Tag Archives: John S. Quarterman

County and landowners still paying for failed 2007 James Road mega-mall boondoggle @ LCC 2015-06-22

Back again: the James Road subsidy for a failed mega-mall that we just keep on paying, eight years later!

Five companies showed up at the May 27th pre-bid meeting, but only one bid for $71,192 was received from Rountree Construction for the Commercial Driveway for Raceway on James Road, said County Engineer Mike Fletcher at the 22 June 2015 Lowndes County Work Session. The Commission at their 23 June 2015 Regular Session approved that yet another fix-up payment caused by the county’s 2009 widening of James Road “from a two-lane local road with ditches to a five-lane road with curb and gutter” for the never-happened Market Street mall and subdivision project. And local elected officials say bus systems need subsidies? Every road and bridge is a subsidy for private developers. And James Road is a subsidy we just keep on paying year after year.

The county spent SPLOST VI funds and $587,000 in GDOT funds on this subsidy for private developers, some of them from Tampa, while requiring local James Road property owners to Continue reading →

Videos: Four board appointments, plus Justice, Water, and Alcohol @ LCC 2015-06-23

$16,915 to upgrade a water main to subsidize a developer, but no approval of $15,957 to study public transportation and truck routing.

Speaking of subsidizing private developers, there’s yet more fallout from the failed 2007 mega-mall-and-subdivision Market Street project; see separate post.

And the Chairman gave an excellent demonstration of why elected officials would benefit by interacting and even debating with citizens, instead of jumping to conclusions and preaching at them.

Here’s the agenda, and the LAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session and the budget hearing immediately before the Regular Session. Below are the Regular Session LAKE videos with a few comments, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading →

Videos: Four board appointments, plus Justice, Water, and Alcohol @ LCC 2015-06-22

The Chairman said the Finance Director would make a presentation about the Adoption of the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Tuesday before they voted; he said nothing about that presentation being the second Public Budget Hearing. See LAKE videos of the first Budget Hearing and of the second budget hearing.

The Commercial Driveway for Raceway on James Road. is yet more fallout from the failed 2007 mega-mall-and-subdivision Market Street project; see separate post. Also five pre-bidders but only one bid, this one from Scruggs Co., for Widening of a Portion of Old US 41 N.

Why is the county paying the cost to Upgrade Water Main at Lake Alapaha Subdivision from 2 inches to 6 inches? At least we found out where and why for the Engineering and Surveying Services for Water and Sewer.

Here’s the agenda. Below are the LAKE videos of the Work Session with a few comments, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading →

Four board appointments, plus Justice, Water, and Alcohol @ LCC 2015-06-22

Adoption of the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget to be considered Monday morning and voted on Tuesday evening (see LAKE videos of Budget Hearing of two weeks ago), plus a GEFA Loan Modification (thought they approved that 26 May 2015 for the Alapaha Water Treatment Plant), a Justice Assistance Grant, a SCADA lease-purchase agreement, and the annual controversial Mosquito Contract.

Two appointees each to KLVB and the Library Board. We don’t know who, because the county posted the agenda only in PDF, with no item sheets.

Public Hearing approved last month for the Abandonment of Buck Cato Road: what’s causing all of these in the last couple years? And they’ve found an excuse for their long-desired Continue reading →

Development Authority’s BRAT @ VLCIA 2015-06-16

Late o tonight’s agenda but big on their minds, and described and pictured by Stuart Taylor, VDT, 31 May 2015, as consisting of:

Georgia Department of Economic Development — Michelle Shaw
Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce — Myrna Ballard
University of Georgia’s Small Business Development Center — Lynn Bennett
Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority — Stan Crance
Georgia Department of Labor, Valdosta Career Center — Jamon Williams
Wiregrass Georgia Technical College — Bill Tillman
Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute — Art Ford
Georgia Power Company — Scott Purvis

Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority’s Business Retention Action Team, or BRAT, brings together a number of local and state organizations to offer services, information, solutions and contacts that a company might need.

“We’ve always had an existing industry program,” said Meghan Duke,VLDA marketing and community relations. “These organizations have always worked together, but now we’re formalizing it.”

Here’s the agenda:

Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority
Tuesday, June 16, 2015 5:30 p.m. Continue reading →

Red Robin Hood with a Gold Belt @ VLCIA 2015-05-19

And a report on dual enrollment at Wiregrass Tech, on the agenda today.

Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority
Tuesday, May 19, 2015 5:30 p.m.
Development Authority Conference Room
103 Roosevelt Drive
Monthly Meeting Agenda Continue reading →

Videos: Going to Georgia Logistics Summit and retreating @ VLCIA 2015-03-17

CJB and Hunt Industries received plaques with copies of Valdosta Daily Times articles about them. Their meeting tonight is cancelled; their next meeting is 19 May 2015, according to their website.

Their retreat was April 10th after the Georgia Logistics Summit March 31st – April 1st. The Summit is in Atlanta, according to its own website. If they said during their regular March meeting where their retreat was to be, I didn’t catch it. Here’s the agenda with links to the LAKE videos and a couple of still pictures.

Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority
Tuesday, March 17, 2015 5:30 p.m.
Development Authority Conference Room
103 Roosevelt Drive
Monthly Meeting Agenda

Continue reading →

Why Vallotton wants to rezone back to agricultural @ GLPC 2015-03-30

Yesterday morning the County Planner seemed perplexed about the Vallotton family request to go back to the most agricultural zoning, E-A. Yet he was there when Bill Langdale explained that at the Planning Commission 30 March 2015, aided by multiple Planning Commissioners, plus a few words from me.

He didn’t bring agriculture to the city; the city come to him….
I think it’s going to be real hard one day trying to eat this concrete.
–Tommy Willis

See for yourself. And remember the County Commission votes on this case this evening at 5:30 PM; maybe you’d like to come speak for. Continue reading →

Videos: Vallotton agriculture on Bemiss Road, historic preservation, personal services @ GLPC 2015-03-30

They took the Lake Park personal services case first and recommended it 8:0. REZ-2015-06 Vickers was withdrawn by applicant. Vallotton Farms‘ reversion to Estate Agricultural was recommended 8:0 after an explanation by attorney Bill Langdale (and yours truly chimed in). Denser zoning for Edward Jennings LLC was recommended 5:4 with a rare example of the Chairman voting, this time in favor. And the Valdosta historic preservation LDR changes were recommended 8:0. Those two Lowndes County cases have already been heard at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session yesterday morning and will be voted on tonight at the Regular Session. The Vallotton case greatly puzzled the County Planner and at least one of the Commissioners.

Here’s the agenda, reordered according to how they actually considered the cases, with links to the videos, results of the votes, and a few notes. Continue reading →

Sabal Trail front page Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Now that Atlanta has finally taken notice there’s even more reason to repel these pipeline invaders. There’s still time to submit an amicus brief for the court case in Leesburg, Georgia. And time to file an ecomment or an out-of-time motion to intervene against Sabal Trail. Or against Elba Island LNG or against Transco and Atlanta Gas Light’s Dalton Expansion Project. Or to oppose Kinder Morgan’s southeast Georgia Palmetto oil pipeline at the Georgia Department of Transportation or GA-EDP. Both those state agencies have to provide permits for Sabal Trail to get the Georgia emininent domain it demands in Leesburg, so they are relevant to Sabal Trail, as well, as is your opinion and those of all local elected governments in Georgia.

Dan Chapman, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 3 April 2015, Pipeline project fuels fight on state’s future,

Regardless of route, Sabal Trail opponents fear pipeline construction could create sinkholes Continue reading →

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange