After the County Commission meeting today, Chairman Ashley Paulk
and I were chatting and he mentioned that starting at the next meeting
everyone with a camera would be moved to the back of the room.
As I went out of the commission chambers, Continue reading
Lowndes County Clerk, Paige Dukes, provided a PDF of the slides from
the presentation.
They are available
on the LAKE website.
-gretchen
The first Lowndes County Lunch and Learn was Thursday, 11 August, 2011.
Paige Dukes, County Clerk and Public Information Officer, presented.
“I work in everyone’s business, just a little bit.”Commissioner Joyce Evans made a brief viridian green appearance. Gretchen Quarterman videoed for LAKE. I think that’s Jody making the loud paper crackling noises. I hear Paige is sending her slides for posting on the LAKE web pages. Looks to me like they could use some more attendees. They’re going to the trouble to do this; y’all come and help them out!
Here’s a playlist:
LCC Lunch and Learn 11 August 2011
Lunch and Learn, Lowndes County Staff (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 11 August 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
-jsq
New program for the public to learn about Lowndes County government.
In his County Manager report, Joe Pritchard announced the first first lunch and learn, which will be a discussion of general government, noon ’til 1PM, 11 August 2011, second floor of administrative complex.
“The lunch and learn program will take various topics, and allow the public toCounty Clerk Paige Dukes will be conducting this first meeting.meet for an hour, ask questions, interact on those particular topics.”
Commissioner Crawford Powell asked Continue reading
Should it take more than six months to find the county ordinances
that code enforcement needs?
Gretchen Quarterman thanked County Clerk Paige Dukes for helping her in the “neverending answering to my list of questions.” She noted that:
The chairman thinks I’m badgering, but really I’m not.She’s been trying to get public access to all the ordinances since December. The county doesn’t even have a list of all the ordinances.This body makes ordinances, and some of the ordinances are on the website. If you go to the state website, and find out where all the laws of the state are; go to the city of Valdosta’s website, and find out where all the laws of Valdosta are. Go to our website and only find out some of the ordinances.
Paige says she has been diligently working on this and I absolutely positively believe her. And I know it’s very complicated But I really encourage y’all as a body — I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job —
but to keep the business of our county in order. Thank you.
Should it take more than six months to find the local laws
that code enforcement needs?
Chairman Ashley Paulk and 2 of 3 voting Commissioners, Crawford Powell and Richard Raines,
are businessmen.
Could they run a business when resolutions of the board were nowhere
to be found?
-jsq
Here’s the video: Continue reading
Like many of us, he wondered what the county government is thinking:To permit the establishment of the Foxborough Avenue McDonalds, the county has irreversibly established a most terrible precedence. You too can wake up one morning to find a Fast food store being built in your front yard.
I cannot comprehend how the county can possibly benefit from allowing such an establishment to be built in a quite county residential neighborhood. Is it because it provides unskilled low paying jobs? Will this McDonalds look good on a resume? It was my understanding that Valdosta and Lowndes County wanted to attract a more skilled, professional work force. The real estate on Foxborough Avenue the county permitted McDonalds to build on would have been, and is prime real estate for just such a professional enterprise….Good questions.
Here’s the video:
Residential home owners of Lowndes County take notice —Vince Schneider @ LCC 14 June 2011
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 June 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
After Vince Schneider finished reading his letter,
Chairman Ashley Paulk handed him a paper, which was apparently
a communication from County Engineer Mike Fletcher.
Appended is the text of the letter Vince Schneider read to the Commission. Continue reading
We know it happened though because the paper reported on it.
The second budget hearing is scheduled for June 28 at 5:00pm and is on the Lowndes County web site calendar.
At the work session this morning, I asked Ms. Stephanie Black if she
could e-mail me a copy of the budget and she said yes. Ms. Paige Dukes
said that Ms. Black should not e-mail me the document, but I could look
at a paper copy. A paper copy could be provided to me for $0.25 per page.
I asked if there was an electronic copy and Ms. Dukes said that this document
was not available in an electronic form.
Given that the document is neatly typed and clearly is generated from a spread sheet, I think that it is not true that this document is unavailable in an electronic format.
