Tag Archives: Government

Six small rezonings and a planned development @ GLPC 2014-02-24

Mostly single-family rezonings this time, plus one 15 acre planned development request.

Here’s the agenda, supplied by an informant. This one came as a real PDF, permitted extracting the text, so that’s an improvement over last month. Too bad about that “the expense” for the county to put it on the web in the first place.

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 24, 2014* 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing

Continue reading →

Golf club lift station on agenda @ LCC 2014-02-24

Lowndes County’s sewer lift station at a subdivision with a private golf club apparently needs replacement. This is the subdivision for which the Nelson Hill Wells were drilled as possible replacements. And an abandonment of some unspecified unopened right of way off of US 41 South. Plus a presentation by Industrial Authority Executive Director Andrea Schruijer.

Here’s the agenda:

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Gilchrist County, FL pop. 16,815; Lowndes County, GA pop. 114,552

Apparently it doesn’t take size for elected commissioners to represent the people, or to choose not to. There’s still time for local governments to choose to do at least those things FERC and NTSB say they should do about pipelines, especially the proposed Sabal Trail Transmission methane pipeline.


Google Population Chart

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Revenue Bond for health care projects @ VLCIA 2014-01-28

It’s good they posted the detailed agenda item, but since when do tax-funded authorities hold public hearings in a private attorney’s office?

The Industrial Authority posted a meeting notice for their own special called meeting on their facebook page (a day in advance) and their website (at some unknown time). And the agenda does say what it was for:

For the consideration of the adoption of a bond resolution of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority authorizing and providing for (a) the extension of the maturity date of its Economic Development Revenue Bond (Langdale Hospice House Project), Series 2006, in the original principal amount of $2,800,000, the proceeds of which were used to finance or reimburse, in whole or in part, the cost of the acquisition, construction and equipping of a hospice house and related facilities located in Lowndes County, Georgia, and operated by South Georgia Health Alliance, Inc., a Georgia nonprofit corporation, and (b) the execution of certain documents for such purpose.

That bond was previously discussed at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session of 23 October 2006: Continue reading →

Transparency in government is essential to the public trust –VDT

VDT editorial yesterday, Violating public trust,

Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens successfully fought for and implemented changes to the state’s Open Records law, believing that transparency in government is essential to the public trust. The law passed in 2012 states, “The General Assembly finds and declares that the strong public policy of this state is in favor of open government; that open government is essential to a free, open, and democratic society; and that public access to public records should be encouraged to foster confidence in government and so that the public can evaluate the expenditure of public funds and the efficient and proper functioning of its institutions.”

The VDT asked for records from the Lowndes County school system and didn’t get them. Their experience sounds quite similar to many LAKE has had with the county government in particular, with records not being provided in the statutory three days, and sometimes not even an excuse or a list of what might eventually be available.

That plus failure to make even agendas for the Planning Commission available in a timely fashion so citizens can see whether they need to attend (somebody explain to me the expense of agendas; clearly I don’t understand this Internet suff), and even in response to open records requests returning paper when the documents are obviously composed in electronic formats, agendas for County Commission meetings that are just plain incorrect, resulting in people taking time off from work to show up unnecessarily for a Sabal Trail pipeline item that didn’t happen, a public hearing that wasn’t listed as such on the agenda, a secretive retreat “work session”, and not even being clear about what tax dollars for SPLOST would go for. That’s not even all; just a sample of county government lack of transparency.

And it’s not just the County Commission. Look at Continue reading →

Bird Supper rescheduled due to Atlanta weather to 5 March 2014

The City of Valdosta press release was carried by WCTV and VDT, and WALB interviewed Mayor John Gayle again. Lowndes County at least managed to update its front page. Last year crossover day was March 7th, when bills cross from one chamber to another. I don’t know when it will be this year, with all the holidays and weather closings, but probably not long after the rescheduled Bird Supper, if not before.

On lowndescounty.com:

LOWNDES COUNTY BIRD SUPPER—Tickets on sale now!

BIRD SUPPER RESCHEDULED – March 5

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Videos: Dollar General, Elections, and Human Resources @ LCC 2014-02-10

Fourteen (14) minutes. The most time was spent on the Wheeler rezoning, on yet another Dollar General, Elections Supervisor Deb Cox personally made her Board of Elections personnel request, which is to change five part-time positions for one full-time, and several Commissioners asked questions about the Human Resources service contract, which might result in educational requirements for positions, and is supposed to survey everybody paid by the county: but does that include employees of boards with their own millage, namely the Industrial Authority and Parks and Rec?

They vote tomorrow, Tuesday 11 Feb 2014 at 5:30 PM. Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Bird Supper this Wednesday in Atlanta

On the county’s front page:

LOWNDES COUNTY BIRD SUPPER—Tickets on sale now!

For more than 50 years, local citizens have met face to face with members of the General Assembly during the Lowndes County Bird Supper. Hosted by Lowndes County and the City of Valdosta on behalf of our community’s local legislative delegation, this year’s Bird Supper promises to be one of the best yet!

The event will be held Wednesday, February 12, 2014, at 5:00 p.m. at the old railroad depot, downtown Atlanta. Tickets are $50.00 and include refreshments and a quail dinner. Attendees will enjoy the music of the Valdosta State University Faculty Jazz Ensemble, while meeting with state officials in a business casual atmosphere.

The Lowndes County Bird Supper is our community’s chance discuss upcoming or pending legislation with lawmakers, with an opportiunity to explain how legislative decisions impact South Georgia. For more information, please contact Lowndes County Clerk, Paige Dukes, at 229-671-2400, For tickets, please contact Event Coordinator, Belinda Lovern, at 229-671-2400 or blovern@lowndescounty.com.

Colter Anstaett wrote for WALB 8 January 2014, Valdosta Mayor looking forward to “Bird Supper” next month, Continue reading →

Dollar General, Elections, and Human Resources @ LCC 2014-02-10

Three water wells ( Wheeler, Brown, and Dollar General), a Board of Elections personnel request, and a Human Resources service contract, plus whatever the Chairman interjects off the agenda and whoever the County Manager has give reports.

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Recent clear cutting in north of Lowndes County

Multiple people reported clearing work at the site of the Moody Family Housing project on Val Del Road, with its sinkhole next to an aquifer recharge zone, that not even Moody Air Force Base can get in to inspect. So we went out to look. There is clear cutting happening on Val Del Road (both sides) but it does not appear to be happening on the property slated for Moody Family Housing.

There has been clear cutting going on in the north of Lowndes County for some time on large tracts near Skipper Bridge Road, Staten Road (near the new river bridge) and on Val Del Road immediately south of the Moody Family Housing tract.

It appears that most of those properties are owned by Natco LLC: Continue reading →