Tag Archives: Politics

Rome-Floyd SPLOST Committee 2024-12-31

The opaque SPLOST process the Lowndes County Commission is using, in which it just sent an Agreement and a Project List to its cities for approval without the taxpaying citizens ever seeing either, is not the only way.

[Rome-Floyd County, GA, Citizen SPLOST Committee, Less Population than Lowndes, More transparent process]
Rome-Floyd County, GA, Citizen SPLOST Committee, Less Population than Lowndes, More transparent process

Rome and Floyd County, Georgia, have a citizen committee that decides what is on their Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) list. That committee has open meetings and publishes its draft lists.
https://www.floydcountyga.gov/bc-splost

Floyd County, at 100,113 people, has less population than Lowndes County, at 120,712.

If Floyd County can be transparent, Lowndes County can also choose to be transparent. Continue reading →

New and old site plans for REZ-2024-03 Southern Gardens, 4609 Bemiss Road @ LCC 2024-03-11

In addition to the support letter from Crown Real Estate Development, the Bemiss Road rezoning has a revised conceptual site plan.

According to county staff, the applicant for REZ-2024-03 Southern Gardens listened to suggestions by county staff and objections from neighbors and changed their plan to add more parking and to move the community building to the back.

[New and old Conceptual Site Plans for Southern Gardens, 4609 Bemiss Road]
New and old Conceptual Site Plans for Southern Gardens, 4609 Bemiss Road

The Lowndes County Commission will vote on this and other rezonings tonight at 5:30 PM.

Here is the agenda sheet for that item. For information on the rest of the agenda, see Packet: Petition against Gresham Event Venue and letter supporting Southern Gardens @ LCC 2024-03-11. Continue reading →

Videos: Tax Assessor appointed, Special Assessment Rate, VOCA, federal consultant @ LCC Regular

The new Tax Assessor is Richard Holcomb, nominated and appointed by acclamation.

That’s to fill the unexpired term of Gene Felts, who was appointed two weeks ago, got sworn in, and resigned before his first Tax Assessor meeting.

This time, Lowndes County Manager Paige Dukes did read out the list of remaining candidates.

However, we the taxpayers and voters still do not get to see the applications, which are not in this board packet, either.

[Collage @ LCC Regular 23 January 2024]
Collage @ LCC Regular 23 January 2024

The County Manager’s Report took six minutes.

Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker wanted to know more about the Animal Shelter budget, which took another minute.

A citizen waved around her Citizens Wishing to Be Heard (CWTBH) form and asked to speak, but was predictably told by Chairman Bill Slaughter that she could not because she did not turn in the form before the meeting. I’m told her name is Kelley Saxon.

In Georgia, many other county commissions converse with citizens during the meeting without requiring a form.

Meanwhile, in Florida, by state law any citizen can speak on any agenda item.

The whole meeting took 16 minutes.

See also the Continue reading →

Videos: Appoint another Tax Assessor, Special Assessment Rate, VOCA, federal consultant @ LCC Work 2024-01-22

Update 2024-01-24: Videos: Tax Assessor appointed, Special Assessment Rate, VOCA, federal consultant @ LCC Regular 2024-01-23.

They’re not actually appointing a successor for James Puckett, whose term expired. They’re appointing a Tax Assessor to fill the unexpired term of Gene Felts. At the Regular Session Monday morning, Lowndes County Manager Paige Dukes clarified that Gene Felts was picked at the last meeting (2024-01-08) and he was sworn in on 2024-01-10 however he then resigned for personal reasons.

We the taxpayers and voters still do not get to see the applications, which are not in this board packet, either. This time the County Manager did not even read out the names of the remaining applicants.

Maybe somebody should tell the appointees that substantial hours of training are required after being appointed.

They vote tonight at 5:30 PM.

[Collage @ LCC Work 22 January 2024]
Collage @ LCC Work 22 January 2024

About the Cornerstone state and federal lobbying contract, the County Manager said they were concerned about SB 349. Continue reading →

Packet: Appoint another Tax Assessor, Special Assessment Rate, VOCA, federal consultant @ LCC 2024-01-22

Update 2024-01-23: Videos: Appoint another Tax Assessor, Special Assessment Rate, VOCA, federal consultant @ LCC Work 2024-01-22.

The Lowndes County Commission will try again to appoint a Tax Assessor to succeed James Puckett for a three-year term. The board packet does not mention that they did this two weeks ago, but Gene Felts resigned after being sworn in but before his first Tax Assessors meeting. Maybe somebody should tell the appointees that substantial hours of training are required after being appointed.

And we the taxpayers and voters still do not get to see the applications, which are not in this board packet, either.

[Collage, Lowndes County Commission Board Packet 2024-01-22]
Collage, Lowndes County Commission Board Packet 2024-01-22

The rest of the agenda is annual renewals, except for the InfoSend contract to outsource billing.

Here is the agenda.

The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2024, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2024, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Videos: Boat Ramps, Okefenokee Swamp, LMIG, Taxes @ Clinch County Commission 2023-08-07

Update 2023-09-12: Videos: Grant match for Dark Sky and resolution against mine too near Okefenokee Swamp @ Clinch County Commission 2023-09-11

Update 2023-08-10: Chainsaw cleanup, Outings, Boat Ramps, Okefenokee Swamp –Suwannee Riverkeeper @ Clinch County Commission 2023-08-07.

It was a brief agenda at the Clinch County Commission, with roads and taxes, plus boat ramps and a proposed resolution against the strip mine too near the Okefenokee Swamp.

[Collage @ Clinch County Commission 2023-08-07]
Collage @ Clinch County Commission 2023-08-07

Below are pictures, LAKE videos of each agenda item, and links to documents, followed by a LAKE video playlist.

Continue reading →

Finances and Okefenokee Swamp @ SGRC 2021-12-09

Here are LAKE videos of (most of) yesterday’s Southern Georgia Regional Commission (SGRC) Council meeting yesterday in Pearson, Georgia.

For some of the items, I have included photographs of the first sheet of the relevant handout(s). For the rest of each handout, please contact SGRC.

Thanks to SGRC Council Chair Joyce Evans and Assistant Director Chris Strom for inviting me to come speak about the Okefenokee Swamp in my other hat as Suwannee Riverkeeper; see the WWALS blog post.

[Collage]
Collage: Audit; New member John Clayton (Nashville); DCA Small Cities Conference; Okefenokee Swamp Resolutions –Suwannee Riverkeeper; Jody Redding, GA Gov. Field Rep.

Here is the complete agenda. Continue reading →

Okefenokee resolution, Planning Commission, Airport, Sewer system, Road renaming moratorium @ VCC 2021-11-11

With a packed agenda, the Valdosta City Council passed eight resolutions, approved five bids or purchases, and appointed people to four boards, yet the longest discussion was after all that.

[Mayor, Howard, Gibbs, WWTP, Manager & Tooley, Suwannee Riverkeeper]
Mayor, Howard, Gibbs, WWTP, Manager & Tooley, Suwannee Riverkeeper

Perhaps the most far-reaching item was one of the briefest, presented by Mayor Scott James Matheson: 3.f. Resolution in Opposition to a proposed strip mine near the Okefenokee Swamp, opposing the proposed Twin Pines Minerals (TPM) strip mine or any others within ten miles of the Swamp, asking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reverse its abdication of oversight, asking GA-EPD for a moratorium on all mining permits until effects are settled of the recent court overruling of 2020 Clean Water Act changes, as well as to reject the TPM permits, or at least to review those applications as thoroughly as the Army Corps would, and asking the Georgia legislature to prevent such strip mines near the Swamp or any blackwater rivers in the Suwannee River Basin. Continue reading →

Videos: Comprehensive Plan Update Public Hearing 2 @ LCC 2021-10-26

Only one citizen showed up to speak: David Houtz, who asked Commissioners not to change the Character Area Maps, and said he had not seen the latest plan. SGRC’s Elizabeth Backe handed him a copy; she also presented a summary of the process at the beginning of the meeting, and clarified process later.

[Citizen David Houtz, Elizabeth Backe of SGRC, Houtz receives plan, Sparse audience, City Planner Matt Martin, Commissioners Orenstein and Marshall, Commissioners and VDT reporter]
Citizen David Houtz, Elizabeth Backe of SGRC, Houtz receives plan, Sparse audience, City Planner Matt Martin, Commissioners Orenstein and Marshall, Commissioners and VDT reporter

You can see in this LAKE video a discussion between Valdosta and Hahira City Planner Matt Martin and Lowndes County Commissioner Scottie Orenstein about changes to the Hahira Character Area map is not recorded in the minutes, as well as the rest of the 17-minute meeting.

Commissioners discussed the Comprehensive Plan Update again this morning in their Work Session, and they will approve it tomorrow afternoon at 5:30 PM in their Regular Session. Continue reading →

Videos: Motorola, Library, SDS, Leadership Lowndes @ LCC 2021-09-28

Two weeks ago, the Lowndes County Commission approved everything unanimously, except 6.c. Consideration of Service Delivery Strategy Agreement Language, for which Commissioner Clay Griner voted against. He didn’t say why.

[Motorola, Library, SDS, Leadership Lowndes]
Motorola, Library, SDS, Leadership Lowndes

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the agenda and board packet, and the draft minutes of the previous morning’s Work Session and of this Regular Session.