Tag Archives: Lu Williams

New Georgia sunshine laws explained by VLCIA lawyer @ VLCIA 2012-05-22

New Georgia sunshine law explained by VLCIA attorney J. Stephen Gupton. Some highlights include:

  • Open meetings now include any time a quorum discusses business,
  • even if there was no scheduled meeting.
  • Committees now fall under open meetings.
  • Executive sessions have specific requirements.
  • Increased penalties from $500 to $100 for violating open meetings, plus potential criminal penalties up to $2,500.
  • A custodian of records needs to be appointed so people will know who is responsbile for satisfying open records requests.

Here’s the video:

New Georgia sunshine laws explained by VLCIA lawyer
Regular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Tom Call, Roy Copeland chairman, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett,
Andrea Schruijer Executive Director, J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Project Manager, Tom Davis, CPA, Lu Williams, Operations Manager, S. Meghan Duke, Public Relations & Marketing Manager,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 22 May 2012.
Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

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Industrial Authority today @ VLCIA 2012-06-19

VLCIA is even posting notices of committee meetings now! According to their website, the Industrial Authority has two meetings today:

Committee Meeting Notice The Nominating Committee for the Valdosta Lowndes County Industrial Authority will meet Tuesday, June 19, 2012, 1:00 PM at the Industrial Authority Conference Room, 2110 N. Patterson Street.

The Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority’s Regular Monthly Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 19, 2012, 5:30 PM at the Industrial Authority Conference Room, 2110 N. Patterson Street.

The nominating committee is for officers; they elect new ones annually. Here’s the agenda. It has no content, but at least they post one. Unlike their minutes.

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Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority
Agenda
Tuesday, June 19, 2012 5:30 p.m.
Industrial Authority Conference Room
2110 N. Patterson Street
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VLCIA meeting right now and this evening

Skipping in to the Industrial Authority office to file an open records request, I noticed all five board members in the board room having a meeting. So I asked whether an appointed board was bound by the same state law as for an elected body that it had to announce meetings in advance. Lu Williams said that it was a special called meeting, that they sent a notice to the VDT, and yes, they were bound by the same rule.

I asked if I could have a copy of the agenda of the meeting in progress. She said they had all the copies in there but she would get me one later.

A few minutes later I went back and asked if they were in executive session. She said yes, they already went from the open called meeting into executive session to discussion personnel.

However, I did pick up a copy of tonight’s agenda, and typed it in, so, for apparently the first time ever, here is the agenda for a VLCIA board meeting on the web before the meeting. -jsq

Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority

Agenda
Tuesday, May 17, 2011 5:30 p.m.
Industrial Authority Conference Room
2110 N. Patterson Street
Continue reading →

I’m all for openness —Tom Call

The member who hardly ever speaks at board meetings makes a strong case for openness.

Tom Call called me back about the biomass plant, and we talked about a number of other matters. He remarked that he was not an appointed spokesperson for the Industrial Authority, so this is just him talking.

I asked him about Ashley Paulk’s remarks in the 26 April 2011 Lowndes County Commission meeting. Tom Call said VLCIA was not standing behind any other body, and he clarified what had happened.

He said the biomass plant had been brought to the Industrial Authority by Continue reading →

About those minutes —Bobbi Anne Hancock @ VLCIA 19 April 2011

Stonewalling is a good way to get your Industrial Authority on the front page of the local newspaper (again). Here’s video of what Bobbi Anne Hancock said to the board about their minutes (and other things).

First, here’s is VDT reporter David Rodock’s excerpt of what she said last night:

Bobbi Anne Hancock, the woman who made an Open Records request with the Authority for meeting minutes from 2006 to the present day, spoke to board members during the citizens to be heard portion of the meeting.

“The majority of your costs for the request are for the five hours

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