Tag Archives: Naylor

Hotchkiss Landing Road Closing, 3 rezonings, 3 contracts @ LCC 2013-02-11

Monday morning and voting Tuesday evening at the Lowndes County Commission, three rezonings, three contracts, and the proposed closing of the part of Old State Road leading to Hotchkiss Landing on the Alapaha River, with all its complications such as why did Code Enforcement do nothing about that road being blocked for many months? And why was there no public hearing sign on the road until (I hear) it suddenly appeared late yesterday?

Here’s the agenda. -jsq

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2013, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Why did Lowndes County do nothing about a blocked public road?

Old State Road at the Alapaha River is a county-maintained public road. How could Lowndes County not have known that it was blocked by two huge blocks of concrete Seen by google earth 2012-01-24 at Hotchkiss Landing from late 2010 through at least early 2012? Why did Code Enforcement do nothing about it?

These blocks of concrete have to be quite heavy. This is not random litter, and no partier or hunter or 4-wheeler would have any motivation to block the road, much less with blocks this size. Who would? Why didn’t the county find out and do something about it?

-jsq

Public Notice for public hearing on abandoning part of Old State Road leading to the Alapaha River

Why is there no sign on Old State Road about the proposed abandonment of the part leading to the Alapaha River like there was in 2010? There’s a clue in the letter of the law Lowndes County is citing.

NOTICE OF PROPOSED ROAD ABANDONMENT TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED

NOTICE OF PROPOSED
ROAD ABANDONMENT
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that pursuant to O.C.G.A. 32-7-2(b)(1) the Parcel 0259 030A Lowndes County Board of Commissioners has determined that a section of Old State Road (CR # 16) has ceased to be used by the public to the extent that no substantial purpose is served or by it that its removal from the county road system is otherwise in the best public interest. The section of Old State Road that is proposed for abandonment lies .85 miles to the east of Good Hope Road (CR # 126) and travels approximately .17 miles before termination at the Alapaha River.

YOU ARE ALSO HEREBY NOTIFIED that pursuant to said Code section the 2009: canoeists taking out at that road Lowndes County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing for the purpose of determining whether to declare the subject section of the subject road abandoned. The public hearing will be at 5:30 P.M. on February 12, 2013, at the Lowndes County Administration Building located at 327 North Ashley Street, Valdosta, Georgia.

Any citizen of Lowndes County or any person wherever residing may be heard by the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners during the aforesaid public hearing.

County Manager, Joseph D. Pritchard This 28th day of January, 2013.

Joseph D. Pritchard

County Manager

Lowndes County, Georgia

00046658

2/1,8/13

Note that last part: “or any person wherever residing may be heard by the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners during the aforesaid public hearing.” That means you do not have to be a citizen or resident or taxpayer of Lowndes County to speak at this public hearing.

There’s no public hearing sign on the affected portion of that road. Why is that? Here’s O.C.G.A. 32-7-2(b)(1):

Continue reading →

Petition the Commission: Keep County Road 16 leading to the Alapaha River open to public access

Seen Monday. -jsq

Lowndes County Commission: Keep County Road 16 leading to the Alapaha River open to public access.

Petition by
April Huntley

This access to the Alapaha River is the only remaining public access within Lowndes County. It has great historical significance to the Naylor community. It continues to be used by boaters, fishermen and families for recreation.

To:
Lowndes County Commission
Keep County Road 16 leading to the Alapaha River open to public access.

Sincerely,
[Your name]

The Commission decided 26 October 2010 to keep that road open but because they think they have new information have scheduled it for another public hearing and vote apparently at their next Regular Session, which is next Tuesday, 12 February 2013.

-jsq

Video, hearing about abandoning Old State Road at the Alapaha River @ LCC 2010-10-26

Here is video of the public hearing in which the Lowndes County Commission decided 26 October 2010 not to abandon a portion of Old State Road leading to the Alapaha River. This is the same stretch of road that's scheduled for another such hearing in two weeks from tomorrow.

The camera aim is a bit erratic, and you can see why we hadn't already posted this video (which is actually several briefer videos pasted together with a few gaps). Yet you can clearly see, after Glenda Cofield and Steve Bays spoke against closing the road, someone else started speaking from the audience. Then Commissioner Joyce Evans asked those opposed to stand up, and many people did. You can see County Engineer Mike Fletcher in the background.

Presumably some of the people who stood were among the 450 people mentioned in the minutes:

Glenda Cofield, Mullins Lane, spoke against the request, and presented a petition submitted prior to the work session with the unverified signatures of 450 area residents included.

Why were the signatures still unverified if she submitted the petition before the work session of the previous day? Continue reading →

Public Hearing for Road Abandonment of Old State Road @ LCC 2010-10-26

In 2010, 450 people signed a petition to keep open the road leading to Hotchkiss Landing on the Alapaha River, according the Lowndes County Commission minutes for the 26 October 2010 Public Hearing.


Photograph by Brett Huntley.

Abandon a portion of Old State Road (CR 16), County Manager, Joe Pritchard, presented the road closure for consideration, adding that the engineering department had indicated twenty-five vehicles per day on the road. Glenda Cofield, Mullins Lane, spoke against the request, and presented

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What people are interested in having their pennies spent on —Gretchen Quarterman

Received yesterday on Allocate resources in a yearly budget? -jsq

As I was out campaigning, it was interesting what people are interested in having their pennies spent on. Many want better sidewalks and safer places to ride their bikes. One Valdosta police officer particularly commented on the dangerous bike riding conditions (especially on North Oak Extension). Many in the un-incorporated areas want increased fire protection and it seems that everyone better drainage (and I don't mean simply open ditches for rain water) and still others would like to see some soccer fields.

It seems like we should be able to do some prioritizations and then save up for these things. I guess that will be up to the new commission chairman and members and they will have to figure out how to move forward without a SPLOST immediately in 2014.

Personally, I'd like to see a public accounting of how the previous SPLOSTS were spent. And not in big categories, but the actual details… But that's just me.

-Gretchen Quarterman

-jsq

Allocate resources in a yearly budget?

Received today on SPLOST VII lost. -jsq

After reading this post, a question came to mind. Have we the citizens of Lowndes County actually been encouraging our elected officials to be fiscally irresponsible with public funds by allowing SPLOST to continue? if elected officials had to allocate resources in a yearly budget, we may actually encourage our officials to allocate resources towards public projects that would be desirable by the public rather than a priority in pthe minds of our elected officials.

-Bill Grow

SPLOST VII lost

Speaking of transparency, Lowndes County voters defeated SPLOST VII 18,864 to 17,923 (51.28% to 48.72%). Kay Harris in the VDT today quoted Ashley Paulk with this reason:

The defeat came as a surprise to Mayor John Gayle but not to Lowndes County Commission Chairman Ashley Paulk, who said he warned the mayors of the five municipalities that if they continued to argue over LOST, the local option sales tax, that voters would turn against SPLOST in retaliation.

“I told them at the beginning if they didn’t stop arguing over a few percent of the LOST and refused to leave the numbers as is by taking the county’s offer, that taxpayers were going to turn against the SPLOST,” said Paulk.

“Voters are disenchanted with the way their local governments have gotten greedy and they’re tired of the arguments over money. They voted SPLOST down because they don’t trust us with their tax dollars, and it’s a real shame.”

I would agree bickering over the LOST pie was one of the reasons SPLOST lost, and add to that the opaque back-room processes by which the SPLOST VII projects were selected. While the library needs updated and expanded facilities, the lack of documented decision process for the architect and lack of adequate explanation for that probably didn’t help, either, nor did the county’s puzzling lumping of the library in with Parks and Rec. which they later tried to clarify. Perhaps the voters are tired of seeing transparency be a constant source of tension. And I’m using the library as just one example. I could equally cite the project for a farmers market under the overpass, which I think is a bad idea because the farmers market already has a fabulous location at the historic Lowndes County Courthouse, and so far as I know none of the vendors who sell there were even asked if they wanted a new location, much less the public who buy there.

At the public-not-invited SPLOST VII kickoff speeches the last speaker said they were not there Continue reading →

Precincts on Election Day 2012 in Lowndes County, Georgia

Naylor There’s an election going on! Here are some pictures of precincts around Lowndes County today. I’ve seen no lines, and everything seems to be flowing smoothly. Except there are multiple reports that when people call the Board of Elections to ask where they vote they’re getting a “this number disconnected” message. Apparently there are ten phone lines down there but only three people answering them, and the phone is not rolling over properly. Given all the recent changes in precincts, this is a problem.

Ready for you to vote at Pine Grove Sara Crow voted at Pine Grove (Clerk of Court, Lowndes County) Around 1PM Sara Crow said she heard at Pine Grove that about 900 people had already voted there today.

Rainwater I’m not blogging much today because I’m out helping Gretchen for Lowndes County Commission Chair. If you’ve got something interesting, send it in; I’m checking in frequently.

Here’s a slideshow:

Everyone Matters, so go vote!
Pictures by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Lowndes County, Georgia, 6 November 2012.

Everyone Matters, so go vote! Everyone matters, so go vote!

-jsq