Update 2022-05-23: 9:00 AM Budget Work Session.
They propose to approve $1.6 million for resurfacing some roads, it’s not clear which ones, at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session Monday morning and voting Regular Session Tuesday evening.
![[Quarterman Estates, Walkers Crossing Roundabout]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-05-23--lcc-packet/many.jpg)
Quarterman Estates, Walkers Crossing Roundabout
They will also pretend that this will not cost the county money down the road for street maintenance: Continue reading
All the main items breezed by unanimously, including the Comprehensive Plan and the Hospital Authority re-appointment of Ben Copeland, at the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, November 9, 2021.
The only things taking longer than three minutes were the County Manager’s Report and Citizens Wishing to Be Heard about how the Board of Elections is appointed and funded.
![[Comprehensive Plan, Communications Tower, Manager's Report, Electios]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2021-11-09--lcc-videos/many.jpg)
Comprehensive Plan, Communications Tower, Manager’s Report, Electios
Below are LAKE videos of each agenda item with a few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the LAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session, the agenda and Board packet, and, for the rezonings and the tower, the LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission meeting.
For the Comprehensive Plan, see also the LAKE videos of the preceding Comprehensive Plan Update Meeting 2 and the Character Area Maps for it, the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session before that, and the quite lengthy first Comprehensive Plan Public Hearing.
By far the longest item at 33 minutes at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session was a presentation about One Valdosta-Lowndes (OVL).
![[OVL River Camp, Hospital Authority appointment, Godfrey rezoning, VAWA staffing]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2021-11-08--lcc-videos/many.jpg)
OVL River Camp, Hospital Authority appointment, Godfrey rezoning, VAWA staffing
Second longest at almost five minutes was 8.e. Request For Cash Match Increase For VAWA ASG Salary Supplement, about the Violence Against Women Act. Third at four minutes was 7.c. REZ-2021-24 Barry Godfrey, Mt. Zion Church Road.
The likely re-appointee to the Hospital Authority did attend.
Everything else got little discussion, including the final approval of the Comprehensive Plan Update.
They voted the following Tuesday evening.
Below are LAKE videos of each agenda item, with a few notes, followed by
The Lowndes County Commission will probably re-appoint Ben Copeland to the Hospital Authority, and approve three rezonings, only one (REZ-2021-24 Barry Godfrey) apparently controversial, as well as an AT&T telecommunications tower, Tuesday evening after hearing them Monday morning.
The item with the biggest effect is the 2021 Comprehensive Plan Adoption.
The big ticket near-term item is for roads, 2021 LMIG Safety Action Plan Restriping.
| Cost | What |
|---|---|
| $281,529.50 | 2021 LMIG Safety Action Plan Restriping |
| $32,266.00 | Request for Cash Match Increase for VAWA ASG Salary Supplement |
| $31,500.00 | Code Red Annual Renewal |
| $345,295.50 | Total |
See the agenda. The board packet is on the LAKE website, received in response to a LAKE open records request.
For the Comprehensive Plan, see the LAKE videos of the preceding Comprehensive Plan Update Meeting 2 and the Character Area Maps for it, the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session before that, and the quite lengthy first Comprehensive Plan Public Hearing.
For the rezonings and the telecommunications tower, see also the LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission meeting.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2021, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Here is a map of “North Central Lowndes County” which is the area the county wants most to develop with subdivisions. It’s in the board packet materials for Addition to Basic Decorative Street Lighting District – Coventry Villas Subdivision, for last week’s Lowndes County Commission meeting.
![[Exhibit B: Basic Decorative; North Central Lowndes County 2; Revised 9/2020]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2020-10-12--lcc-packet/October-12-13-2020-Agenda-Packet-0006.jpg)
Exhibit B: Basic Decorative; North Central Lowndes County 2; Revised 9/2020
PDF
This the first table of tax dollar amounts we’ve had add up to a positive total.
| Cost | What |
|---|---|
| ($1,107,500.64) | 2021 LMIG Resurfacing Grant Application |
| ($99,938.00) | 2020 Addressing Victimization within the Juvenile Justice System Grant Application |
| $42,067.69 | Nelson Hill Lift Station Pump Upgrade |
| $5.00 | Approval of Increase in Convenience Fees for Web and Telephone Payments |
| ($1,165,370.95) | Total |
The real total should be both less than that (the LMIG grant has a 10% match) and more (the $5.00 is times each telephone or online payment).
Here’s a list of what they plan to do with the 2021 LMIG Resurfacing Grant Application: Continue reading
Apparently there was no legal public notice and no recording of the April teleconference meeting with the dial-in code changed less than three hours before, with $6,913,575.06 in taxpayers’ money being decided.
![[Photo: Pine Grove Road Collection Center]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2020-04-28--lcc-packet/April-28-2020-Commission-Meeting-Packet-0021.jpg)
Photo: Pine Grove Road Collection Center
For that Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission, at which everything was approved unanimously except the one split vote on the single-source no-bid stream monitoring contract, LAKE sent an open records request for “the teleconference audio recording and the log of teleconference attendees (who dialed in, by name, or, if name is not known, by telephone number) for the April 28, 2020, Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.”
The response from the County Clerk was:
The April 28th telephone meeting was not recorded other than the minutes that were taken. Further, the program used does not record a phone log for the option utilized for this meeting. This being case, there are no records responsive to your request. I do expect the next meeting to be held in the Commission Chambers with social distancing requirements observed. This being the case, citizens will have an opportunity to attend in person which is a much better format for everyone.
Well, that’s a matter of opinion. Do you think it’s better to have to wear a mask to the Commission Chambers and risk getting infected, than to listen on the phone?
The Valdosta City Council had their meeting this Thursday on facebook live. The Madison, Florida, BOCC has been doing theirs on gotomeeting. It’s curious how the most populous county in the region can’t manage a teleconference or video meeting.
LAKE received the full board packet two days after the meeting, at 5:07 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2020, in response to an open records request. It’s on the LAKE website. We look forward to Lowndes County putting its full packet on its website along with the agenda and one-page agenda sheets per item. Many other counties in Georgia and Florida have been doing this for years.
When will the Lowndes County Commission catch up with the 21st century?
By far the biggest item was the $6,545,729.00 Coleman Road Force Main Replacement. The county apparently saved a bunch of money by removing many amounts from the bid for the county to do directly.
Curious how they didn’t do that for the sole-source no-bid $45,120.00 Professional Services for Sampling, Monitoring and Reporting of Impaired Streams. More on that in another blog post.
The county bid everything else that could be bid, including the $228,400.95 Continue reading
Update 2020-05-10: Lowndes County, GA, Stream Monitoring and Stormwater Permit 2020-04-28.
Update 2020-05-09: Board packet.
Update 2020-05-02: Gretchen’s notes on each agenda item.
Was this even a public meeting? The Lowndes County Commission approved everything on its agenda yesterday, even though only really perceptive citizens could figure out how to listen to the teleconference. In which they approved everything, with only one split vote, for a $45,120.00 single-source item.
At 2:38 PM, less than three hours before the 5:30 PM voting Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, they made this one change to the online agenda:
Old:
“The call in number is 813-769-0500 and the access code is 373-829-614#”
New:
“The call in number is 813-769-0500 and the access code is 584-852-611#”
Can you spot the change? It’s the access code.
I didn’t notice the agenda had changed, so I used the old access code. Which only started a teleconference five minutes late, and then had 18+ minutes of silence.
Gretchen did notice the agenda had changed, but there was no indication of what had changed. She carefully looked to find that different access code. It’s a good bet Gretchen was the only citizen on the conference call, because likely few other people figured that out.
But that didn’t stop the Commissioners from approving everything on the agenda.
The only split vote was for: Continue reading
Bids or negotiations for everything except the Professional Services for Sampling, Monitoring, and Reporting of Impaired Streams, which is on the agenda for Tuesday as a single proposal from an engineering firm. The agenda sheets are on the LAKE website. We do not yet have the full agenda packet.
This April 28, 2020, Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission will be held by teleconference. There will be Citizens Wishing to Be Heard, but as usual that will be after the Commissioners vote. This is the only County Commission of the many counties I’ve been to in two states that does not let citizens speak either at the beginning of the session or on each agenda item as it comes up.
Citizens wishing to be heard should email County Clerk, Paige Dukes at pdukes@lowndescounty.com or call 229-292-6142 during normal business hours to register to speak. Please register prior to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28th. Thank you.
Notice no Work Session is listed on the agenda, and a Commissioner tells me there will be no Work Session, which is marked in the county calendar as Cancelled.
These are the costs of the agenda items, sorted most expensive first:
Other than the three Awards and Presentations, the longest agenda item was 5.a. Alcohol Ordinance Revision (Brunch Bill), which had already been approved by a referendum of the voters. On implementing it, all voted aye except one.
Almost as long was 7.b. Request for letter of support by WWALS for the Troupville River Camp project. Valdosta City Manager Mark Barber described the project and the situation. In Citizens To Be Heard (CBTH), WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman thanked Council for approving the letter.
The first speaker in CTBH asked for the city to rebuild streets in the Highland subdivision. He said there had been insufficient engineering and lack of maintenance of streets, including for water flow.
Unfortunately, can’t really make out what the pair of second speakers were asking for.
Below are LAKE videos of each item, followed by Continue reading
Remerton can’t use SPLOST VI funds for an office building, since the old mill building intended for that has been torn down. That was the longest item in the Lowndes County Commission Work Seesion of December 9, 2019: 7. Reports – County Manager – Remerton SPLOST Resolution.
Then Commissioner Clay Griner moved to go into Executive Session to discuss personnel. Chairman Bill Slaughter reminded him the Commission has only one employee. Griner agreed, and they went into Executive Session. The one employee is the County Manager.
They breezed through everything else their last meeting of calendar year 2019.
Below are LAKE videos of each agenda item, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the Continue reading
![[REZ-2021-24 Barry Godfrey, Mt. Zion Church Road; TWR-2021-01 CitySwitch II, LLC, Bemiss Road, New 265' Telecommunications Tower]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2021-11-08--lcc-packet/many.jpg)
![[Amount Removed from Bid]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2020-04-28--lcc-packet/April-28-2020-Commission-Meeting-Packet-0066.jpg)
![[Agenda Versions]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2020-04-28--lcc-packet/agenda-versions.jpg)
![[Map: Coleman Road, VALORGIS]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2020-04-28--lcc-packet/map-coleman-road-valorgis.jpg)