Tag Archives: Richard Raines

Rezoning density outside of Hahira @ LCC 2012 05 07

Two rezonings had no comments. The third, just north of Hahira, got opposition at the Planning Commission, which recommended a qualification, which County Planner Jason Davenport interpreted as trying to limit the density of development of the property.

At the Lowndes County Commission at its 7 May 2012 Work Session during the discussion on

7.c. REZ-2012-07 McNeal Property, McNeal Road E-A to R-A, Well & Septic, 25 acres

Crawford Powell, Commissioner for District 3, which is the south end of the county, asked a question, while Richard Raines, Commissioner for District 2, which is the north end of the county including Hahira, sat silent, although he did nod his head.

A neighbor sent a letter with details of opposition. I wonder what’s in it? If you want to know, you can submit an open records request to the county. Of course, with the three day time limit for the county to respond, the Commission will have already voted on it this evening before you find out what’s in the letter.

Here’s the video:

Rezoning density outside of Hahira
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 May 2012.
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

-jsq

$75/day Lowndes County Travel Policy @ LCC 24-25 October 2011

Commissioner Crawford Powell wanted exemptions or exceptions to Lowndes County’s travel policy for “department heads, elected officials, County Manager”. Commissioner Richard Raines just wanted the limits raised. Commissioner Joyce Evans preferred they
…make a statement that we should not exceed a certain amount per day.
Chairman Ashley Paulk said exceptions were a problem and indicated they would be a bad idea. Powell and Raines are the same Commissioners who thought accepting a federal grant for NOAA Weather Radios would be “wasteful spending” of tax dollars and who refused a federal grant for an emergency vehicle. Spending local taxes seems fine with then when it comes to their travel expenses. They finally adopted a total of $75/day for meals. I hate to agree with Frank Barnas, but GSA standard for trips to Atlanta is $56/day.

At the Monday 24 October 2011 County Commission Work Session, County Manager Pritchard said the county’s travel policy had been discussed during their retreat and during budget preparations, with changes for mileage reimbursement, meal limitations, and use of tax forms. .

This is the policy we have been acting under since the adoption of the budget. I just wanted to bring it back before you to make this adoption public.
Joyce Evans expressed a concern about it saying the County Manager or his designee could approve expenses. She seemed to want the designee part removed.

Crawford Powell said:

Continue reading →

…to give to somebody who didn’t work —Nolen Cox @ LCC 27 Sep 2011

Nolen Cox seems to think CHIP grant recipients don’t work.

Chairman Paulk declined to let Mrs. Cox speak because he said in a letter to the Commission she called them idiots. When he let Nolen Cox speak, Cox said:

I think it’s interesting that the comments about the CHIP grant comes after the vote. Y’all must be an all-wise group.
Chairman Paulk referred to that as sarcastic. Cox disagreed. Paulk said it was in his opinion and he decided such things there.

Cox asserted that:

to get a $300,000 grant it takes about $420,000 of tax money accumulated from citizens.
He didn’t cite any source for those figures. He did claim the Commission was luring people into homebuying while home prices are going down.
Somebody had to work for the money that they didn’t get to give to somebody who didn’t work.
Sounds like he was saying CHIP grant recipients don’t work. I wonder how they pay their mortgages then, since CHIP grants as near as I can tell only help with down payments?

I guess he didn’t hear Carolyn Selby’s point that CHIP grants turn renters into property tax-paying owners. Seems like that would help keep Nolen Cox’s property taxes low.

Here’s the video: Continue reading →

Thanks for accepting the CHIP grant —Carolyn Selby @ LCC 27 Sep 2011

Carolyn Selby stood up to thank the Commission for accepting the Community HOME Investment Program (CHIP) grant.
This grant will serve people who are in the 80% or below median income bracket. These people probably would not be able to afford purchasing a house without down payment assistance. And especially in today’s economic times these people need a hand up. Instead of renters, they become taxpayers, and that certainly helps our economy.

Here’s the video:


Thanks for accepting the CHIP grant –Carolyn Selby @ LCC 27 Sep 2011
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 September 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

CHIP Grant: Twice Ashley Paulk Broke the Tie @ LCC 27 September 2011

Twice Tuesday Ashley Paulk broke a tie to vote for assistance state-funded assistance for poor people for affordable housing. Joyce Evans made the motion, Crawford Powell said nothing, Richard Raines was absent, and Paulk seconded and broke the tie for.

Tuesday the Lowndes County Commission considered a routine acceptance of a Community HOME Investment Program (CHIP) grant. The previous morning at the work session, Commissioner Raines had (according to the VDT) said he was against it. (This is the same Richard Raines who thought NOAA Weather Radios were “wasteful spending” back in March.) However, Raines was not at the regular session Tuesday; presumably he was on one of his many sales trips. Twice, Commissioner Evans made a motion related to CHIP, and Commissioner Powell did nothing. Twice, Chairman Paulk exercised his privilege in such a case and broke the tie, seconding and voting for the CHIP grant.

