Tag Archives: Valdosta

Justice, Trash, Telephones, Investment, DUI, Liquor @ LCC 2015-04-27

Finally on the agenda for the meeting right now this morning: Deep South Sanitation, LLC Application for Franchise. That’s some improvement in the ongoing county trash situation previous versions of the County Commission caused.

If the Commission can sign a letter to support plans to “renovate Arbor Trace II Apartments in Lake Park” by Investment Management Company of Valdosta, Inc., maybe it can sign a letter of support for expanded public transportation in Lowndes County. Arbor Trace is low income housing. Bus systems typically include many low-income riders.

Even the agenda item PDF doesn’t say, but FY 2016 HEAT Grant for the Sheriff’s Department is about Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic “to combat impaired and aggressive drivers,” with the purpose of reducing traffic fatalities. And the Juvenile Court wants to continue with its 2015 Request for Proposal (RFP) Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant Program.

Also on the agenda is saving money with an AT&T telephone discount and a Wine and Liquor License – VHS Corporation – 2418 Rocky Ford Road liquor license.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 27,2015, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

VSU President’s Committee votes to divest from fossil fuels

Students, staff, faculty, and administration all say divest from fossil fuels. What will the VSU Foundation do now? One year after the committee was appointed 10 April 2014, it made a decision 8 April 2015:

S.A.V.E. applauds the decision by the President’s Special Committee on Campus Sustainability to support fossil fuel divestment. Leadership and stewardship are part and parcel to Valdosta State’s role as an institution of higher education and we call on VSU to honor these ethos by divesting from fossil fuels, ending its profiteering from ecological harm, environmental destruction, and human suffering.

Benjamin Vieth, the representative of Students Against Violating the Environment (S.A.V.E.) on that Committee, sent the above announcement after approval by S.A.V.E. Among other organizations included on that committee, Continue reading →

Groundbreaking for solar at Fort Benning

First of three 30 MW military solar projects in Georgia, the other two ag Fort Gordon near Augusta and Fort Stewart near Savannah, plus a fourth one at Kings Bay Submarine Base. The U.S. military has long recognized fossil fuels are vulnerable supply chains that risk national security, and U.S. DoD is doing something about it.

Brennan Reh, wrbl.com, 17 April 2105, Ft. Benning solar power project groundbreaking

Fort Benning held a groundbreaking ceremony for the U.S. Army’s renewable energy solar project. Georgia Power is building solar panels that will cover 200 acres on the post.

The solar project on Fort Benning will be the army’s largest power project in Georgia.

The panels will generate Continue reading →

Videos: Going to Georgia Logistics Summit and retreating @ VLCIA 2015-03-17

CJB and Hunt Industries received plaques with copies of Valdosta Daily Times articles about them. Their meeting tonight is cancelled; their next meeting is 19 May 2015, according to their website.

Their retreat was April 10th after the Georgia Logistics Summit March 31st – April 1st. The Summit is in Atlanta, according to its own website. If they said during their regular March meeting where their retreat was to be, I didn’t catch it. Here’s the agenda with links to the LAKE videos and a couple of still pictures.

Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority
Tuesday, March 17, 2015 5:30 p.m.
Development Authority Conference Room
103 Roosevelt Drive
Monthly Meeting Agenda

Continue reading →

Nydia Tisdale fights back, requests criminal arrest of assailant this morning in court

This morning at 9:30 AM, a judge will hear Nydia Tisdale’s request for arrest of someone who tried to take her camera and threw her out of a meeting advertised as “open to the public”. Go Nydia!

As usual, she has the whole thing documented: Republican Women of Forsyth County GA kick citizen & camera outta public meeting 04/16/14. As you can see in her blog posts, at least one of the candidates for election at that event apologized for what happened to her. Also later the owner of the restaurant told a police detective that he had not asked her to leave, despite Peggy Green’s statement in the video of the event.

Nydia asked for an apology. She didn’t get one, so this time she filed for an arrest warrant. Continue reading →

Southern Company Annual Stockholder Meeting @ SO 2015-05-27

Solar power made much of SO’s increased energy revenues for 2013 and 2014. What else will we learn at the Southern Company 2015 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Wednesday, May 27, 2015? Has Southern Company finally looked up, and will it say, like Thomas Alva Edison in 1931, “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy”?

To attend the SO shareholder meeting you have to have owned stock by Monday, March 30, 2015, or you’ll need to get somebody to appoint you their proxy. Since I’m an SO stockholder, I got the 216-page Southern Company Notice of 2015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, Proxy Statement and 2014 Annual Report, page D-8:

In 2014, wholesale revenues increased $329 million, or 17.7%, as compared to the prior year due to a $326 million increase in energy revenues and a $3 million increase in capacity revenues. The increase in energy revenues was primarily related to increased revenue under existing contracts as well as new solar PPAs and requirements contracts primarily at Southern Power, Continue reading →

Videos: Vallotton agriculture, animals, body armor, HEAT, water, waste, and a canopy road @ LCC 2015-04-13

The County Planner said “I can’t tell you anything beyond that” about why Vallotton Farms is requesting rezoning to Estate Agriculture, which is mysterious, since he (and the County Chairman) sat through the entire Planning Commission explanation by attorney Bill Langdale, several Planning Commissioners, and me: see the LAKE video of that GLPC item. The County Planner did say “we expect development” in that area. They vote on their expectations tonight at 5:30 PM, although they have to listen to citizens for and against first.

I’d like to commend County Engineer Mike Fletcher for preserving the canopy in the plans for Boring Pond Road Phase III.

The Vickers rezoning item was withdrawn by applicant, and the County Planner yesterday morning explained that was because they’d worked out a way for the property to count as five acres so no rezoning was necessary. The ~~Vickers~~ Jennings rezoning to commercial is still being considered. Also discussed yesterday morning and to be voted on tonight at 5:30 PM are three water-related items, a Georgia Department of Agriculture Spay/Neuter Grant Request, two Sheriff’s requests ( body armor, and High Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic (HEAT) Team grant), another paving items (Resurfacing of 3 County Roads (Howell Road, Whitewater Road and Ousley)) a Fuel Island Upgrade. The Execution of the Resolution for the Hazardous Waste Trust Fund is about reimbursement for monitoring of the closed Clyattville landfill about which the county chooses to reveal very little. Last I heard, the Sabal Trail methane pipeline was still proposed to go through there with its hundred-foot right of way and 36-inch pipe. I wonder how that would affect monitoring?

Here’s the agenda and below are links to the videos, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading →

Why Vallotton wants to rezone back to agricultural @ GLPC 2015-03-30

Yesterday morning the County Planner seemed perplexed about the Vallotton family request to go back to the most agricultural zoning, E-A. Yet he was there when Bill Langdale explained that at the Planning Commission 30 March 2015, aided by multiple Planning Commissioners, plus a few words from me.

He didn’t bring agriculture to the city; the city come to him….
I think it’s going to be real hard one day trying to eat this concrete.
–Tommy Willis

See for yourself. And remember the County Commission votes on this case this evening at 5:30 PM; maybe you’d like to come speak for. Continue reading →

Videos: Vallotton agriculture on Bemiss Road, historic preservation, personal services @ GLPC 2015-03-30

They took the Lake Park personal services case first and recommended it 8:0. REZ-2015-06 Vickers was withdrawn by applicant. Vallotton Farms‘ reversion to Estate Agricultural was recommended 8:0 after an explanation by attorney Bill Langdale (and yours truly chimed in). Denser zoning for Edward Jennings LLC was recommended 5:4 with a rare example of the Chairman voting, this time in favor. And the Valdosta historic preservation LDR changes were recommended 8:0. Those two Lowndes County cases have already been heard at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session yesterday morning and will be voted on tonight at the Regular Session. The Vallotton case greatly puzzled the County Planner and at least one of the Commissioners.

Here’s the agenda, reordered according to how they actually considered the cases, with links to the videos, results of the votes, and a few notes. Continue reading →

Spay, Rezonings, Body Armor, HEAT, Water, Waste, Ponds, and Roads @ LCC 2015-04-13

Update 2015-04-13: videos.

The three rezonings from the Planning Commission are on the agenda for this morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session. One has been withdrawn by applicant, Vallotton Farms still wants to rezone to Estate Agriculture, and another wants to rezone to commercial. Also to be considered this morning and voted on tomorrow evening are three water-related items, a Georgia Department of Agriculture Spay/Neuter Grant Request, two Sheriff’s requests ( body armor, and High Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic (HEAT) Team grant), two paving items (Boring Pond Road Phase III and Resurfacing of 3 County Roads (Howell Road, Whitewater Road and Ousley)) a Fuel Island Upgrade, and what’s this about Execution of the Resolution for the Hazardous Waste Trust Fund? Ah, that’s about reimbursement for monitoring of the closed Clyattville landfill about which the county chooses to reveal very little. Last I heard, the Sabal Trail methane pipeline was still proposed to go through there with its hundred-foot right of way and 36-inch pipe. I wonder how that would affect monitoring?

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2015, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange