Tag Archives: Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority

Industrial Authority Defensive about Minutes

Could the Industrial Authority try any harder to make it look like they’ve got something to hide? Of all things to go to the mattresses about: their board minutes?

The VDT picked up on our series about a local citizen being overcharged for an open records request for VLCIA agendas and minutes. In a front page Sunday VDT story, David Rodock reports:

In response, The Valdosta Daily Times submitted their own Open Records Request for the salaries of all Industrial Authority employees.

According to the information provided by the Authority, the lowest paid fulltime employee, the Operations Manager, is paid an annual salary of $46,526.

When this number is divided by 2080, (52 weeks multiplied by 40 hours per week) it shows that the lowest paid full-time employee is making $22.40 per hour.

The salary quoted on the invoice is not the same as either Continue reading →

Five hours of staff time to copy agendas and minutes?

Why does it take someone paid $24.23 an hour to convert agendas and minutes to PDF?

Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority, VLCIA, Open Records Request, Bobbi Anne Hancock asked Allan Ricketts why a bunch of agendas and minutes should cost $125.09? She received back this itemized invoice:


 

Apparently the lowest paid VLCIA employee who can convert documents to PDF is paid $24.23 an hour. According to Georgia Code 50-18-71: Continue reading →

VLCIA charging for access to agendas and minutes

How much should it cost for a citizen to get access to agendas and minutes of a tax-funded board? How does about $2 per meeting strike you?

Bobbi Anne Hancock filed an open records request for the agendas and minutes of all regularly scheduled and called meetings of the VLCIA letter asking $125.09 for copies of agendas and minutes of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA) from 2006 to the present, and got this letter back:

So at 12 meetings per year for five years plus another 3 months, that would be about 63 meetings, divided into $125.09 gets about $1.99 per meeting.

Is this normal practice? Let’s compare. Continue reading →

When the biomass plant is cancelled —John S. Quarterman

What will happen to the spirit of activism when the biomass plant is cancelled?

I applaud the activism of the many and varied biomass opponents! Let me repeat my prediction: the biomass plant will never be built. That’s no reason to stop doing what you’re doing. You know opposition is having an effect when VLCIA repeatedly denies it.

You might be surprised how many other people think this plant will never be built. Ashley Paulk told me Continue reading →

Let’s see these “many” biomass opponents

So what’s the evidence that these biomass opponents are many, as the VDT says? We could review letters to the editors in the VDT, but let’s look at the visual evidence LAKE has recorded. With no pro-biomass demonstrators anywhere to be seen. Sure, a few people show up at government meetings to speak for the biomass plant, but by my tally they are indeed very few, and most of them are either former employees or board members of the Industrial Authority. Yes, LAKE has posted videos of them, as well: Ken Garren, Nolen Cox. Crawford Powell. Or watch the people at the microphones during the 6 December 2011 VLCIA biomass “forum” and see what you think the ratio is.

My opinion is the same as I posted last month: “Black and white, young and old, conservative and liberal, college professors and unemployed”. Come see for yourself today outside Valdosta City Hall starting at 5PM.

-jsq

Far more citizens are concerned about the plant –VDT

In the VDT, Friday 25 March 2011:
“THUMBS DOWN: To area officials who continue to refer to the opponents of the biomass plant as a “fringe” group. Far more citizens are concerned about the plant than officials would like for the public to believe. Thankfully, the city council allowed them to speak at Thursday’s meeting, but the issue is not going away until their health concerns are addressed.”

A year ago the VDT was solidly in the pro biomass camp. Guess they didn’t like being fed misinformation, any more than the rest of us did. And that was before the VDT said VLCIA illegally made up a document.

Rumor has it that there’s going to be another demonstration today outside Valdosta City Hall starting at 5PM.

-jsq

VDT says VLCIA illegally made up a document

Today’s editorial in the VDT is Another Industrial Authority misstep refers to the VDT article and editorial of Sunday, and continues:
The reporter who conducted the interview with Industrial Authority Project Manager Allen Ricketts has been subsequently repeatedly contacted by Ricketts for what he deems “false reporting.” According to Ricketts, the timeline was never official and was only something the Industrial Authority threw together to appease the Times when given an official Open Records Request. Ricketts is apparently unaware that legally he cannot produce a document that does not exist to comply with said request. If he knowingly did so, as he now claims, that is a clear violation of the Open Records Act.
Presumably that would be the “Project Critical Path time-line is attached” that wasn’t actually attached to documents returned for an open records request of 17 February 2011. Hm, since VLCIA did supply such a document to the VDT, presumably it is now a VLCIA document subject to open records request, even though it was not what VLCIA told VDT it was.

Back to the VDT editorial: Continue reading →

Commissioning ceremony cancelled for Wiregrass Solar plant

Yesterday I heard that the commissioning ceremony for the Wiregrass Solar plant was cancelled by VLCIA due to impending weather. Perhaps you didn’t know it was scheduled; I didn’t. Back at the March VLCIA board meeting, they said they would discuss that “later”.

So I called Col. Ricketts this morning to see if it was back on for today, considering that the weather had already passed by. He said no, they had cancelled it, not wanting to chance having people in a tent in bad weather. He also said the press release had gone out yesterday.

I asked him to let me know when it was rescheduled, reminding him that LAKE likes to take videos of VLCIA events, and we like the Wiregrass Solar plant, so it would be a bit of free publicity for them. He said he would, and he expected it to be probably within the next couple of weeks. I asked him to send LAKE a copy of the new press release when it was sent out. He said he would.

We’ll be happy to post such a press release.

-jsq

T-SPLOST explained by Corey Hull and Ashley Paulk, tonight, LCDP

6PM tonight, Monday 4 April 2011, at Hildegard’s Cafe, 101 East Central Ave, the topic at the Lowndes County Democratic Monthly Meeting is T-SPLOST, according to their Chair Gretchen Quarterman:
Come hear Chairman Ashley Paulk and MPO Director Cory Hull give us information about T-SPLOST. The special local option tax for Transportation.
Ashley Paulk is Chairman of the Lowndes County Commission. Corey Hull is Coordinator for the Valdosta-Lowndes County Metropolitan Planning Organization (VLMPO).

So you’ll have some idea what to expect, here’s Corey Hull’s explanation of T-SPLOST to VLCIA in February.

Here’s a very interesting question by Norman Bennett at that same meeting.

You can come ask questions tonight!

-jsq

Explain about the penalties if the voters don’t pass T-SPLOST? –Norman Bennett

What about those penalities Corey Hull of VLMPO mentioned when he explained T-SPLOST to VLCIA?

Norman Bennett, VLCIA board member and former chairman of the Lowndes County Commmission, asked Corey Hull:

Can you explain that again for me about the penalties if the voters don’t pass the tax? If the county’s got a project, then they’ve got to put up ten percent or whatever the percentage is?
Continue reading →