Tag Archives: Safety

Special Called Meeting to approve SPLOST VIII Projects @ LCC 2019-07-31

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 Building
Address: 327 N. Ashley Street
2nd Floor
Valdosta, GA 31601

Lowndes Project List
PDF

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 →

Videos: Knudson & Son Outdoor Activities, Sheriff, Intrusion Detection, Bids @ LCC 2019-06-10

The Naylor Boat Ramp should be finished in about two weeks.

Before they vote tonight at 5:30 PM, the Lowndes County Commission met in Regular Session yesterday morning, when tied for most time was the paintball-like game venue that was surprisingly contentious at the Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBOA).

That rezoning tied for amount of time with Continue reading →

Knudson & Son Outdoor Activities, Sheriff, Intrusion Detection, Bids @ LCC 2019-06-10

Update 2019-06-10: ZBOA denied almost all of the variances the same applicant requested.

The paintball-like game venue that was surprisingly contentious at the Planning Commission, is on the agenda for Monday and Tuesday at the Lowndes County Commission. GLPC voted 5-1 to table until the June Planning Commission meeting, but the Planning Commission is merely a recommending body: it does not decide rezonings. The county’s agenda sheet says “The TRC considered this request and had no objectionable comments, and staff finds the request consistent with the Comprehensive Plan.” The County Commission could decide to ignore the Planning Commission and approve this rezoning anyway.

Still from LAKE video of REZ-2019-08 in the preceding Planning Commission meeting.

The Sheriff’s department wants to buy laptops and handheld citation thingies for $85,934.66.

IT wants some cyber-threat-detection service, at unknown cost.

All that and some bids for vehicles.

Here is the agenda. See also the Continue reading →

Videos: DFSCS Board appts, Old Hwy 41 N rezoning, paving, and alcohol @ LCC 2019-04-08

About six minutes in yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session, including the office space rezoning recommended last month by the Planning Commission.

They vote tonight at 5:30 PM. Below are Continue reading →

DFSCS Board appts, Old Hwy 41 N rezoning, paving, and alcohol @ LCC 2019-04-08

On the agenda for this morning is reappointing Mrs. Elsie Napier to the Lowndes County Division of Family and Children Services Board. I don’t know if she will speak, but here’s video of her previously speaking at the Valdosta City Council about community grants.

Photo: Gretchen Quarterman, still of LAKE video of Elsie Napier at Valdosta City Council, 2016-10-05.

There’s also a rezoning for offices on Old US 41 North, two alcohol licenses, a Bid for Purchase of Structural Fire Fighting Gear, and two road paving items, for Boring Pond Lane and 2019 Resurfacing of Five County Roads, plus 2019 Re-striping of Four County Toads.

They expect this Work Session to take less than 15 minutes, since they have a Special Called Meeting at 8:45 AM: “There could be a slight delay if the work session runs longer than expecte.” Why they couldn’t wait one day to vote on that also in tomorrow’s Regular Session is mysterious.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2019, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Videos: farewell Jason Davenport, approval limits, CALEA, personal care home @ LCC 2018-09-11

The county held a ceremony for departing Lowndes County Planner Jason Davenport. I asked the person sitting in his former seat, Engineering/Planning Technician Molly Stevenson, if she was confirmed yet. She would only say it was confirmed that she was sitting there right then.

They also had a 911 CALEA Re-Accreditation Presentation and the Chairman recognized Leadership Lowndes.

Citizens Bob Harlan and Fred E. Blanton Jr complained about road conditions. I thanked Utilities Director Steve Stalvey for sending information about recent Lowndes County sewage spills (two in July), and I thanked him advance for sending the NPDES-permit-required followup testing (not yet received).

On the REZ-2018-16 Stovall rezoning, the applicant revealed the reason for the previous restriction when Continue reading →

Videos: Naylor Boat Ramp, approval limits, CALEA, personal care home @ LCC 2018-09-10

News about the Naylor Boat Ramp in an Engineering Projects Report! Chad McLeod also reported about the 911 center, the North Lowndes Soccer Complex, the fire warehouse classroom, the animal shelter, and the courthouse renovation project, all still to be completed from SPLOST VII funds, which run out next year. Even with that three-and-a-half-minute special engineering report, the whole meeting took ten minutes Monday morning.

Also not on the agenda, HR has a new employee. Also there will be a new traffic signal.

Should the County Manager and the Finance Director be able to approve Continue reading →

Videos: fire truck, radios and phones, Hahira annexation, prison details @ LCC 2018-08-14

The most exciting thing last month was the new fire truck, on display outside, seen here driving off with its lights flashing:

See LAKE video.

This was the most recent Regular Session, because the Lowndes County Commission meetings for the end of August were cancelled.

County Manager Joe Pritchard again said he wanted higher staff approval limits for items in the budget. There was some question about campaign contributions on the Hahira rezoning and annexation; they didn’t know, but they approved it anyway. The longest discussion was on the Intrado phone system, which will have Lowndes County be the first south of Atlanta with text to 911. A suprising number of and variety of Commissioner questions on the 911 radios. The only question on the three utilities items was whether they were in the budget; they are. As usual, they rubberstamped the three Valdosta State Prison work details, with the only question being whether they were getting enough for the money. A: Yes, because prisoners work cheap.

Below are Continue reading →

Homerville, GA pipeline explosion 2018-08-17

A pipeline much smaller than Sabal Trail destroyed a business in Homerville, Georgia yesterday.

Photo: GA Insurance and Fire Commissioner, of Coffee Corner demolished, Homerville, GA.

So small the U.S. agency supposedly responsible for safety doesn’t even show it in its maps. A pipeline is owned by Southern Company, and apparently originates on my property, starting from another pipeline half-owned by Southern Company.

That SONAT pipeline in 2014 was snagged by a dirt road ditch puller, sending a plume of dust 300 feet into the air. If there had been a spark, people I’ve known all my life might not have had homes to go back to.

So why does Sabal Trail claim its 500-mile-long IED is safe? And why is Southern Company wasting our resources and risking our safety by buying into pipelines while ramping down its new investments in solar power?

Brunswick Daily News, 17 August 2018, The Latest: Leaking gas blamed for coffee shop explosion, Continue reading →

Videos: Surprise Hahira annexation items @ LCC 2018-08-13

County Manager Joe Pritchard said he had two new agenda items for tomorrow night, both to do with a proposed annexation by Hahira. County Chairman Bill Slaughter said he atteneded the recent Hahira City Council meeting where that annexation was discussed, which was last Thursday, so I don’t follow why this wasn’t on the Lowndes County Commission agenda Friday with all the other items.

A new voice was heard for Planning on Continue reading →

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange