Haley Hyatt videoed
yesterday’s Remerton City Council
decision about Strickland Mill.
Citizens pled, unsuccessfully, for it to be saved.
Then the owners made a surprise offer.
Here’s Part 1 of 3:
The final plea
was made by Celine H. Gladwin.
Haley Hyatt videoed
yesterday’s Remerton City Council
decision about Strickland Mill.
Citizens pled, unsuccessfully, for it to be saved.
Then the owners made a surprise offer.
Here’s Part 1 of 3:
The final plea
was made by Celine H. Gladwin.
Tonight the Remerton City Council votes on
the old Strickland Mill at
1853 West Gordon Street,
same item as
discussed 4 June 2012
and
postponed 11 June 2012.
Also, Remerton doesn’t play mysterious about
the Haven.
All that plus signs, water, and alcohol.
I will be there for about half an hour, after which I have to go video something else. Could someone else video the rest of tonight’s Remerton City Council meeting?
Here’s
the agenda,
which for some reason (I’m guessing City Clerk Rachel Tate not being available)
is a scan instead of a text-extractable PDF.
I’ve transcribed it below this time.
Continue readingCITY OF REMERTON
REGULAR SESSION AGENDA
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2012
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
5:30 PM
Somebody asked:
Who are the owners of the Remerton Mill?
It’s not a secret; some of them are usually at the Remerton City Council
meetings that discuss the mill.
According to the Lowndes County Tax Assessor’s database, the owner of the property at 1853 W Gordon Street (aka Old Mill Site) is Remerton Mills, LLC. According to Georgia Secretary of State’s corporation database, the registered agent is Joseph H. Tillman, Sr., its articles were filed by Barry Chapman, and the LLC’s management consists of Richard J. Nijem, Joseph H. Tillman, Sr., Jesse L. Maranville, J. Glenn Gregory, and Eric M. Tillman.
According to the Tax Assessor’s Database, the adjoining property at 1415 Baytree Road is owned by Richard J. Nijem, Jesse L. Maranville, Eric M. Tillman, Joseph H. Tillman, and J. Glenn Gregory: the same people as Remerton Mill, LLC.
-jsq
LTE in the VDT yesterday. -jsq
Continue readingPart of my teaching load as a professor consists of supervising
student teachers at schools throughout Valdosta State University’s 46-county service area. I have traveled many South Georgia back roads. What was once a charming rural landscape of unique little towns has slowly morphed into sameness. Chain-brand retail stores, fast food, and gas stations are interrupted by strip malls and storage units. The region’s character has receded in the face of nationalization and globalization. However, historical features, be they a restored courthouse or a crumbling tobacco barn, light this bleakness. They give character, history, and pride to communities. One such structure is Remerton’s Strickland Mill, now in danger of complete destruction.
As a member of the Save the Strickland Mill Committee of the Valdosta Heritage Foundation, we recently toured the mill, with the approval of the owners and accompanied by Remerton officials. The original mill is structurally solid. The 1899 structure reflects
Looks like history may repeat itself like last decade,
now that LOST negotiations between the cities and the county have failed.
Except this time apparently the law has changed so they can’t sue each
other directly.
Instead next it goes to
Superior Court “baseball arbitration”.
However, I bet that still involves lawyers at taxpayer expense,
not to mention the Court’s time.
Greg Gullberg reported for WCTV yesterday, Tax Negotiations Hit Another Dead End In Lowndes County, and asked Gretchen down at the County Extension, who said,
It’s sort of sad because it is a waste, if you will, of taxpayer dollars. That the elected officials can’t get together and come to some agreement to say that they all understand how the money has to be divided up Yeah, it’s sad that more money has to go to lawyers insted of being spent on services.
I continue to think the local governments could spend their time together better trying to increase the size of the pie instead of squabbling over slices of it.
-jsq
Do big box stores count as development? Are they worth millions in tax incentives and bond investments? Maybe we can find something better for local industry and jobs.
