Tag Archives: Scruggs Company

Videos: Academy Drive septic tank citizen request, Glenn Road, Valencia Street, Kinderlou Clyattville Road Paving @ LCC Regular 2024-06-11

Citizen Patricia Scoby doesn’t want to have to elevate her septic tank. However, the Board of Roads and Revenue, excuse me, the Lowndes County Commission doesn’t have much say over that: that’s the Health Department. But the Health Department should have taken into account the changed drainage such mounds cause.

Collage @ LCC 11 June 2024

The regular agenda breezed through unanimously at the 11-minute Regular Session. Commissioner Demarcus Marshall was absent.

Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker did want to know what are the ingress and egress points for 5.a. REZ-2024-13 Carter, 6128 Glenn Road, 4.72ac, E-A to R-1, Well – Septic. No citizens spoke for or against in its Public Hearing.

For the 6.a. Valencia Street Quitclaim Deeds, Gretchen wondered, “Personally, I’m curious why the commission abandoned that little bit (one lot’s worth) of Valencia Street.” The board packet for this latest Regular Session included the relevant excerpt from the Minutes of the September 27, 2005, Regular Session. Gretchen quoted it, but it also does not say why. In the latest Regular Session, County Engineering Services Director Chad McLeod said the adjoining landowners asked for the quitclaim deeds, but he did not say why the road was abandoned back in 2005.

FYI, the Agenda Center on lowndescounty.com only goes back to 2012. If you want to see earlier minutes, you either have to file an open records request or have already done so, as LAKE did years ago.

for 7.a. PI# 0016278 Kinderlou Clyattville Road Paving and Drainage Improvements, Chairman Bill Slaughter wanted to know if it was within the budget. Answer: no, but TIA says it’s within the inflationary amount, so TIA will cover the difference.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist.

Videos: Career Academy, Glenn Road Rezoning, Valencia Street Abandonment, Kinderlou Clyattville Road paving @ LCC Work 2024-06-10

Update 2024-06-18: Regional College & Career Academy Update –Mary Beth Brownlee of OVL to LCC 2024-06-10.

Update 2024-06-13: Videos: Academy Drive septic tank citizen request, Glenn Road, Valencia Street, Kinderlou Clyattville Road Paving @ LCC Regular 2024-06-11.

Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker wondered why there was a $2 million difference between the two bids for 7.a. PI# 0016278 Kinderlou Clyattville Road Paving – Drainage Improvements. Engineering Services Director Chad McLeod says it’s because Reames owns property near the site, which greatly reduces their cost to move materials there.

Collage @ LCC 10 June 2024

About 24 minutes of the 34-minute Work Session yesterday morning was a presentation not on the agenda. Mary Beth Brownlee, Executive Director of One Valdosta-Lowndes (OVL), told the Lowndes County Commission about a proposed Regional College and Career Academy. Continue reading →

Packet: Rezoning on Glenn Road, Abandon part of Valencia Street, pave Kinderlou Clyattville Road @ LCC 2024-06-10

Update 2024-06-11: Videos: Career Academy, Glenn Road Rezoning, Valencia Street Abandonment, Kinderlou Clyattville Road paving @ LCC Work 2024-06-10.

It’s a light agenda for the Lowndes County Commission this week, with an uncontested rezoning, a road abandonment continued from 2005, and two bids for paving a road.

Collage, LCC Packet 2024-06-10

The road paving is a TSPLOST project, so presumably that’s where the three and ahalf million dollars comes from.

Cost	What
$3,495,208.06	Pl# 0016278 Kinderlou Clyattville Road Paving and Drainage Improvements Bids
$3,495,208.06	Total

Here is the agenda.

The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website.

Videos: ULDC amendments, Voting machine security, Library Board, Boat and RV Storage, Alapaha Plantation Water, Purchase houses by Griner Park, Insurance, LMIG @ LCC Regular 2023-07-11

Commissioner Demarcus Marshall asked for clarifications on chickens being excluded from conservation in 6.a. TXT-2023-01 ULDC Text Amendments, County Manager Bill Slaughter said there were two kinds of conservation: land use and taxes, and the exclusion only applied to one of them; not clear which one.

Collage @ LCC 11 July 2023

Gretchen Quarterman spoke against the amendments being voted on without more time for the general public to review and comment, as she did at the preceding Planning Commission meeting. She pointed out she still could not find the amendments on the county’s website, there had been only one county announcement of these changes, and no listing of the changes. Nobody spoke for. The Chairman asked for rebuttal, but there was none.

Commissioners had no discussion, and voted unanimously to approve the ULDC text amendments.

They unanimously approved everything else, except Continue reading →

Videos: Complicated Library Board, ULDC amendments, Boat and RV Storage, Alapaha Plantation Water, Purchase houses by Griner Park, Insurance, LMIG @ LCC Work 2023-07-10

Update 2023-10-16: Videos: ULDC amendments, Voting machine security, Library Board, Boat and RV Storage, Alapaha Plantation Water, Purchase houses by Griner Park, Insurance, LMIG @ LCC Regular 2023-07-11.

This time the ULDC text amendments are on the agenda as a Public Hearing.

Collage @ LCC 10 July 2023

However, Lowndes County still has not put the proposed amendments on its website. You can see them in the board packet on the LAKE website (they are different from the draft that was in the Planning Commission packet).

But that’s only because LAKE sent an open records request for that packet and posted it. Why should the general public have to do that, when the county already showed draft amendments to the Homebuilders Association more than a month ago? We know this because the the County Manager said so in the June 12th County Commission meeting: “In addition to the Planning Commission, the amendments have also been shared with the Homebuilders Association, as our largest group of stakeholders, we’d like for them to be able to give us some feedback.” Continue reading →

Packet: Complicated Library Board, ULDC amendments, Boat and RV Storage, Alapaha Plantation Water, Purchases houses by Griner Park, Insurance, LMIG @ LCC 2023-07-10

Update 2023-07-11: Videos: Complicated Library Board, ULDC amendments, Boat and RV Storage, Alapaha Plantation Water, Purchase houses by Griner Park, Insurance, LMIG @ LCC Work 2023-07-10.

Four terms expire on the South Georgia Regional Library Board (SGRLB) and all four people want to be reappointed. Plus another term will be vacant and two people want to be appointed to that: Catherine Ammons and Sarah Fitzgerald.

The Lowndes County Commission will hear these items this morning at 8:30 AM, and will vote on them at 5:30 PM tomorrow evening.

The text amendments to the Unified Land Development Code (ULDC) are on the agenda, even though the Planning Commission recommended tabling it for 30 days for the public to review. The version in this board packet is different from the version shown to the Planning Commission. Even county staff are asking for more time for the solar amendment.

Collage, LCC Packet 2023-07-10

The County Commissioners will vote on more than two and a half million dollars, mostly in road paving and insurance.

Plus they’re buying the houses next to where they want to make Griner Park near the county palace, and only a few blocks from where the City of Valdosta has already made Unity Park with an amphitheater.

And yet more of your tax dollars go to fix the private water system at Alapaha Plantation.

On the bright side, the land formerly rezoned for a biomass plant is now requested to be rezoned for boat and RV storage. Continue reading →

Videos: Maybe revisit lowering millage rate @ LCC 2020-08-10

There was pushback on lowering the millage rate at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session yesterday morning. They will decide this evening at 5:30 PM at the Regular Session.

The Commissioners, like some of the public, also wanted to know when there will be a new County Clerk. Answer, from the former County Clerk, Paige Dukes, who is now the County Manager: not yet; maybe next meeting (two weeks from now).

The $0.9 million low bid from Reames for road paving and a box culvert got no discussion from Commissioners.

The Scruggs Company was offered a special exception to the Comprehensive Plan; one that actually makes sense.

Yes, the Copeland property backs up to PCA.

The Verizon tower got no questions from Commissioners.

Below are links to each LAKE video with a few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the agenda and board packet, and the millage rate hearing at 5PM today (Tuesday).

Packet: $0.9 million paving project, reduction of millage rate, 3 small rezonings @ LCC 2020-08-10

For the Monday morning Work session and Tuesday evening voting Regular Session, the Lowndes County Commission has only one item that has “BUDGET IMPACT” in its agenda sheet, but it’s a doozy:

Cost	What
$899,744.40	Ridgecrest, Woodland and Glenview Paving & Drainage Project
$899,744.4	Total

The agenda sheet says:

Lowndes County solicited bids for Ridgecrest, Woodland and Glenview Grading, Drainage, Base and Paving. The project will consist of Grading, Drainage, Base and Paving of Ridgecrest and Woodland and the installation of a box culvert under Glenview Drive. Vendors present for the pre-bid meeting held on July 21, 2020, were James Warren & Associates, Southland Contractors, Reames & Son Construction, Rountree Construction, and The Scruggs Company. Three bids were received on August 4, 2020.

Here are the bids:

Bids, NC-TIA 2019-04: Ridgecrest Street and Woodland Drive

Where is that? South of the west end of W Savanna Ave, near I-75 Exit 16.

Google map: Ridgecrest Street & Woodland Drive

Ah, yes, I got stuck in traffic there not so long ago, trying to get around a stopped train.

We know this much because LAKE obtained a copy of the board packet through an open records request; it’s on the LAKE website.

I suppose if we rummage around enough we’ll find details of NC-TIA 2019-04 somewhere on the county’s website.

Here is the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2020, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Videos: Water, VSU bonds, 3 road abandonments, 1 widening, MIDS bus, Comprehensive Plan @ LCC 2016-10-11

Two weeks ago, County Manager Joe Pritchard announced that Commissioner Joyce Evans is now serving as Vice Chairman, yes, the resolution to approve the VSU bonds was requested by the South Regional Joint Development Authority (SRJDA), and John Stevens is the new VDT reporter. Citizen Shirley Moore said she’d like a connection to county water and sewer. They tabled the Comprehensive Plan update, apparently because the Commissioners wanted to “dig into it deeper”.

The rest was mostly approving what they already discussed the previous morning. They meet again Monday morning.

Below are links to each LAKE video with a few notes, followed by a video playlist.

Continue reading →

Videos: Art, hurricane, engineering reports, VSU bonds, 3 road abandonments, 1 widening, MIDS bus, Comprehensive Plan @ LCC 2016-10-10

The Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline and others already in the county came up in the Comprehensive Plan approval discussion, as you can see in these LAKE Videos from Monday morning; they vote tonight 5:30 PM.

Stephen Spradley and Georgia Forestry were still helping after Hurricane Matthew, but Ashley Tye reported on evacuees, Chad McLeod reported on engineering projects including the Naylor Boat Ramp at the Alapaha River, and Angela Crance reported on an art district; actually Buddy Boswell did that.

They also heard about a self storage rezoning, three road abandonments, a road widening, the annual MIDS bus service renewal, and a county resolution about bonds for another private LLC by the South Regional Joint Development Authority (SRJDA), different from the one with the public hearing October 21st at a private law firm. What does the resolution say? It’s not in the documents with the agenda.

Below are links to each LAKE video with a few notes, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading →

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange