Tag Archives: Government

Videos: VLDA appointment, jail, taxes, water @ LCC 2015-01-12

Teri Lupo was available for questions about being reappointed to VLDA at the Monday 8:30 AM 21 12 January 2015 Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission. There were no questions, but Commissioners Demarcus and one other (I think Mark Wisenbaker) had compliments. The Chairman asked for a motion to appoint, but was reminded this was a Work Session, so wait until the next evening for that.

The agenda item for the resolution in support of the Alapaha River Water Trail, according to the Chairman before the meeting, is waiting until they’re ready to dedicate the new boat ramp at US 84, which is waiting until the river water goes down enough to pour concrete. Maybe some time this spring.

See the agenda for details on what they were considering. Below are links to the LAKE videos of each agenda item, followed by a video playlist. See also the county’s own much more professional one big long video.

Continue reading →

Solid Waste Special Called Meeting @ LCC Waste 2015-01-26

Check it out the notification thingy from the county actually works. We got notified of a special called meeting.

From: listserv@civicplus.com
Date: 22 Jan 2015 13:52:48 -0600
Subject: New Event Special Called Meeting For cp-stcity2.civicplus.com

A new Event now appears on our site. Please click on the link below to go dir ectly to the new posting.

here.

A link under “News Flash” on the county’s front page leads to this slightly different version: Continue reading →

Budget, Surplus, Abandonment, Evidence, Workers Comp, Manhole @ LCC 2015-01-26

Update 25 January 2015: Additional item #5 Anti-Chaining Ordinance Request – Dr. Amanda Hall; see separate post.

Lowndes County won an award for its budget as “a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications device.” All good except: as a communications device? They’d probably have to publish drafts of it before they passed it for that to be true. Unless they mean as in a public telling, not a public hearing. They won last year, too, along with 45 other winners in Georgia, including Valdosta. Award, or passing grade?

No rezonings, but surplus computing devices, abandonment of Deloach Road E (CR 95), more on the never-ending juvenile justice Evidence Based Associates topic, and sewer gasses corrode manhole covers. I wonder how much gases corrode pipelines?

The agenda (PDF) still doesn’t give the dates; just Monday and Tuesday, so I’ve inserted them in [brackets]. But congratulations on having the agenda online a week in advance!

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, [January 26th] 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, [January 27th] 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Quail Hunt and Project Cold @ VLCIA 2015-01-20

And a City Council Retreat Presentation.

Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority
Tuesday, January 20, 2015 5:30 p.m.
Development Authority Conference Room
103 Roosevelt Drive
Monthly Meeting Agenda
Continue reading →

Board of Elections meeting @ Elections 2015-01-13

Received by email 8 January 2015, with no agenda and no other materials. -jsq

Notice is hereby given that the Lowndes County Board of Elections will conduct a public meeting on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 4:30 p.m., at the Lowndes County Elections office, located at 2808 N Oak St., Valdosta, GA 31602.

All interested parties are invited to attend.

For meeting information, please call the Elections office at 229-671-2850 or e-mail elections@lowndescounty.com.

Valdosta City Council Retreats to Moultrie this weekend

Citizens can attend this open meeting to hear about that flooding study, traffic cameras, compensation, and other issues, even though it’s inconveniently located in another county, almost as if the Valdosta City Council didn’t want you to see what they’re doing. If City Hall wouldn’t do, why not the Convention Center? It has its own chef. Like the VDT editorialized, there was no need to go to a out-of-town fancy resort.

Joe Adgie wrote for the VDT 8 January 2014, Valdosta City Council retreating in Moultrie,

The two-day event will feature discussion of issues that Mayor John Gayle and the City Council want to focus on in the coming year, as well as priorities for the legislative delegation and the Georgia Department of Transportation.

In addition, the results of a city employee compensation study will be released and discussed at the retreat.

The number one issue listed by the council for the current year involves funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for a levee and pump proposal.

According to the city, Continue reading →

Expanded agenda, VLDA appointment, jail, taxes, water @ LCC 2015-01-12

Whose terms are up and who’s being considered for appointment (Teri Lupo for VLDA again), who bid and how much (including showers and roofing for the jail), and some detail about two tax rates: these are all big improvements to the agenda! I do wonder where the agenda item for the Water Trail resolution is.

However, there’s room for improvement. Even though you get this same extended agenda when you select “packet” for download, it is not the complete board packet. For example, each agenda item has a one or more page agenda item form, and each proposed agreement or contract typically is include in the paper packets the Commissioners get. There are no rezoning cases on this agenda, but when there are, those always contain several maps in the board packet, and often other information. There’s an HTML version of the agenda, in addition to PDF: that’s another big improvement! The HTML code includes this at the end of each item:

<div class="documents"> </div>

So it looks like the website software the county is using is prepared to include such documents. Maybe the county will actually include them soon.

Here’s the agenda in HTML and in PDF on the county’s website, and I’ve also included it inline below. Continue reading →

Sabal Trail like Keystone XL is for corporate profit not jobs

It would go through our land to be sold everywhere else, with no jobs here. It wouldn’t even be a nominal benefit for those of us whose land, water, and taxes it would take.

President Obama was half right:

Understand what this project is. It is providing the ability of Canada to pump their oil, send it through our land, down to the Gulf, where it will be sold everywhere else. That doesn’t have an impact on U.S. gas prices.

In his press conference of 14 November 2014, he was referring to the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline. Add Atlantic to Gulf and the above quote applies equally to the proposed Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline.

History has countered his next assertion: Continue reading →

Housing, paving, appointments, solar, packets, wells, pipeline, and trash! @ Town Hall Meeting 2014-12-15

Very respectable turnout and impressive interaction at the first-ever Town Hall by an individual Lowndes County Commissioner: Demarcus Marshall, Super District 4, 15 December 2014. See and read his State of District 4 address. You can read his summary of issues and concerns, and you can watch citizens express those concerns in the LAKE video playlist: Continue reading →

Topics and Highlights @ Town Hall Meeting 2014-12-15

“ There were overwhelming complaints about Advance Disposal Sanitation customer service.” Many other issues and concerns are listed in this text published by Demarcus Marshall (PDF) of feedback received and and LAKE videos of the Town Hall Meeting 5 December 2014. -jsq

Lowndes County Board of Commissioners
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall
Super District 4
Post Office Box 1349 ● Valdosta, Georgia 31603-1349 ● Phone (229) 671-2400 ● Fax (229) 245-522

Super District 4 and Concerned Citizens,

300x388 Thanks to those who came, in Topic and Highlights @ Town Hall Meeting, by Demarcus Marshall, 15 December 2014 I want to thank those who came to my Town Hall Meeting on December 15, 2014. It was a pleasure to hear from you. Your presence made the event a success and I look forward to another one in the near future. I have listed the “Topics and Highlights” addressed at the Town Hall Meeting below for your review. As well, I have released my State of the District Address for the public. It is my sincere hope that you will remain actively involved in our local community. In the meantime, I want to wish everyone Happy Holidays and a blessed New Year!

Sincerely,

[signed] Demarcus A. Marshall Continue reading →