I asked if I could photograph it instead and Ms. Dukes said Continue reading
Matt Flumerfelt wrote in the VDT 19 November 2008, County approves bond issue:
Why was it necessary to put together a guarantee for a $15 million dollar bond issue in “near record time”? Continue readingLOWNDES COUNTY — The Lowndes County Commission heard a presentation Tuesday evening from Glenn Thomson, Alston & Bird LLP regarding a bond issue the County has entered into for the purpose of providing needed funding for the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority.
After the presentation, a vote was taken accepting the issue and Lowndes County Commission Chairman Rod Casey,
County Attorney Walter Elliott and
Bond Counsel, Glenn Thomson, stated, “Mr. Chairman and Commission, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your time and brag on your staff and consultants. Your staff put this transaction together very quickly. In fact, the underwriter’s counsel remarked that he had never encountered county employees and staff that had worked so diligently and that due to their preparedness and hard work, he was able to put his information together in near record time. Their performance and that of County Attorney, Walter Elliott, who worked tirelessly on this project as well, is a tremendous credit to those responsible for managing the business of the county.”
According to Valdosta-Lowndes Metropolitan Planning Organization:
Update: On Monday June 13, Cat Creek Rd will be closed at Beatty Mill Creek for bridge repairs. Repairs should take approximately 3 days, and a detour route will be established. Motorists are urged to use caution and to pay attention to all traffic control devices while traveling on Cat Creek Rd. If there are any questions or concerns please call the Lowndes Co. Engineering Dept. at 229-671-2424.
VLMPO had that on their facebook page hours before lowndescounty.com
got around to posting it on their own website.
And on lowndescounty.com it’s a a PDF, not a webpage.
Maybe the county will get the hang of this web stuff eventually.
-jsq
From: “Schneider, Vincent H”
Date: Wed, 25 May 2011 16:16:07 -0400
To: rraines@lowndescounty.com
Subject: Schneider Citizens Wishing To Be Heard Meeting 24 May 2011Commissioner Raines,
Sir,
Thank you for suggesting that I continue to address my concerns of the Foxborough McDonalds with the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners. I truly hope that with the Board’s help, the neighbors and the Foxborough McDonalds can come to some mutual agreement as to acceptable hours of operation.
Attached is an e-copy of what I presented to the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners at last night’s Citizen’s Wishing To Be Heard meeting.
I’m a little frustrated that I’m unable to obtain a copy of
Lowndes County Ordinances. I don’t fully understand why. Where are they? I understand that ignorance of the law is not an acceptable defense in a court of law, however when one wants to know and is making an earnest effort to find out what the law is and the law is unavailable what is one to do?Nine ordinances are listed on the Lowndes County website, but hundreds have been passed. Indeed, where are they?The Lowndes County Ordinance thus far researched that shows most promise in helping to at least curtail the Foxborough McDonalds hours of operation is the ordinance on noise, Lowndes County Ordinance 97-0704. The Foxborough McDonalds will violate ordinance 97-0704. I believe a compromise can be reached whereby the Foxborough McDonalds will agree to stop all food preparation and selling operations at 10:00 pm on weeknights and at 12:00 am on Friday and Saturday nights. If McDonalds is permitted to operate 24hours a day it will establish a precedent for the area. We need not to allow this to happen. Currently there is no store as such in the area that operates 24hours a day. The closest store as such is the Burger King that is on the other side of I-75, well over a mile away. That store has no residential neighbors. Looking forward to hearing what Chief Guyton has to say on this issue.
Next question if I may. Last night I received some information through an open records request on the Foxborough McDonalds from Lowndes County Clerk, Paige Dukes. I have only briefly scanned a few of the documents and have already found some interesting and disturbing issues. I believe I’ve stated to you that I have a copy of the Lowndes County Unified Land Development Code (ULDC) and that I have spent considerable time in studying it. My question is who should I address these issues with? The paramount issue thus far concerns the road Foxborough Ave itself. I don’t believe that unless a variance was granted that the road Foxborough Ave is so designated to permit a commercial enterprise. Nearly a year ago I made this argument before the Lowndes County Board
If not sooner Commissioner Raines, I will see you at the next Citizens Wishing To Be Heard meeting on 14 June at 5:30pm.
Wishing you an enjoyable and restful vacation,
With Sincerest Respects,
Vince Schneider
-jsq