The longest item at yesterday morning’s Work Session was the unscheduled 8. Reports County Manager – Recognition of Fire Safety. The whole thing took less than nine minutes. They vote tonight at 5:30 PM.
Second longest was the Solicitor General combining the two items on Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
Third longest was 7.a.Judicial and Administrative Complex Roof Cleaning
Below are Continue reading
In a session of house-cleaning (including literally), Lowndes County is updating its Revision of the County Occupation Tax Ordinance,
with detailed definitions and tax classifications for every occupation in the county.
The mysterious Joint Ordinance the Planning Commission keeps cryptically alluding to turns out to be about revising the charter of the Planning Commission to add Remerton, to note Lowndes County now handles GLPC’s budget, and other updates.
The county is applying for a Georgia Department of Transportation Local Maintenance & Improvement Grant (LMIG) for resurfacing roads, many of them in subdivisions.
And a GDOT grant for the MIDS on-call bus system.
The county is approving Approval of the Submittal Resolution for the CDBG-EIP Grant Application for Street Paving and Drainage Improvements to Support the Arglass Project, with $750,000 to come from CDBG-EIP funds, and the remainder of $325,591 from the Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority. The county also has A Resolution to Support Eliminating Through Tractor Trailer Truck Traffic Downtown Valdosta. And it is fixing a misfiling of the deed for Chitty Park by transfering it to VLPRA for VLPRA to then transfer back to Lowndes County.
Sewage will be aided by a new Hart Road Lift Station Pump, and safety by Bids for a New Generator for 911.
Plus Bids for Lowndes County Judicial and Administrative Complex Roof Cleaning.
There are two Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) items, for the Solicitor General and for the District Attorney, and one Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) item for the Solicitor General.
Received 3:48 PM, Friday, November 8, 2019, “The agenda packet for next week’s meetings is attached. The October 21 & 22, 2019, minutes will be available Monday.” That Lowndes County Commission in response to a LAKE open records request is now on the LAKE website.
Here is the agenda. Continue reading
Well, I’ve never seen this before, in a dozen years of watching this Planning Commission: an applicant opposing his own annexation request.
![[Applicant against annexation, HA-2019-06 Ben House, 6670 Brookridge Drive, Hahira]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/glpc/2019-10-28--glpc-packet/applicant-against.jpg)
Applicant against annexation, HA-2019-06 Ben House, 6670 Brookridge Drive, Hahira
I asked the applicant afterwards, and he said Continue reading
Three of the four Hahira cases before the Planning Commission tomorrow (Monday) evening are for one parcel, 0048 044 at 6670 Brookridge Drive.
The applicant, Ben House (presumably for the owner of record, DB Land Development LLC), wants to rezone from R-21 (county) to R-10 (city), get approval for a residential Planned Development, and get it annexed into the City of Hahira. Given that it is right next to an existing development on Tillman Street South, that seems pretty reasonable.
The other Hahira case is for Continue reading
Five and a half minutes of the Regular Session fifteen minutes was on the county guaranteeing refinancing Hospital Authority debt, due to County Manager Joe Pritchard reciting what’s in the agreement, and Hospital Authority CEO Bill Forbes speaking, and Chairman Bill Slaughter thanking him. The agreement is in the board packet on the LAKE website from a LAKE open records request.
Citizen Michelle Williams of Hahira asked for a spay and neuter ordinance, noting Macon and Dalton have those already. County Clerk Paige Dukes praised Michelle Williams and other volunteers.
Second at almost two minutes was Continue reading
You got a notice about this meeting two days in advance, if you signed up for the county’s alerts, which is twice as long as they usually do. Special Called Meeting,
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
A special called meeting will be held to adopt the amended SPLOST VIII Agreement.Date: July 31, 2019
Time: 8:30 AM
Location: Board of Commissioners
Administration BuildingAddress: 327 N. Ashley Street
2nd Floor
Valdosta, GA 31601
Here is Lowndes County’s SPLOST VIII Project List. The biggest items are water and sewer at $23 million and sports at $13,274,912, followed by the historic Courthouse at $12 million. Note nothing about Continue reading
For the first time ever, the county returned the complete board packet before the Lowndes County Commission voted on it! This was in response to an open records request sent Wednesday, so the statutory three days were actually up Monday morning. They emailed the packet Monday afternoon about 5PM.
![[Google Map annotated by LAKE]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-07-22--lcc-packet/reed-road.jpg)
Google Map annotated by LAKE to show the quit claimed part of Reed Road in magenta (this map was not part of the board packet).
All the dirt part of Reed Road, back from the old Skipper Bridge over the Withlacoochee River, to the entrance to Pine Grove Middle School, is what is being abandoned. It is possible to decipher this from the quit claims in the board packet for yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session and tonight’s Regular Session.
All the SPLOST VIII Project Lists, for the county and the five cities, are included; see below.
Everything the county sent, plus images of each page, is on the LAKE website. LAKE looks forward to the county putting all these packet documents on the county’s own website, along with the agenda and agenda sheets.
See also:
-jsq
Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!
The whole Work Session took eleven minutes, of which three were about the county guaranteeing refinancing Hospital Authority debt. They vote tonight at 5:30 PM; Gretchen will be there with the LAKE video camera. Update 2019-07-23:< Obtained in response to an open records request from LAKE, board packet is on the LAKE website.
Second longest yesterday morning at a minute and a half was the SPLOST VIII Agreement, for which it seems the list is already finished, finalized at a “public” meeting between the county and the five cities, which was not announced to the public.
Most of the bids for the Grassy Pond Sewer Connection were not in the board packet, we discovered due to a question by a Commissioner. The Abandonment of Portion of Reed Road is the bit to the Withlacoochee River, which they county says was “unopened”, which is a strange way to describe the old dirt road that used to cross the river on a bridge.
Below are Continue reading
Not on Lowndes County’s online calendar, the county already met with the five cities about SPLOST VIII:
On July 8, 2019, Lowndes County met with the cities of Valdosta, Hahira, Lake Park, Remerton and Dasher to officially call for SPLOST VIII. As a result, the attached SPLOST VIII Agreement between Lowndes County and the cities has been prepared for consideration. Once approved by Lowndes County, the agreement will be forwarded to the cities for consideration during a public meeting.
Lowndes County on the previous SPLOST.
Will when and where for that upcoming “public meeting” be announced in advance? Where is “the attached SPLOST VIII Agreement”? Wednesday morning at 9:35 AM, I sent the county a Georgia Open Records Act (GORA) request for the board packet for this week’s Lowndes County Commission meetings. By a very generous interpretation of the three business days GORA permits to respond to such a request, time’s up this morning at 9:35 AM. So far, the county has not even acknowledged receipt of the request.
The Hospital Authority, over whom the county has so little authority it has to Continue reading
Tonight at the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission, presumably REZ-2019-08 Knudson & Son Outdoor Activities will be skipped, since last month the Lowndes County Commission already decided that case, and ZBOA denied most of the applicants’ requested variances.
The only other big one (by acreage) tonight is REZ-2019-11 Stewart, 4151 Stewart Circle, 0072 001, ±12 ac., R-1 to C-H.
Here is the agenda.
Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
Continue reading
Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park
REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
AGENDA
Monday, June 24, 2019 * 5:30 P.M.
Public Hearing, Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue, Valdosta, Georgia
![[2020 LMIG Project Report]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-11-11--lcc-packet/November-11--12-2019-Agenda-Packet-0040.jpg)
![[Electrical Demolition Plan]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-11-11--lcc-packet/November-11--12-2019-Agenda-Packet-0125.jpg)
![[Electrical New Work Plan]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-11-11--lcc-packet/November-11--12-2019-Agenda-Packet-0126.jpg)
![[Parcel 0048 044]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/glpc/2019-10-28--glpc-packet/parcel-0048-044.jpg)
![[Lowndes Project List]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-07-22--lcc-packet/Agenda-Packet-72219-and-72319-0080.jpg)
![[Valdosta Project List]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-07-22--lcc-packet/Agenda-Packet-72219-and-72319-0081.jpg)
![[Hahira Project List]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-07-22--lcc-packet/Agenda-Packet-72219-and-72319-0082.jpg)
![[Remerton Project List]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-07-22--lcc-packet/Agenda-Packet-72219-and-72319-0083.jpg)
![[Dasher Project List]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-07-22--lcc-packet/Agenda-Packet-72219-and-72319-0084.jpg)
![[Lake Park Project List]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2019-07-22--lcc-packet/Agenda-Packet-72219-and-72319-0085.jpg)
![[Context map]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/glpc/2019-06-24--glpc/context-map.jpg)