The two longest items were proclamations, for the
Teen Explosion Youth Action Group
and for
Telecommunications Week.
Everything else sailed through.
Below are links to each LAKE video, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See previous post for Continue reading
You can’t see the Special Presentation by Attorney Haynes Studstill on Opioid Litigation (Work Session) because Gretchen was not there with the LAKE video camera yesterday morning, and the agenda says it’s only in the Work Session. Lowndes County does video its own County Commission meetings, but they haven’t posted the video of that yet. Meanwhile, the City of Valdosta did decide to join a lawsuit against big pharma about opioid addiction. Another county legal item for tonight is FY2019 Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant Program Request for Proposals (RFP).
They’re doing an Update to the Lowndes County Thoroughfare Plan, which is for:
Road Map,
2009 Lowndes County Thoroughfare Plan.
HISTORY, FACTS AND ISSUES: The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners first adopted the Thoroughfare Plan in 1983. Since then, the Thoroughfare Plan has been revised numerous times Continue reading
They started with some words about Deputy Chris Butler and a moment of silence
(see VDT Obituary.
Then they plowed through
agenda.
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall did introduce a little levity by asking
if the drug testing for the MIDS bus service was just for the drivers.
Answer: yes.
On the dozen Sheriff pursuit vehicles bid, Commissioner Marshall also noted that a few years ago (they voted 25 March 2014 there was a similar bid of Cass Burch vs. Langdale Ford for which they had additional testimony. The excuse for picking Cass Burch even though once again not the low bid was that it was that the Burch price was still less than the state contract price, and maintenance would cost less. It’s refreshing to see them actually discussing bids. It’s curious they only ever seem to choose a bid that is not the lowest when it’s from Cass Burch.
The County Manager had no additional report to his no report of the previous morning.
There was one citizen wishing to be heard: Leslie Jacobs of Jacobs Ladder on 5866 Bradford Road North, in Continue reading
Why do they bother having Work Sessions at all, if they’re not going
to discuss anything?
Chairman Bill Slaughter,
who at the recent planning session said,
“Lowndes County is as transparent as we could possibly be,”
was absent.
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall, who argued at the planning session
for moving the Work Session to a time when citizens are not working,
also was not at the Work Session as usual, I hear because he works
during the day.
I don’t know why Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker was not there.
Other than Vice-Chair Joyce Evans, who didn’t read the agenda item numbers,
only Commissioners Scottie Orenstein and Clay Griner were there this morning.
They asked no questions,
as Griner had said at the planning meeting there was no need to,
because staff supplied them with everything they needed to know.
To her credit, Joyce Evans asked the only question, whether the Rural Transportation Drug and Alcohol Testing Program was new (It’s not new, answered County Engineer Mike Fletcher.)
The only two citizens there were Gretchen Quarterman and Jody Hall, each of whom had hour-long round-trips to attend this three-minute non-meeting.
The Valdosta Daily Times reporter arrived after the meeting was adjourned. He at least got the packet provided at each meeting to the “Legal Organ”. You, the citizens and taxpayers did not get that courtesy from the county.
You can see for yourself the lack of information in the links below to each of the LAKE videos, followed by a LAKE video playlist. I didn’t bother with notes on the items this time. See also the agenda, which I spent more time posting than they did holding the meeting. Continue reading
Back on the agenda this morning,
the Old Quitman Road Bridge replacement over the CSX RR has been
discussed since at least 2011 when it was on the T-SPLOST list,
and in
September 2016 it came up for discussion again,
and the Commission approved surveying and engineering.
Last month they
discussed the plans, drawings, etc.,
and approved those.
See this
playlist of LAKE videos of this item in previous meetings.
This morning’s item for voting tomorrow evening is Continue reading
Half the meeting (11 1/2 minutes) Tuesday was Commissioners grilling
Sheriff Chief Deputy Joe Crow
about
the cost of
High Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic (Heat):
how less funding is provided the more successful the program is,
and federal funding may go away, leaving the county to foot the bill.
Chairman asked for monthly statistical updates.
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall moved to approve continuation of the grant,
plus a statement in favor of the grant including a disclaimer that the county would “work to preserve” as much of the grant as possible if state funding goes away.
They approved finally fixing the railroad bridge over Old Quitman Highway. and similar but less complicated (no railroad) for the Jumping Gulley Road bridge. Nobody mentioned that the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline proposes to cross Jumping Gulley Road half a mile west of that bridge, and then to open cut through Jumping Gulley Creek just south of the state line.
Snake Nation Road is getting an emergency $168,928 box culvert repair, which isn’t fast enough for former Commissioner Richard Lee, who Continue reading
They vote 5:30 PM this evening on
finally fixing the railroad bridge over Old Quitman Highway.
As you can see in the videos below of yesterday morning’s Work Session,
County Engineer Mike Fletcher said it’s taken long negotiations with CSC and GDOT,
ending up with realigning the road to go across the railroad at 90 degrees.
Way back in 2011 this Old Quitman Road bridge was on the T-SPLOST list. Old Quitman Road itself was announced on a striping and citing list 2013-10-08 and on an LMIG resurfacing list 2014-03-24 and 2014-03-25. It was said to be the only road for which the speed limit is being changed 2015-03-23 and 2015-03-24. And they fixed a culvert on private Carter Way before they got to this RR bridge on Old Quitman Road. But now they’re doing it, and they didn’t need T-SPLOST for that after all.
See also Continue reading
This morning at 8:30 AM at the Lowndes County Commission, the two subdivisions from the previous Planning Commission meeting,
REZ-2016-16 Livingston Properties, Bemiss Knights Academy Rd and Merriman Ct.
What’s with all the road abandonments these past many months? REZ-2016-17 Grove Pointe Ph 6, Dasher Grove Rd, a public hearing on Abandonment of Strong Road, probably scheduling of one for Abandonment of Unopened Right of Way off of Pikes Pond Road, and finishing up with a Quit Claim Deed for Abandoned Right of Way on Old Miller Concrete Property.
Surveying and engineering for two bridge replacements, on Old Quitman Road and Jumping Gully Road. And the annual renewal of Section 5311 Rural Transportation Program Capital Contract, which is the MIDS on-call bus service, in case you can’t tell from the obscure agenda item.
Plus lots more on the agenda. Will they speed through it all in their usual 15 minutes? They vote tomorrow (Tuesday) evening at 5:30 PM.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Continue reading
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2016, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor