayor Gayle:


  1. Boards, Commissions, Authorities, and Advisory Committees

    1. Consideration of an appointment to the Deep South Regional Municipal Solid Waste
      Management Authority. — Appointed Richard Hardy, Public Works Director (7-0 Vote).

There must be some advantage to the City of Valdosta to have two members
(Hanson and Hardy) on the WMA board.
Certainly the average citizen or organization does not have that.

Bill Roberts, VDT, 5 December 2005,

Authority closes on landfill deal, Continue reading →

Videos: Sewage, Coal Ash, Historic Preservation, a dead cat, and turkeys @ VCC 2016-03-09

The Valdosta City Council heard from citizens about

coal ash,

wastewater,
and

toxic waste in the landfill.
Mayor John Gayle

offered to answer later in his office Eric Howard’s
question about wastewater in his yard.
The Mayor expressed his opinion that he and the council

couldn’t do anything about the landfill,
and read for yourself what he said about

the Florida county resolutions about Valdosta wastewater.
George Boston Rhynes

told a droll tale about a dead cat and turkeys.

The

Historic Preservation appeal was long and contentious,
with the Mayor twice breaking a tie because only four City Council members
were there: the appeal was approved.
A citizen

spoke about that afterwards, as did

Council Tim Carroll.

Council Robert Yost recommended

all the Hospital Authority Board should resign.

They unanimously approved

both
of the

rezoning items; ditto the

right of way maintenance bids.

And

Firefighter Michael Penland is employee of the month.

Below are links to the LAKE video of each item, with a few notes (some drawn from Valdosta’s own
SUMMARY OF ACTIONS),
followed by a LAKE video playlist.
See also the agenda.

Videos: Calles back again for Alexandria Street + another County + 2 Valdosta @ GLPC 2017-02-27



Here are the LAKE videos for the 27 February 2017 Greater Lowndes Planning Commission,
with

Wilmer Calles on behalf of Rosa Calles
again about
going “backwards” to agricultural zoning (the neighbors don’t like it).
See

the agenda.
Plus

another county rezoning
(the county votes on those two tonight).
There were also to
Valdosta rezonings,
but Gretchen had to leave with the LAKE camera before
the first one
was finished.
The county or the city could video these Planning Commission meetings themselves. Continue reading →

Videos: Calles again, Val North PD Water Sewer, Habitat CDBG, Sewage Valves, Stone Creek Antenna, Sheriff, Alcohol @ LCC 2017-03-13



Maybe more will show up at 5:30PM today for the Regular Session
than the Chairman and only two Commissioners at yesterday’s Work Session
(Joyce Evans and Mark Wisenbaker).

Chairman Bill Slaughter

revealed why he had been missing from the meetings two weeks before:
he had been attending an America’s Defense Community event in in San Antonio, Texas about Moody AFB.
Follow

the link
for more about this.
He complimented Vice-Chair Joyce Evans for running the meeting better than usual
in his absence.
She did beat his former record of five minutes by holding a
three-minute Work Session.

The returning
REZ-2017-02 Calles rezoning now
wants to split half conservation and half R-A.
Apparently the other rezoning,
REZ-2017-03 Val North Dr, Stewart Circle, PD Amendment and Conditions Removal, Water & Sewer, ~9 acres
had been heard before and was now being reconsidered because
a road had been paved.
Remember that when they try to claim roads don’t drive development.

Below are links to each LAKE video of the 13 March 2017 Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission, with a few notes, followed by a video playlist.
See also

the agenda, and the LAKE videos of the 27 February 2017 Greater Planning Commission meeting. Continue reading →

Calles again, Val North PD Water Sewer, Habitat CDBG, Sewage Valves, Stone Creek Antenna, Sheriff, Alcohol @ LCC 2017-03-13

The county apparently doesn’t want its
Peterson Road Isolation Valves
leaking like Valdosta’s famous January 2017 WWTP failure.
Two other water cases are on
the agenda
for this morning’s 8:30 AM Work Session, both rezonings:
REZ-2017-02 Calles, Alexandria St, R-10 and CON to R-A and CON, Well and Septic, ~13 acres
back again (Planning Commission still doesn’t like it; staff maybe),
a new one,
REZ-2017-03 Val North Dr, Stewart Circle, PD Amendment and Conditions Removal, Water & Sewer, ~9 acres.


Parcel 0167 098A

Parcel 0167 098A

The “Conflict of interest certification, resolution, and authorization”
under
FY 2017 CDBG Grant, Valdosta- Lowndes County Habitat for Humanity
actually means no conflict of interest, according to
the agenda sheet,
which also notes “Lowndes County is currently on course to apply for $750,000.00 in CDBG funds from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for a
new public facility for the Valdosta-Lowndes County Habitat for Humanity.”
Well, they’re not on course until they stop feuding with the local cities
about tax revenue allocation, because they can’t apply for any state
or federal grants until that is resolved.

Two safety items:
Stone Creek Antenna Space License Agreement
and
Sheriff's Office Vehicle Lease Agreement.

And no County Commission meeting is complete without alcohol:
Beer & Wine License – Rajendrakumar N. Patel of Bhumi Corporation – 6685 Bemiss Rd., Valdosta, GA.
I don’t recall they’ve ever denied one of those,
so I don’t know why they don’t just make an ordinance that permitting
staff can approve them.

Here’s
the agenda.
Gretchen is there with the LAKE camera.
Will the meeting take more than the three minutes last time?

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, March 13, 2017, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, March 14, 2017, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Deputy Butler, Jacobs Ladder road paving, and seven minutes on the agenda @ LCC 2017-02-28


Front camera
They started with some words about Deputy Chris Butler and a moment of silence
(see VDT Obituary.
Then they plowed through
agenda.
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall did introduce a little levity by asking

if the drug testing for the MIDS bus service was just for the drivers.
Answer: yes.

On the dozen Sheriff pursuit vehicles bid,

Commissioner Marshall also noted that a few years ago

(they voted 25 March 2014
there was a similar bid of Cass Burch vs. Langdale Ford
for which

they had additional testimony.
The excuse for picking Cass Burch even though once again not the low bid
was that it was that the Burch price was still less than the state contract price,
and maintenance would cost less.
It’s refreshing to see them actually discussing bids.
It’s curious they only ever seem to choose a bid that is not the lowest
when it’s from Cass Burch.

The County Manager had no additional report to his no report of the previous morning.

There was one citizen wishing to be heard:

Leslie Jacobs of Jacobs Ladder on 5866 Bradford Road North,
in Continue reading →

Brief agenda plus Water @ VCC 2016-03-09

No water on

the agenda,
but there’s a WWALS event
for those who want to speak about water issues.

AGENDA

REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL

5:30 PM Thursday, March 9, 2017

COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL


Valdosta City Council

  1. Opening Ceremonies Continue reading →

How much solar power could Sabal Trail’s $3.2 billion buy?

The same money would buy a lot more electricity through solar power than that fracked methane pipeline could generate.

Update 2 March 2017: Added tables; fixed some typos.




Ramez Naam, his blog, 21 September 2016,

New Record Low Solar Price in Abu Dhabi — Costs Plunging Faster Than Expected

Start with Sabal Trail’s numbers

Continue reading →

Calles back again for Alexandria Street + another County + 2 Valdosta @ GLPC 2017-01-27 2017-02-27



Back again,

Wilmer Calles on behalf of Rosa Calle
still
wants to go “backwards” to agricultural zoning and the neighbors don’t like it,
on

the agenda for tonight’s
Greater Lowndes Planning Commission,
after
a split recommendation for tabling

by GLPC a month ago,
indication of many objections at
the County Commission Work Session two weeks ago,
and being tabled the next day
at the County Commission Regular Session.
Plus

another county rezoning and

two in Valdosta tonight.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission

Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park


REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING

AGENDA


Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office

325 West Savannah Avenue


Monday, February 27, 2017 * 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing

Continue reading →