Rumors have been flying for years about a Bass Pro store coming to Valdosta, like this one on a Georgia Outdoor News forum:
01-22-2008, 09:05 PM, bear-229
ive heard the land has been bought. very close to the new toyota lot but it has not made it to the “new locations” on the web site
That’s on James Road, in that huge proposed development that Lowndes County approved around that time.
Scott Reeder wrote for The Atlantic 13 August 2012, Why Have So Many Cities and Towns Given Away So Much Money to Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s?,
Both Bass Pro Shops and its archrival, Cabela’s, sell hunting and fishing gear in cathedral-like stores featuring taxidermied wildlife, gigantic fresh-water aquarium exhibits and elaborate outdoor reproductions within the stores. The stores are billed as job generators by both companies when they are fishing for development dollars. But the firms’ economic benefits are minimal and costs to taxpayers are great.
An exhaustive investigation conducted by the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity found that the two competing firms together have received or are promised more than $2.2 billion from American taxpayers over the past 15 years.
Where does all that money come from? Bonds, usually. Which is yet another reason why last legislature’s HB 475 to give unelected bodies bond issuing privatizing power would be a bad idea.
What does all that money go for?
Continue readingIt’s not over ’till it’s over, but so far, here’s what the Secretary of State election results page shows 45 minutes after poll closing time on this primary election day:
Results from GA Secretary of State
Screenshot by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Lowndes County, Georgia, 31 July 2012.
Allen Lane and Demarcus Marshall are neck and neck for District 4 (East) for Lowndes County Commission in the Democratic primary, while John Gates is ahead of Jamew Warren III in the Republican primary.
For District 5 (West), Jody Hall is ahead, followed by John Page in the Republican primary, and it looks like they’ll be in a runoff.
-jsq
Still confused after seeing the list of polling places? Want to know which precinct you're in? My Voter Page provided by the Georgia Secretary of State can tell you, along with a map and directions. It can also provide you with a sample ballot.
Hm, here's the T-SPLOST referendum wording:
SPECIAL ELECTION Referendum 1
Southern Georgia District T-SPLOST
(Vote for One)
Provides for local transportation projects to create jobs, improve roads and safety with citizen oversight.
Shall Lowndes County's transportation system and the transportation network in this region be improved by providing for a 1 percent special district transportation sales and use tax for the purpose of transportation projects and programs for a period of ten years?
- YES
- NO
Well, now that they mention it, I'd say T-SPLOST shall not improve the transportation system in this county or region, and that's why I'm voting against it.
-jsq
According to the Lowndes County Board of Elections, the current voting precincts for Tuesday’s 31 July 2012 Primary Election, including the T-SPLOST referendum, are as listed below.
These are not the same as the precincts for last year’s elections.
| Precinct 1 | Hahira Historical Society, 116 E. Lawson St., Hahira |
| Precinct 2 | Old Pine Grove Elementary School Gym, 4023 Pine Grove Road, Valdosta |
| Precinct 3 | Trinity Presbyterian Church, 3501 Bemiss Road Valdosta |
| Precinct 4 | Northside Baptist Church Gym, 200 E. Park Avenue, Valdosta |
| Precinct 5 | Jaycee Park Activities Building, 2306 Jaycee Shack Road, Valdosta |
| Precinct 6 | Naylor City Hall, 8753 Georgia Highway 135, Naylor |
| Precinct 7 | Wood Valley Community Center, 1907 Gornto Road, Valdosta |
| Precinct 8 | Rainwater Conference Center, One Meeting Place, Valdosta |
| Precinct 9 | New Clyattville Fire Station, 5080 Madison Highway, Clyattville |
| Precinct 10 | Mildred Hunter Community Center, 509 S. Fry St., Valdosta |
| Precinct 11 | Dasher City Hall, 3686 US Hwy 41 S. Dasher |
| Precinct 12 | South Lowndes Recreation Center, 6440 Ocean Pond Ave, Lake Park |
View Lowndes County Polling Places 2012 in a larger map
-jsq
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