Tag Archives: Planning

Industrial Authority Retreat 2012 02 23

The Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority is having a retreat 9AM-2PM today. They have a facilitator, who is going through what looks like the usual facilitated procedures. She claims to be camera-shy, but Chairman Roy Copeland tells me he wants the Industrial Authority to be transparent and to be seen as transparent.

Here the facilitator is getting the board and staff to answer some initial questions.


Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority Retreat, 101 N Ashley St., Valdosta, GA
Pictures and videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange, 23 February 2012.

After they gave individual answers, they broke into groups each including board and staff: Continue reading →

Request for Bid: 2012 Strategic Plan Process –VLCIA

Found on the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA) Meeting Schedule web page as Request for Bid: 2012 Strategic Plan Process. Retrieved 21 February 2012. Here’s an archived copy on the LAKE website.

The RFP says

The board will entertain proposals at the regularly scheduled meeting in February. Please email proposals to the following no later than 12:00 p.m. on March 16, 2012:
I asked Andrea Schruijer about those two dates just now on the telephone. She said they would look at any proposals they have received by the time of Thursday’s board meeting, but they would not vote on them then. Their March board meeting is scheduled for 20 March 2012, which is after the March 16th due date.

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Commission had not seen Moody AFB gate contract with Scruggs before Work Session @ LCC 2012 01 23

We still don’t know what the county is going to do about that cost overrun for the Moody AFB gate. Nobody said at the work session yesterday morning; maybe they’ll say at the regular session tonight when they vote on a contract with some sort of revised dollar figures in it.

County Manager Mike Fletcher waved around a copy of the revised contract with Scruggs Company for the new Moody AFB gate, but said he had not provided it to the Commissioners. I wonder if they’ll see it before they vote tonight? He said it was 226 pages long, but most of that was DOT boilerplate, and only something like 20 pages was the actual county contract. Seems like they could read that much by tonight.

So could we, the public, if it was somewhere we could see it.

He also didn’t say what happened to the $128,497.05 cost overrun. The Commissioners asked no questions.

Here’s the video:


Commission had not seen Moody AFB gate contract with Scruggs before Work Session @ LCC 2012 01 23
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 23 January 2012.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

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Videos of LCC Work Session, 12 December 2011, and Regular Session tonight

Videos from Monday morning’s Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission are here. The previously-skipped hearing related to the Comprehensive Plan is on the agenda for tonight’s Regular Session, 5:30 PM at the county palace, 327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor.

These videos of Monday morning’s work session start some way into the agenda, because they started about five minutes early. Here are the videos.


Videos of LCC Work Session, 12 December 2011
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 12 December 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

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Reapportionment and Comprehensive Plan @ Lowndes County Commission, 12-13 December 2011

The missing hearing related to the Comprehensive Plan is on the agenda for Tuesday’s Lowndes County Commission Regular Session. Also on the agenda is
6. Resolution – Reapportionment
which I’m guessing has to do with changes in population in County Commission districts. Maybe they’ll say at the Work Session Monday morning.

And these interesting items:

8.f. Lowndes County Fire Rescue Standard Operating Procedures .br> 8.g. Animal Welfare Standard Operating Procedures
I wonder if those procedures are available for citizens to see?

Plus a rezoning, a road abandonment, a beer and wine license, and quite a few other items for the last meeting of the year. Given they haven’t met since 7 November 2011, more than a month ago, I guess that’s not surprising.

Here’s the agenda:

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Some answers and some remaining questions about the Comprehensive Plan

When I spoke at the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) about the Short Term Work Projects (STWP) document on Monday, November 28th, I had questions about several sections, and many of the deleted or modified items. The next day I met with Lowndes County Planner Jason Davenport to discuss my questions. Some of my questions were answered to my satisfaction, some I still had concerns about, and some are still unanswered because they were not actually in his area of expertise.

The document covers all the cities in Lowndes County as well as the unincorporated area. I did get some questions about Valdosta projects answered by Valdosta City Planner Matt Martin in a telephone conversation.

Questions I had about Conservations of Sensitive Areas were answered in detail. For example: Continue reading →

Transparent government is totally what my heart is about. —Gretchen Quarterman

I repeatedly apologized to County Planner Jason Davenport about an earlier misunderstanding about the “public hearing” agenda item, which the Chairman stated was not really a public hearing and for which no citizens were allowed to speak:
7.b. Greater Lowndes 2030 Comprehensive Plan Updates – Lowndes County Report of Accomplishments (ROA) and Short Term Work Program (STWP)
Then I said:
Transparent government is totally what my heart is about. And I think that people trust the government more when we can see the business done in public. And I really appreciate when you do things in public and you ask questions in the work sessions so everybody can hear.
The VDT’s version was:
The lone citizen to be heard, Gretchen Quarterman, thanked commissioners for their observance of open government and apologized to County Planner Jason Davenport for things she said to him prior to the meeting, due to a “misunderstanding,” she said.

After the meeting adjourned, Chairman Ashley Paulk apologized to me in public Continue reading →

FVCS Final Meeting 15 November 2011

Former electoral opponents met Tuesday as FVCS held its final meeting, with Rusty Griffin, Vice-Chair of CUEE, watching at the MLK Monument as Sam Allen, President of Friends of Valdosta Schools (FVCS) announced the dissolution of FVCS.

Sam Allen, as he has before, called for reconciliation of opponents on the recent school consolidation referendum, and support of the two school systems, financially and otherwise.

In addition to FVCS regulars such as JC Cunningham, Chamber Chair Tom Gooding was there, as were current Valdosta Mayor Sonny Vickers and Mayor-Elect John Gayle, plus re-elected Valdosta City Council At-Large Ben Norton. Valdosta School Superintendent Cason was there. I didn’t see Lowndes Superintendent Smith, although various members of Continue reading →

SGMC, Comprehensive Plan, and 4-H at County Commission, 10-11 October 2011

The previous Lowndes County Commission meetings of two weeks ago featured in the work session:
6. Resolution – SGMC Revenue Certificates
Here’s a playlist for the work session of 10 October 2011.

And in the regular session:

7.b. Greater Lowndes 2030 Comprehensive Plan Updates – Lowndes County Report of Accomplishments (ROA) and Short Term Work Program (STWP)
Oh, yes, and this seemingly innocuous PR item:
4. 4-H Presentation
Here’s a playlist for the regular session of 11 October 2011. More posts to follow on these items.

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2011, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

  1. Call to Order
  2. Invocation
  3. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
  4. 4-H Presentation
  5. Minutes for Approval
    1. Work Session — September 26, 2011
    2. Regular Session — September 27, 2011
  6. Resolution – SGMC Revenue Certificates
  7. Public Hearing
    1. REZ-2011-13, Fred’s Dept. Store, 4401 Bemiss Rd., 145c-90a, 2.0 ac., water/sewer, C-H(c) & C- G(c) to C-G
    2. Greater Lowndes 2030 Comprehensive Plan Updates — Lowndes County Report of Accomplishments (ROA) and Short Term Work Program (STWP)
  8. For Consideration
    1. Lowndes County Jail Administration HVAC — Change Order
    2. Section 5311 Rural Transportation Program Capital Contract
    3. Fluke Network OptiView XG
  9. Reports-County Manager
  10. Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address

Local leadership nets $1.5 billion solar project

That’s 400 MW of solar power in twenty 20 MW PV plants, just across the state line in Gadsden County, Florida. Plus ongoing jobs, expanded education, private sources of investment, and customers for the electricity.

According to SolarServer quoting a National Solar press release yesterday, National Solar Power chooses Gadsden County, Florida for 400 MW PV project

The company estimates that the 400 MW project will create 400 jobs during the five-year construction phase and up to 120 permanent operations jobs.
And that’s not all. According to Solar Energy News today, Plan to build $1.5bn solar farm in Florida, Continue reading →