Tag Archives: grant

Videos: Historic Courthouse, 2 rezonings, 1 utilities, MIDS bus, CDBG @ LCC 2015-03-09

These videos are of yesterday morning’s Work Session, and they’re voting right now on the annual grant paperwork for the county’s on-call bus system, run by MIDS, Inc., on a commercial and a subdivision rezoning, both previously recommended unanimously by the Planning Commission. Plus they will accept Utilities for Creekside West Phase II, i.e., water and sewer. They will declare at least two Potential Conflict(s) of Interest for Commissioner Joyce Evans and County Clerk Paige Dukes on the board of the hildren’s Advocacy Center of Lowndes County, Inc. (CAC), before agreeing for the Chairman to sign a Resolution to submit to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for the CAC. We don’t know what those conflicts are, because as usual the county only published the agenda sheets for each agenda item, without the rest of the details that are in the board packets.

Judge H. Arthur McLane spoke yesterday about the Courthouse Preservation Committee; see LAKE videos of its public meetings.

Tonight they have Citizens Wishing to Be Heard on the agenda.

It’s a welcome change that for rezonings they now consider traffic on nearby roads, unlike back in 2011 when then-Chairman Ashley Paulk said:

I’m not going to argue Bemiss Highway, it’s not a pertinent fact.

Who knows? Next maybe they’ll consider expanding to regular routes on the bus system.

Below are links to the LAKE videos from Monday morning, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading →

Historic Courthouse, 2 rezonings, 1 utilities, MIDS bus, CDBG @ LCC 2015-03-09

The county has an on-call bus system, run by MIDS, Inc., and they’re doing the annual grant paperwork. Judge H. Arthur McLane will speak this morning about the Courthouse Preservation Committee; see LAKE videos of its public meetings. Tuesday the County Commission will decide the rezonings, one commercial and one subdivision, previously recommended unanimously by the Planning Commission: will they discuss the poor people they’re displacing, unlike the Planning Commission? Plus they will accept Utilities for Creekside West Phase II, i.e., water and sewer. They will declare at least two Potential Conflict(s) of Interest for Commissioner Joyce Evans and County Clerk Paige Dukes on the board of the hildren’s Advocacy Center of Lowndes County, Inc. (CAC), before agreeing for the Chairman to sign a Resolution to submit to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for the CAC. We don’t know what those conflicts are, because as usual the county only published the agenda sheets for each agenda item, without the rest of the details that are in the board packets.

It’s a welcome change that for rezonings they now consider traffic on nearby roads, unlike back in 2011 when then-Chairman Ashley Paulk said:

I’m not going to argue Bemiss Highway, it’s not a pertinent fact.

Who knows? Next maybe they’ll consider expanding to regular routes on the bus system. Continue reading →

Board Packet @ LCC 2014-11-11

Here is the board packet for the 11 November 2014 Regular Session and 10 November 2014 Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

Although the County Clerk once again provided this packet only on paper and only in black and white, we got via CD-ROM color maps for REZ-2014-17 Grand Bay Estates and REZ-2014-18 White from County Planner Jason Davenport in response to a separate Open Records Request. The request to the County Clerk also asked for electronic copy, but once again she chose not to honor that part of the request.

But who can say? Perhaps things will be different after the Open Government Symposium this Friday, 21 November 2014.

Meanwhile, I have already filed an Open Records Request for the board packet for the next County Commission meeting, which is in December.

-jsq

Secret meeting of Lowndes County Commission and state reps @ LCC 2013-12-20

Dexter Sharper (District 177) The VDT report doesn’t say when or where, and doesn’t say whether Dexter Sharper (District 177) wasn’t invited or chose not to attend.

There’s nothing about this meeting in the online agendas or calendar, even though that calendar lists Pictures with Santa at the Historical Courthouse (12/19/2013).

There is this undated public notice with no agenda:

Paige Dukes, Lowndes County Clerk The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners will meet with members of Lowndes County’s Legislative Delegation on Friday, December 20, 2013, at 4:00 p.m. in the Commissioner’s Conference Room located on the 3rd floor of the Judicial-Administrative Complex, 327 North Ashley Street, Valdosta, Georgia.

K. Paige Dukes, County Clerk

pdukes@lowndescounty.com 229-671-2400

Tim Golden (District 8) Matthew Woody wrote for the VDT 22 December 2013, Commissioners host local delegation, oddly omitting the when and where and much of the why from the traditional who, what, when, where, and why of journalism.

Amy Carter (District 175) The Lowndes County Commission hosted Continue reading →

Valdosta home repair grant assistance

Is your home unsafe? DRA Map If you live in certain parts of Valdosta, you may be able to get a grant to help fix that.