The first CHIP vote was 9.a. Resolution of Intent to Submit a 2012 CHIP Grant Application and Commitment Letter

Here’s Part 1 of 2: Continue reading →

Commission votes to subsidize saddle club

Tuesday the Lowndes County Commission voted to renew a land lease contract with a saddle club for I’m pretty sure they said $100 a year. Commissioner Powell made the motion. Yet he said nothing at all a few minutes before and after when two votes came up about routine acceptance of a Community HOME Investment Program (CHIP) grant to help relatively less affluent people afford housing. Commissioner Raines, who grandstanded about CHIP the previous morning at the work session, apparently had no problem with the saddle club subsidy. He didn’t show up Tuesday to vote for or against either.

Now I have nothing against the saddle club; I know little about it. It’s the double standard that bothers me.

If you have trouble hearing what is said in this video, thank the Commissioners for the award they gave LAKE.

Here’s the video:


Commission votes to subsidize saddle club
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 September 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

News so good, there’s a law against it!

I’d like to thank the Commission for the award!

Louis XIV handing down an award
at Versailles
I and LAKE will wear it proudly. The VDT doesn’t have one of these. WCTV doesn’t have one; WALB doesn’t have one. Only LAKE posts news so good, there’s a law against it!

It’s now been a week since the Lowndes County Commission passed an ordinance for no stated reason, not on the agenda, and not read to the public. It’s still not on the county’s online list of ordinances. Gretchen was covering an event Friday at which she saw Commissioner Crawford Powell; she asked him to send her a copy of the ordinance. Five days later, nothing has arrived.

So, our only clues are Commissioner Raines’ remarks that it had something to do with videoing and photographing. And his remarks that he believed that the Chairman could do it on his own, but he’d like to make a motion for the Commission to approve it.

So we have to guess it had something to do with Ashley Paulk’s outburst of the previous morning, in which he flattered me by addressing me and only me by name, even though there were at least two video cameras recording the meeting. This is what he was going on about:

The County Commission wishes from this day forward that any filming be done from the media area in the back corner of the room.
He didn’t say anything about still photography, or for that matter about digital videoing, so I don’t know whether what he said had anything to do with whatever it was that Commissioner Raines moved Tuesday and the Commission approved. Nor does anybody else know.

Now a cynic might say, Continue reading →

Motion to table and vote, Nottinghill on Cat Creek @ LCC 13 July 2011

Newsflash: Lowndes County Commission does right thing about rezoning!

Commissioner Raines expressed puzzlement as to what to do about rezoning for Nottinghill on Cat Creek since he thought the previous day that there was a deal between the developer and the neighbors, but it turned out there was not. Commissioner Powell recommended tabling until next meeting so the developer and the neighbors could try again to work something out.

Commissioner Powell made a motion Continue reading →

Nottinghill on Cat Creek by Mr. Nijem and discussion @ LCC 12 July 2011

Speaking for the Nottinghill rezoning request on Cat Creek Road, Bill Nijem said it was nothing like Glen Laurel. Nothing like repudiating your work of last year….

Commissioner Richard Raines thanked Nijem for sitting down with the neighbors.

As David Rodock wrote in the VDT the next day, Citizens speak against Cat Creek crowding: Disapprove of the proposal to build residential areas

Bill Nijem, representative of the applicant, brought forward information demonstrating his client’s willingness to work with neighbors, in that lot sizes were increased by 20 percent and that the average lot size would range from a minimum of 12,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet. Nijem also reminded commissioners that the applicant was willing to install any necessary buffers or fences to prevent children from playing in the neighboring fields and would have water and sewer installed with his own financial resources.
Carolyn Selby reminds me that Mr. Nijem didn’t say Continue reading →

Now they change their minds, so we’ve got a right to change our minds —Calvin Marshall @ LCC 12 July 2011

Somebody finally called a developer’s bluff! Answering Commissioners’ questions about his opposition to rezoning for Nottinghill on Cat Creek Road, Calvin Marshall did what I’ve never seen anyone do before in opposing a subdivision: he upped the ante.

Commissioner Richard Raines said he would require Nottinghill lots to have:

“Not perhaps, but a fence around the edge of the property. … Need to make sure that bicycles and fourwheelers, that children are not playing in a field that is used to grow crops.”
Seems fair, except that he seemed to be talking about each individual eventual property owner having to put up a fence, and I can tell you by experience that that won’t happen without the neighboring landowner personally insisting to each lot owner. Unless the Commission insists that county code enforcement actually enforce such a condition, which would be a good thing for a change.

Then Commissioner Raines asked Calvin Marshall:

“Is it still your position that 12-15,000 square foot lots are OK?”
Calvin Marshall answered: Continue reading →