Tag Archives: Wiregrass Tech

Videos: LAS, TIA, Facilties, Emergency @ LCC 2022-09-27

Last month, the most time was spent on a six-minute Hurricane Ian report by EMA Director Ashley Tye, plus a minute on an added Local Emergency Declaration, at the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session of September 27, 2022.

Chairman Bill Slaughter was absent due to illness. Commissioner Scottie Orenstein presided. Commissioner Demarcus Marshall was also absent.

The most discussion on the regular agenda, at more than three minutes, was on the high-dollar item, the ongoing redo of the facilities at the county palace. Next at more than a minute was more than a minute on widening of Old Clyattville Road. The whole thing took twenty minutes.


[LAS, TIA, Facilties, Emergency @ LCC 2022-09-27]
LAS, TIA, Facilties, Emergency @ LCC 2022-09-27

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes by Gretchen, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the LAKE videos of the preceding morning’s Work Session and the agenda and board packet. Continue reading →

Videos: LAS, TIA, Chiller, Ian @ LCC 2022-09-26

Update 2022-10-24: Videos: LAS, TIA, Facilties, Emergency @ LCC 2022-09-27.

A report on Hurricane Ian by EMA Director Ashley Tye (could be here by Wednesday) took eight minutes of the eighteen minutes of yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session.


[LAS, TIA, Chiller, Ian @ LCC 2022-09-26]
LAS, TIA, Chiller, Ian @ LCC 2022-09-26

Nonetheless, there was a surprising amount of discussion of other items, especially on 5.c. Transportation Investment Act (TIA) Old Clyattville Road Widening and on the $1,364,736.00 5.d. Comprehensive Facilities Energy Savings Project Amendment, which everybody agreed should not have needed so much fixing so soon.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also agenda and board packet. Continue reading →

Packet: Sewage LAS expansion testing, Old Clyattville Road widening, Replace county palace chiller @ LCC 2022-09-26

Update 2022-09-27: Videos: LAS, TIA, Chiller, Ian @ LCC 2022-09-26.

This week the Lowndes County Commission will spend $1.4 million, mostly on fixing faulty chillers on their meeting building, but also $45,460 on the South Lowndes Land Application Site (LAS) which handles the county’s sewage.

Their Work Session is 8:30 AM this morning. They vote at their Regular Session, 5:30 PM tomorrow evening, September 27, 2022.

Cost What
$1,364,736.00Comprehensive Facilities Energy Savings Project Amendment Resolution
$45,460.00South Lowndes LAS Expansion Assessment and Testing
$1,410,196.00Total

Plus some amount of previously-authorized funds to widen Old Clyattville Road.

And there’s a beer and wine license.

[Collage Lowndes County Commission Packet 2022-09-26]
Collage Lowndes County Commission Packet 2022-09-26

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

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2022, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2022, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Why people don’t speak up: they owe their soul to the company store

Some of our elected officials wonder few people ever speak up around here. It’s simple: they owe their soul to the company store. If you don’t go along, you don’t get business.

As Tennessee Ernie Ford sang in that old Merle Travis song:

You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store

Continue reading →

Videos: Development Authority’s BRAT @ VLCIA 2015-06-16

They meet again tonight with a bylaw amendment scheduled, which is probably for extending officer terms to two years as Roy Copeland proposed. (He first suggested that at least several years ago when he was re-elected Chairman.) And their nominating committee nominated the same officers again.

Lots of dials showing targets and where they are in reaching them, which is good, because I keep getting questions about what they’re doing with all that tax money and are they doing enough to justify it.

One citizen asked about the airport and another (OK, me) handed out Alapaha River Water Trail brochures and once again suggested solar panels at the airport to turn that otherwise-unusable space into profit.

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

Development Authority’s BRAT @ VLCIA 2015-06-16

Late o tonight’s agenda but big on their minds, and described and pictured by Stuart Taylor, VDT, 31 May 2015, as consisting of:

  • Georgia Department of Economic Development — Michelle Shaw
  • Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce — Myrna Ballard
  • University of Georgia’s Small Business Development Center — Lynn Bennett
  • Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority — Stan Crance
  • Georgia Department of Labor, Valdosta Career Center — Jamon Williams
  • Wiregrass Georgia Technical College — Bill Tillman
  • Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute — Art Ford
  • Georgia Power Company — Scott Purvis

Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority’s Business Retention Action Team, or BRAT, brings together a number of local and state organizations to offer services, information, solutions and contacts that a company might need.

“We’ve always had an existing industry program,” said Meghan Duke,VLDA marketing and community relations. “These organizations have always worked together, but now we’re formalizing it.”

Here’s the agenda:

Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority
Tuesday, June 16, 2015 5:30 p.m. Continue reading →

Spectra maps @ Pipeline 2013-10-16

Lowndes County The path of the pipeline through Lowndes County (and part of Brooks and Hamilton) is shown in these maps that were on easels at the Spectra presentation at Wiregrass Tech last night.

Brooks @ US 84 and Withlacoochee River:

Brooks @ US 84 and Withlacoochee River

Lowndes @ Spain Ferry Road:

Continue reading →

Spectra met Lowndes and Valdosta @ Pipeline 2013-10-16

Spectra Energy subsidiary Sabal Trail Transmission held a landowner one-on-one at Wiregrass Tech last night. Matthew Woody of the VDT was there, as was one Valdosta City Council member, one Lowndes County Commissioner, and at least two county staff, plus some landowners (“might as well get something out of this”, several said at the food bar), one of whom was a match for Andrea Grover.

Matthew Woody, VDT:

Continue reading →

Pipeline dog and pony in Albany Monday

Monday in Albany, Tuesday in Moultrie, and tonight in Valdosta, the pipeline roadshow is rolling through Georgia towards Florida. These are not public hearings or town halls: the pipeline company seems to be trying to get landowners in the path to show up, but anybody can attend.

Brad McEwen wrote for the Albany Herald yesterday, Residents attend pipeline forum,

Sabal Trail Transmission LLC, which is a joint venture between energy giants Spectra Energy Corp. and NextEra Energy Inc., hosted the event to give citizens an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the proposed project.

Set up like an open house, the forum had 15 Sabal Trail subject matter experts on hand to greet residents and Continue reading →

Spectra pipeline meeting tonight at Wiregrass Tech @ Pipeline 2013-10-16

Spectra Energy will tell us how great their proposed pipeline will be, as it cuts a 100-foot wide path from Anniston, Alabama to Orlando, Florida through south Georgia, using eminent domain to make you sell your land, to deliver gas from fracking in Pennsylvania for the benefit of Florida Power and Light. Maybe you’d like to ask Spectra reps Brian Fahrenthold or Andrea Grover a few questions, like can we see a map of the proposed route, with parcel numbers, and what about those fines for violating federal regulations and Spectra’s own corporate operating procedures?

Added: facebook event.

Tonight (Wednesday) 16 October 2013 5:00-7:30 pm.
Wiregrass Georgia Tech (Atrium)
4089 Val Tech Road
Valdosta, GA

The Wiregrass Tech contact is Christy Cobb; she wasn’t in when I called yesterday. Tech’s web server still seems to be down, but Google has cached her as: Continue reading →