PR from the City of Valdosta, 27 June 2013, City Helps Valdosta Home Owners Apply for Grant Funding for Home Repairs

From July 1 to August 15, 2013, the City of Valdosta Neighborhood Development Division will be accepting applications for owner-occupied home rehabilitation grants from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta. Valdosta home owners who qualify as low to moderately-low income residents (according to HUD FY 2013 Income Limits) may be eligible to use this grant funding to make much-needed home repairs.

Grants are limited to home repairs which cost under $10,000, and each applicant must meet the following criteria: Continue reading →

Exclusive franchise on photographing County Commission? @ LCC 2013-05-28

Does the county ordinance that adversely affects Deep South Sanitation and no other company follow a pattern already set by the county? The VDT posted pictures clearly taken not from the media box during last night’s Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission: this one shows Gretchen videoing for LAKE from that media box. Has the Lowndes County Commission granted an exclusive franchise to the VDT for photographing, like the one it granted to ADS for trash collection? Or has the Commission admitted its anti-videoing ordinance was actually an illegal bill of attainder directed at LAKE alone? If so, why is it still posted on the door? And why is the county still planning to sue Deep South Sanitation on account of an ordinance and contract that directly adversely affects no other business? Hm, could that also be an illegal bill of attainder?

In case you had any doubt the VDT’s pictures were taken during the actual Commission meeting in session, this one is of Steve Parker speaking in Citizens Wishing to be Heard.

Even the Cumming City Council, which illegally ejected Nydia Tysdale for videoing an open meeting, realized its error and she now videos from the front row. Only Lowndes County, Georgia continues to post a sign on the door saying all videoing and photographing must be from the back of the room. And then it lets one news organization violate its own ordinance, but not another.

To quote former Chairman Ashley Paulk: Continue reading →

Videos: trash, appointment, GEMA, juveniles, mowing, and wellness @ LCC 2013-05-28

Trash wasn’t on the agenda, but it was the biggest issue. Like last Regular Session a Commissioner who happens to be a Christian minister prayed for one thing while the Commission does the opposite. Commissioners and staff also seemed confused about a mowing contract but we don’t know why, since none of us have seen what they were looking at. A Board incumbent was reappointed without discussion. In good news, county employees have lost 600 pounds.

Here’s the agenda, with a few notes and links to the videos. See also the Work Session of the same morning.

Lowndes County Commission LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 28, 2013, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 28, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Judging appointments, grants, and bids @ LCC 2013-05-28

Fast as a speeding “next” until the juvenile court judge showed up and asked for help getting a grant to save money by putting fewer children in jail. One candidate for a board showed up (late) to speak, and I continue to predict he’ll be reappointed tonight: that’s when they vote: tonight at 5:30PM in the Regular Session. Meanwhile, here are videos of this morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session.

Here’s the agenda, with a few notes and links to the videos.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 28, 2013, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 28, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Juvenile Justice grant would reduce costs more than the grant –Judge Council @ LCC 2013-05-28

Would you rather spend upwards of $91,000 a year to lock up a juvenile offender or spend less money to prevent that? Juvenile Court Judge Council advocated the former at this morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session.

6.a. 2013 Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant Program Application

This is about a potential new grant Emergency Director Ashley Tye said he had been working on with Judge Council, applying to the Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant Program which was approved by the legislator and governor this year. (Governor’s Executive Order of 16 April 2013 directing the assembly of the Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant Funding Committee to allocate to counties the funding of $5 million approved by the legislature.) Lowndes County would act as the applicant agent or grant administrator on behalf of the juvenile justice department, and Judge Council would serve as the implementing agency, working with several groups such as LODAC ( Lowndes Drug Action Council, Inc.). If the grant is accepted, it will be awarded quickly, running from June to June. It’s a reimbursement grant: make the expenses, submit a report, and get reimbursed from the grant.

Judge James F. Council, Jr. (who Continue reading →

Sinkhole costs, and prevention vs. reaction

The day after the VDT ran Lowndes County’s admission that the sewer line break was theirs, not Valdosta’s, did the VDT start a series of financial investigation like they did about Valdosta’s water issues? Nope, they ran a piece about how much weather costs the county, with no recognition of watershed-wide issues, nor of any need for the county to participate in proactively dealing with them, to reduce costs, for better quality of life, to attract the kinds of businesses we claim we want. Nope, none of that.

Jason Schaefer wrote for the VDT 27 April 2013, What natural events cost Lowndes taxpayers,

In the Deep South, near a river plain where floodwaters rise and ebb from season to season and wetlands that distinguish the region from anywhere else in the nation, flooding makes a significant portion of the concern for Lowndes County emergency management.

OK, that’s close to getting at some of the basic issues. We’re all in the same watershed, and we need to act like it instead of every developer and every local government clearcutting and paving as if water didn’t run downhill. Does the story talk about that? After all, the county chairman attended the 11 April 2013 watershed-wide flooding meeting that led to the city of Valdosta’s likely participation in flodoplain planning. Nope; according to the VDT, everybody around here seems to be hapless victims of weather:

Continue reading →