Tag Archives: Georgia

Annual Retreat, Valdosta Mayor and Council @ VCCSummit 2019-03-15

Not on Valdosta’s online calendar yet, but we got this email notice from City Council Tim Carroll, indicating Valdosta wastewater is first on his list to discuss. His number 4 about Internet speed and access is also of interest throughout the county and beyond. As are his other items.

All,

I hope each and everyone of you are having a great start to 2019. As we kick the year off, it is time to begin preparing for the cities annual Mayor and Council retreat.

It will be held March 15 & 16 at the Women’s Building.

When: All day, Friday-Saturday, March 15-16, 2019

Where: The Woman’s Building,
1409 N. Patterson St., Valdosta, GA 31602

What: Annual Retreat, Valdosta Mayor and City Council


The Woman’s Bulding

My current list includes: Continue reading →

Old Pine Road and Madison Highway rezonings @ GLPC 2019-01-28

All the rezonings on the GLPC agenda for tonight are in Lowndes County. The two on Madison Highway appear to be coincidence. REZ-2019-01 Jerry Stoker is apparently for one or both of the two Stoker Development LLC parcels on Old Pine Road. This is part of the general development of what Lowndes County staff refer to as “Central Lowndes County”, as in their preferred development area.

Parcels 0145B 042 and 0145B 043, Old Pine Road
Map: Lowndes County Tax Assessors, Parcels 0145B 042 and 0145B 043, Old Pine Road.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park
REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
AGENDA
Monday, January 28, 2019 * 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing
Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue

Continue reading →

Videos: New Officers, Education, Religion, Commerce @ GLPC 2018-11-26

The Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) picked a new Chair and Vice-Chair at their November 2018 meeting. They meet again this evening.

Photo: Gretchen Quarterman, of New GLPC Chair Vicky Rountree 3. CU-2018-13 Scintilla Charter Academy 2171 East Park Avenue,
Photo: Gretchen Quarterman, of New GLPC Chair Vicky Rountree.

Their longest item was 3. CU-2018-13 Scintilla Charter Academy‘s request to expand from an Elementary School to add a Middle School. GLPC recommended approval unanimously, as they did for all other such items.

Below are Continue reading →

Videos: Wastewater at Valdosta City Council @ VCC 2019-01-24

A brief agenda was handled quickly by Mayor Pro Tem Sandra Tooley last night at the Valdosta City Council, even with two Citizens to Be Heard and a bunch of Council Comments.

7. Thanks, Florida speaker --Tim Carroll

The longest item, at almost six minutes, was 4.b-i) Bids for vehicles, because it was eight items rolled into one.

Second longest, at almost four minutes, was Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, who came from Florida to speak in CBTH about Florida effects of Valdosta Sewage. Ms. Tooley stopped her precisely at three minutes, but City Manager Mark Barber took most of a minute thanking her for coming to speak. Council Tim Carroll and Ms. Tooley also thanked the Florida speaker in Council Comments.

Third longest was probably me (jsq) inviting them to paddle and discussing sewage. City Manager Barber before the meeting said he would be sure he would get to Council the information I presented about Valdosta spills over time.

Council Vivian Miller-Cody spoke about a Continue reading →

Videos: SCADA and Generators for sewer system lift stations @ VCC 2018-12-06

The longest single item in the one January Valdosta City Council meeting was unscheduled: the surprise statewide Georgia Parks and Rec Volunteer Award and Council Andy Gibbs responding with thanks.

The most contentious rezoning was 4.b. CU-2018-13 Scintilla Charter Academy Conditional Use Permit, to add a Middle School to an Elementary School.

The most-discussed general topic on the agenda was water, with Utility Director Darryl Muse speaking about 5.b. Bids for 10 emergency standby generators for Utilities, 5.c. Bids for water treatment chemicals for Utilities, and 6.b. Purchase SCADA system for Lift Stations and Water Treatment Plants, with frequent questions from Council members. They did bring up the recent major spill at the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant.

In Citizens to Be Heard, I told them what Valdosta Utilities hadn’t.

Also in CTBH, John Robinson spoke about how small businesses need to thrive and another speaker said he had been attacked physically by a local business man. Renaming Forrest Street was discussed by Continue reading →

Police and Utilities vehicles and other bids @ VCC 2019-01-24

A brief agenda for the Valdosta City Council, mostly consisting of bids for equipment, mostly for the Police Department, plus some for Utilities, Engineering, Fire, and Public Works.

AGENDA
REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL
5:30 PM Thursday, January 24, 2019
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL

Continue reading →

Videos: Mystery Simpson Road paving, taxes, alcohol, emergency, roads, and law @ LCC 2019-01-22

They vote 5:30 PM this evening on what they discussed this morning. Longest at two minutes was 5 g. Abandonment of McLeod Road, followed by 5 i. Speed Zone Ordinance (apparently something was not right at exit 2), and then at just under a minute: 6 a. Paving on Parker Road and Simpson Road. Will Scruggs or Reames get the $2 million-plus contract for paving? (Hint: Reames is the low bidder.)

Oops, sorry: the unscripted 7. Reports – County Manager actually came in second at 1 minute and 44 seconds.

Finally, after 9. Adjournment, there was a reminder of some mystery swearing in at 5PM.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also Continue reading →

Mystery Simpson Road paving, taxes, alcohol, emergency, roads, and law @ LCC 2019-01-22

Due to Monday being Martin Luther King Jr. Day, both the Work Session and the Regular Session will be on Tuesday, January 22, 2019, at 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM. Last time they approved paying for right of way on Simpson Road. This time they’re approving Paving on Parker Road and Simpson Road. Why does Simpson Road get this exception to their decade-long custom of never paying for road right of way? Will Scruggs or Reames get the $2 million-plus contract for paving? (Hint: Reames is the low bidder.)

Qpublic-lowndes,
Simpson Road in Lowndes County Tax Assessor Maps.

Meanwhile, the county apparently borrowed money for paving, and is tinkering the Special Assessment Rate for 2019 from 6.5% to 7.5%.

Hm, the county “currently receives $32,770 annually” Continue reading →

Videos: Clyattville Precinct at Board of Elections, Lowndes County, Georgia, 2019-01-08

Most attending ever seen at the Lowndes County, Georgia, Board of Elections! Potential closure of the Clyattville voting precinct was the issue. That won’t happen because of the strength of the Clyattville community in organizing and working with the union hall.

The union hall, at 5421 Madison Highway, is Continue reading →

Solar faster, cheaper, no cooling water, no leaks, no explosions

Way back in 2014 I calculated that half the right of way acreage of the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline could produce just as much electricity, cheaper, faster, taking no land, using no cooling water, risking no leaks or explosions. Solar is even cheaper now, doubling deployed capacity every two years, and even Duke, FPL, and Georgia Power are building solar farms everywhere. So why do utilities persist in building more pipelines?

Net generation, United State, all sectors, monthly, Chart
Net generation, United States, all sectors, monthly, U.S. EIA.

Every electric utility can read that chart from the U.S. Energy Information Agency, which shows wind (the middle orange line) and solar (the green line coming up from the bottom) adding up to almost all of “other renewables” (the top blue line), with nothing else growing like that. All the pipelines rammed through regulatorially captured agencies don’t come close Continue reading →