Tag Archives: Gretchen Quarterman

Videos: Retreat was good, DBHDD appointment, computers * 4, utilities trucks @ LCC 2018-02-26

Chris Yarborough resigned from the Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities Board (DBHDD) and Kelley Saxon has applied; she spoke about her qualifications. There are For Consideration four computer purchase items and only one bid for two 1 Ton Dual Wheel Truck with Service Body for the Utilities Department.

Below are links to each LAKE video of yesterday morning’s Work Session, with a few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the agenda. Gretchen is on her way with the LAKE video camera to the 5:30 PM voting session. Continue reading

Agenda: DBHDD appointment, computers * 4, utilities trucks @ LCC 2018-02-26

The missing agenda finally showed up sometime around when the Work Session started yesterday.

Chris Yarborough resigned from the Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities Board (DBHDD) and Kelley Saxon has applied. There are four computer purchase items and one bid for two 1 Ton Dual Wheel Truck with Service Body for the Utilities Department.

LAKE videos of the Work Session will follow shortly, and Gretchen is on her way with the LAKE video camera to the 5:30 PM voting Regular Session.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, February 26, 2018, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, February 27, 2018, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading

No agenda and no Lowndes County Commission website @ LCC 2018-02-26

They published no agenda for their recent planning session, and today their website is down before their 8:30 AM Work Session, so if there’s an agenda on it, nobody can see it. Gretchen is going there anyway, to see if they are doing anything.

no logo

Five years ago, Industrial Authority Executive Director Andrea Schruijer said:

It’s not that we’re saying we don’t have broadband. We have connectivity; that’s not the issue. We have great partners that help us with that.

The next week, February 25, 2013, lowndescounty.com was down. Just like today.

In October 2013, County Chairman Bill Slaughter said,

We have broadband!

One year ago, he said:

We can’t wait on someone else to do something, we are going to have to move forward.

So far this forward motion is hard to see.

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Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!

Videos: Day 2, Planning, Lowndes County Commission @ LCC 2018-02-20

These videos are for those of you who have jobs, or responsibilities, which prevent you from taking random days or hours off at a time. Commissioner Marshall was absent from the second day of the retreat because he has a job which does not allow him the flexibility of daytime hours off. (The first day of the retreat was on Presidents Day.)

The topics of discussion ranged from the ever popular litter and trash collection, to special tax districts, fire and emergency response, animal control and the animal shelter, and one of my favorites, electronic records. Most presentations were made either by the county manager or clerk but the current Deep South Solid Waste Authority Chairman Kevin Beals was first up to talk trash.

Below are links to each LAKE video of Day 2, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the LAKE videos of Day 1 and Continue reading

Videos: Day 1, Planning, Lowndes County Commission @ LCC 2018-02-19

The 2018 Lowndes County Commission Retreat was just about the exact opposite of a commission meeting, except that same group of people are present (almost). There was discussion, disagreement, laughing, sighing, interrupting, listening, inside jokes, outside jokes, and general exchange of views. Those things don’t happen in a commission meeting. This year’s retreat was particularly different because there was no time frame attached to any agenda item and they didn’t discuss topics in exact order, and some topics got covered repeatedly. Commissioner Evans said to me during a break that the previous format of having departments just give a report can “get boring” and she had suggested that they have a different format with more discussion about communications.

The agenda was available on-line but was hard to find and the link I followed to find it is gone now. I did manage to download it before it went away. Find it here: 2018 LCC Annual Planning Meeting Agenda (plus searchable text). There were paper copies available at the meeting after the first break.

I sometimes think that the commissioners may be getting used to me but then, no, don’t be silly.

At the lunch hour, the Commissioners stepped outside to take a group picture and as County Clerk Page Dukes suggested that they get closer and not have so much “space” between them, Commissioners Orenstein and Griner (I live in their districts) huddled together.

Commissioners Gather Group Photo Close Group Photo
  Commissioners Orenstein and Griner

Below are links to each LAKE video, with a few notes followed by a LAKE video playlist. Continue reading

Agenda, 2018 Commission Annual Planning Meeting @ LCC 2018-02-19

Update 2018-02-19: And a picture of the participants.

Still no agenda posted on lowndescounty.com. Below is the paper agenda Gretchen got at the meeting this morning. It has no times of day and no speakers listed. I wonder if the Commissioners got something more detailed than this?

One page, Agenda

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
2018 Commission Annual Planning Meeting
6926 Simpson Road. Hahira. Georgia
Monday. February 19—Tuesday. February 20
8:30 am.

FINANCE
Audit Report Continue reading

No Agenda for Lowndes County Commission Retreat @ LCC 2018-02-19

Lowndes County’s annual two-day Planning Meeting, aka retreat, which begins today, a bank holiday, with no agenda posted. I hear it is at Chairman Bill Slaughter’s place south of Hahira. Gretchen is on her way with the LAKE video camera.

When: 8:30 AM, Monday 19 Feb 2018, Tuesday 20 Feb 2018

Where: 6926 Simpson Rd, Hahira GA 31632

Event: 2018 Annual Planning Meeting

6926 Simpson Road, Hahira
Parcel ID 0031 042, Lowndes County Tax Assessors

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Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!

Videos: Rocky Ford Road, Sharp Family, C-G Bemiss Rd @ LCC 2018-02-13

Again like in the previous morning’s Work Session the lengthiest regular item was the rezoning on Rocky Ford Road for the church-proposed Camp Rock, mostly with attorney Jack Langdale speaking for, including that a “wilderness camp” for unfortunate children doesn’t need a buffer, and any future buyers of neighboring property beware.

The Sharp family said for seven years they have been trying to get somebody to do something about stray dogs, only to discover Animal Control doesn’t work weekends anymore, and the Sheriff’s office won’t do anything, even though one of their family had been killed by the dogs and another bitten, and the dogs are now into their second and third generations running loose.

Third longest was Continue reading

Videos: Building too close and trash disposal staging @ ZBOA 2018-02-06

They approved both contentious cases, but not unanimously.

Joshua Stevens of Wendover Road, according to pictures submitted by neighbor Franklin J. Richards II, built a building eight inches from another building. “Staff Recommendation: Find inconsistent with the Variance Fteview Criteria and deny the requests.”

Eight inches and ten inches

ZBOA Chairman Allan Strickland was not present, so Mac McCall chaired. However, for this first case he recused himself, and Gretchen Quarterman chaired. Staff Tracy Tolley suggested tabling to get more information. Nathaniel Brantley moved to approve citing Continue reading

Videos: Turner Center presentation, VAWA, Rocky Ford Road @ LCC 2018-02-12

It was Art (12 minutes of 4. State of the Arts by Cheryl Oliver, Director, Turner Center of the Arts) Law (10:46 of 7.c. Solicitor-General’s Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Grant Application and 1:31 of Introduction of new Probation Officer, which was not on the agenda), and Development ( 6.b. REZ-2018-02, E-A and C-C to E-A and PD-R, 4391 Rocky Ford Rd, ~72 acres) this morning at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session. Actually, all of those items were about law enforcement one way or another. The Commissioners vote Tuesday evening at 5:30 PM.

Below are Continue reading