Tag Archives: Regular Session

Kevin McCraney for Airport Authority: Nope @ LCC 2013-05-14

The applications are in their Commissioner packets, and you don’t get to see them.

The other of two applicants showed up to speak at the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session 14 May 2013. Chairman Bill Slaughter said:

Commissioners in your packets you should see applications from two potential appointees. You’ve had a chance to review those.

The public, as usual, did not see those applications. Nor do I recall seeing a list from the county of available appointments. At least we sometimes get to see the applicants speak, which, if I recall correctly, was Joyce Evans’ idea.

I believe we had an opportunity to hear from Mr. Sykes yesterday; is that correct. The other applicant is Mr. Kevin McCraney. I think at this time I’d like to call on Mr. McCraney if he’d like to come forward and make a statement.

Here is video of Jeff Sykes the previous morning. At the Tuesday Regular Session, Kevin McCraney said Continue reading →

Give back what I’ve had for 37 years –Lamar Clements @ LCC 2013-05-14

A Lowndes County resident asked for school bus safety and his land back that the county took; this was in the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session Tuesday:

I was asked to do this for the benefit of our community. Lamar Clements is my name, and my wife Winona. We live at 5138 Coppage Road, out in Hahira. So you’d know, we’re not new residents out there. We’ve lived there 37 years. We’ve seen a lot of change.

Coppage and Griffin Roads My concern is the corner of Coppage Road and Griffin Road. I know Mike Fletcher has been recently, visited that location. I want to report that I have seen personally as a resident; I’ve seen two county school buses that could have been a fatal accident because of the structure around it. My concern, it needs to be eliminated; that will, bottom line save lives.

Secondly, I live on the corner, and the county has progressively moved the road over to the west, which is literally taking my some of my yard. All I ask is: give back what I’ve had for 37 years. And for goodness sake, when I saw those two school buses that makes a chill go down your spine when you’ve got that many children in danger.

So it’s in good hands. You guys know what to do. Go for it. Continue reading →

Why can’t we choose our trash pickup service? –Tom Hallman @ LCC 2013-05-14

Hahira life-long resident Tom Hallman asked a simple question in the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session Tuesday:

I just can’t for the life of me figure out why, myself as a resident, I don’t have a choice to choose who picks up my trash.

Chairman Bill Slaughter said he’d be glad to explain it to Hallman after the meeting. Chairman didn’t offer to explain it to the public. And the Executive Session lasted so long all the citizens left before it was over, so I don’t know if Tom Hallman ever got an explanation.

Here’s the video:


Why can’t we choose our trash pickup service? –Tom Hallman
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 May 2013.

-jsq

Videos: trucks and row crops @ LCC 2013-04-23

Plus a presentation to Joyce Evans, all about mosquitoes, and a love fest between the county and the VDT!

Here’s the agenda with a few notes, and links into the video. See also the LAKE videos of the previous morning’s work session.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Mosquito trapping and spraying @ LCC 2013-04-23

A logical and systematic plan for mosquito trapping and spraying is what Public Works Director Robin Cumbus described at the 23 April 2013 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

She said the county contracts with VSU for trapping and surveillance. Mosquitoes trapped either by the county or by VSU are sent to Public Health Atlanta for testing.

Mostly in July, Aug, Sep This testing is presumably for mosquito-borne diseases; According to USGS disease maps using CDC data, there were 15 cases of positive test results for West Nile virus in Lowndes County in 2012; that’s 13% of the total of 113 for the whole state.

15 West Nile Cases in Lowndes County in 2012

She continued:

Continue reading →

Videos: No road abandonment, Yes deannexation, and Earth Day @ LCC 2013-04-09

Eight minutes and a few seconds for the Regular Session of 9 April 2013 of the Lowndes County Commission, with the road closing withdrawn (while it’s still unclear who owns the land next to that road) and the deannexation approved. No special presentation was seen at the scheduled item, but an Earth Day event was announced at the end of the meeting.

Here’s the agenda, with a few notes, and a few links into the video.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2013, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Earth Day at the Lowndes County Courthouse @ LCC 2013-04-09

11AM this morning the County will plant three hardwood trees where the Annex was at the historic Lowndes County Courthouse.

At the 9 April 2013 Regular Session, The Chairman announced that at 11AM on Earth Day, Monday 22 April 2013,

over at the historical Courthouse square, Lowndes County Board of Commissioners and Lowndes County Public Works Department will plant three trees that are native to south Georgia in celebrating a three-day free-to-the-public electronic recycling event. The public is welcome. And I’d like to also recognize at this time special thanks to Advanced Disposal and Yancey Caterpillar for helping with the funding of this event.

What we’re doing is at the request of the Committee for the Preservation of the Courthouse. The scene around the Courthouse as you see it now the Annex has come off. There is sod down at this point. We’re going to add three more trees on that, which would be the north side of the Courthouse. It would be three different species of hardwood trees. And when that is completed, we should have a sample of each hardwood tree that is representative of south Georgia around the perimeter of the Courthouse.

So it’s going to be really nice, and it will still allow us to be able to use that green space and all right there for some events and such as that, for Farm Days and what have you. So if you do have it, put it on your calendar, take the opportunity to come out and enjoy the morning with us as we plant those three trees.

There’s no press release about this on the Lowndes County website. Buried in their calendar there is this blurb: Continue reading →

Videos of ZBOA April meeting @ ZBOA 2013-04-02

Here are videos of the two Lowndes County cases (both in Lake Park) and the one Valdosta case at the April meeting of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBOA).

ZBOA is setting an example for local elected and appointed authorities by publishing its own agendas and minutes which you can find here on the City of Valdosta website. The minutes for the March 2013 meeting are not up yet, but the agenda is. Here’s transcription of the case descriptions.

Here’s a video playlist:


Videos of ZBOA April meeting
Regular Session, Valdosta-Lowndes County Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBOA),
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 2 April 2013.

-jsq

Videos of ZBOA March meeting @ ZBOA 2013-03-05

Here are videos of the March meeting of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBOA). They had two cases, one each for Lowndes County and Valdosta.

ZBOA is setting an example for local elected and appointed authorities by publishing its own agendas and minutes which you can find here on the City of Valdosta website. The minutes for the March 2013 meeting are not up yet, but the agenda is. Here are the two cases from that agenda:

LOWNDES COUNTY CASES

2. VAR-2013-02 — Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (4914 Timber Drive, Lake Park)
(TABLED from the February meeting)
Variance to ULDC Chapter 9.01.06(A)(3) as it pertains to nonconforming signs.

CITY OF VALDOSTA CASES:

3. APP-2013-01 — Macedonia First Baptist Church (715 J.L. Lomax Drive)
Variance to LDR Section 230-9(D)(8) as it pertains to the size of a freestanding sign.

Here’s a video playlist:


Videos of ZBOA March meeting
Regular Session, Valdosta-Lowndes County Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBOA),
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 5 March 2013.

-jsq

Videos: Tourism Authority February meeting @ VLCCCTA 2013-02-27

Here are videos of the February meeting of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Convention Center and Tourism Authority. We can guess they met again 27 March 2013, but there’s nothing on their website or their facebook page to indicate that. Their Chair did say 27 March 2013 was the next meeting right at the end of this meeting. And their executive did promise the new website will have meeting times, list of board members, etc. They’re spending money on security cameras and VCRs; hm, maybe they could use some of those cameras to record their own events? Maybe record other board and authorities, and maybe even elected bodies?

I would post the agenda, but I don’t have one; only this picture of the announcement on the door of the Convention Center.

They talked about financials and events vs. event days; they had 25 events in January, down slightly from the same month a year ago, but event-days were similar. Perhaps someone would like to listen to the whole thing and report back on what they did?

Here’s a video playlist:

Videos: Tourism Authority February meeting
Regular Session, Valdosta Lowndes County Conference Center and Tourism Authority (VLCCCTA),
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 February 2013.

-jsq