The Lowndes County Commission plans to vote tomorrow evening
to privatize waste disposal in the unincorporated areas of the county,
after numerous discussions at meetings the public were unaware of,
without any public hearings, and regardless of whether the people want it.
County Manager Joe Pritchard talked about
“a long, long process”
they’d been through, including at the Commissioners’ retreat.
That was after they discussed solid waste disposal at
their backroom closed meeting
24 May 2011.
Then they cancelled their 21 May 2012 Work Session
and instead held an unscheduled 4 June meeting in which according to the VDT
they decided that waste disposal site cards would be for six months,
instead of the former 12 months.
Fewer speakers at the Regular Session
than at the
previous morning’s Work Session
of the Lowndes County Commission.
The longest item was
a citizen wishing to be heard, who only spoke for 3 and a half minutes.
Up until then, the meeting took five minutes, as the Chairman noted.
And everything was adopted unanimously, with little or no discussion.
Bevel Creek Lift Station Repair —Mike Allen
The total for the wastewater lift station
was still $38,969 with the budget impact being
the insurance deductible.
Unanimously approved.
Dell Lease Agreement for Sheriff’s Office Laptops —Aaron Kostyu
Six years ago the Sheriff’s Dept. leased some laptops;
plan was always to roll new laptops into the lease;
that will be done using drug seizure funds.
Unanimously approved.
Contract with Corporate Health Partners
County Manager Joe Pritchard said they had started looking
into wellness plans several years ago,
$260,000 in savings in health care expenses so far;
partnership with SGMC and YMCA.
Commissioner Joyce Evans wanted to know how regularly
it would be monitoried.
Answer: quarterly.
Commissioner Richard Raines moved to approve
Corporate Health Partners,
except instead of a three year contract,
an initial one year with two one-year extensions.
Unanimously approved.
Reports-County Manager
Joe Pritchard had no report.
Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address
Chairman Ashley Paulk noted it was 5:35, and then
Ken Klanicki spoke
for 3 and a half minutes, the longest item in the meeting,
after which
they adjourned.
Video Playlist
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 25 September 2012.
A rezoning for well and septic,
Bevel Creek is back with a lift station pump repair,
and something about an Alapaha waterline:
water, water, water.
Plus a beer license, refunding revenue bonds, and
the long-awaited waste management RFP.
And an employee health fair, whatever that is,
and apparently this is community planning month.
All that at the Lowndes County Commission, Monday morning
and Tuesday evening.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2012, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
At Monday’s Lowndes County Democratic Party meeting,
LCDP Chair
Gretchen Quarterman introduced Kay Harris as chairman of the Library Board.
You can see that board in action a few weeks ago
in these previous videos.
Kay Harris said she was not there as editor of the newspaper,
since as such she wouldn’t be allowed (presumably by the newspaper)
at a partisan meeting.
She was there as chair of the library board.
She said this is her fifth year on that board, and
her second year as chairman.
She said the county put her on that board to move along the
library project, which had been in process for some time.
She said she had led negotiations with the City of Valdosta
for the Five Points process.
She mentioned the
Five Points Steering Committee,
of which she is also a member.
About the current library building and how the new one would be better,
she said,
The library board heard citizens at length about a problem that was
apparently news to the board,
later considered the problem at length,
came up with an interim solution,
and formed a committee to examine it longterm.
Citizen concerns about rules against after hours library use
Concerns were raised about hours at the southside library at the monthly meeting
of the South Georgia Library Board, 18 September 2012.
Apparently rules have recently been changed for
all library branches
so that meetings can no longer be held after library hours.
This is a problem for volunteer groups composed of working people.
It was unclear what the latest version of the rules is.
And the library board appeared
unfamiliar with the hours of its own libraries.
However, they did at the end of their meeting
extensively consider the issue
and apparently come to an interim solution with
a path to a more general solution.
The rules change may have been due to
one incident at one branch
(not the southside branch)
for which the library board knew the sponsoring organization.
Questions were raised as to why a blanket rules change ensued.
One citizen pointed out that
taxpayers pay for the library buildings
so it’s not clear why they should be prevented from using them;
school buildings, too.
Another consideration was
elderly parent care, because it’s hard to get help for that
any time other than during the day.
Kay Harris wanted to be sure everyone who wanted to speak had spoken.
At least one citizen left
a written statement for the record,
which is always a good idea.
Then all the citizens who had spoken left the meeting,
apparently uninterested in anything else the library board was doing.
Interestingly,
a southside library support group
was in one of the regular report items.
Transparency
After the other citizens left, one of the library board (his nameplate
said Ray Devery)
asked whether Gretchen could stay.
Kay Harris without hesitation said yes and moved on to approval of the minutes.
Congratulations to Kay Harris on knowing the open meetings law
and sticking to it!
Speaking of the minutes, where are they so the taxpaying public can see them?
Regarding the planned Five Points library, Kay Harris clarified
that staff are not supposed to help promote that
“in any way, shape, or form.”
During paid hours.
After hours is different.
South Georgia Library Board
southside library hours,
Monthly Meeting, South Georgia Library Board (SGLB),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 18 September 2012.
Rubberstamping library architect
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 24 July 2012.
It would be easier for people to vote for SPLOST VII if they knew
what they were getting.
So far, that’s difficult to tell from what’s been published.
Many questions remain to be answered.
The county projects penny sales tax collections through SPLOST VII
to total at least $150 million during a six-year period, a sum that
could fund a library complex, an auditorium, the installation of a
mandated public safety radio system, an array of municipal water and
sewage improvements, new equipment for police officers and
firefighters, and road maintenance projects.
There is not adequate funding for these projects if the SPLOST
referendum does not pass, according to city and county planners.
$150 million is not $35 million.
$150 million divided by six is $25 million, not $35 million.
Update 2012-09-27 8:50AM: Added video, stills, and notes about the County Palace and Internet access.
The seventh Special Local Option Sales Tax, SPLOST,
will be on the November ballot.
Not to be confused with the just-defeated
bogus regional transportation T-SPLOST,
or last year’s successful
educational ESPLOST,
or the
currently renegotiating property-tax-relief LOST,
SPLOST VII will follow up on SPLOST VI
in supporting local infrastructure projects.
There is a campaign in Lowndes County to rally for the tax called
SPLOST, or the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. It could
bring in as much as $35 million, but that is only if voters say it’s
worth the extra pennies.
After
briefly discussing or at least hearing items at
the previous morning's Work Session,
the Lowndes County Commission voted on them at its Regular Session of
Tuesday 11 September 2012.
Here's
the agenda,
and the copy below has links to the corresponding videos or
previous blog posts.
Here's a
video playlist.
After no changes since
the previous morning's Work Session,
the Lowndes County Commission
at its 11 September 2011 Regular Session
did the right thing and denied a rezoning
that would have put many houses in a wet area next to many people
who did not want it.
One speaker against the rezoning said some of the adjoining land
had been in his wife's family since her Indian ancestors.
Rezoning denied: REZ-2012-12 Parker Place, 4842 Parker Place Rd.
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 11 September 2012.
The Lowndes County Commission plans to vote tomorrow evening
to privatize waste disposal in the unincorporated areas of the county,
after numerous discussions at meetings the public were unaware of,
without any public hearings, and regardless of whether the people want it.
retreat at an undisclosed location back in March.
