Tag Archives: Work Session

Streetlights and Georgia Power @ Hahira 2012-10-01

To get a decent deal on streetlights, a small Georgia city may have to help change the Georgia Public Service Commission. Or, an energy concern in Hahira happened to coincide with a visit by PSC candidate Steve Oppenheimer.

Ralph Clendenin, City Council member, is looking into converting Hahira's streetlights to LEDs or maybe solar. He has discussed that with Georgia Power, which will do it for $250,000 up front. At a savings of $1,000 a month, that would take quite a while to pay back: more than 20 years.

Steve Oppenheimer, running for Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC), found the streetlight issue interesting:

Just like you're looking at options the city might do for better choices for lighting in terms of serving the people and meeting your budget, as Georgians we need that, too.

He indicated that there are more solutions than we're being told.

To me what's improtant are homeowners rights, and we get control over the power rates, because our residential rates and small business rates have gone up about 31% in five years.

He brought up Dublin's solar streetlights, and solar for energy and jobs. He indicated energy was a future source of jobs.

What it comes down to is people like you in this room in the small communities figuring out what pieces do we put together to make our community better for tomorrow.

Afterwards in the entranceway, Ralph Clendenin showed Steve Oppenheimer how he'd figured out that Georgia Power was charging about 73% maintenance above the electricity cost of the streetlights. Oppenheimer said there were many options. Clendenin suggested one:

The option I see right now is, the Commission somehow, has got to change the rules on how Georgia Power… structures payments.

Oppenheimer suggested a way to get there:

We need a commission with some new leadership, with some separation from industry, that doesn't have the apparent conflicts of interest.

Ralph summed it up pithily:

Ralph Clendenin: 73% is that forever payment to Georgia Power.

Steve Oppenheimer: It's a great deal, if you're on the right end of it.
[laughter]

What say we change the end of the stick we the taxpayers are getting from the PSC?

Here's a playlist.

Work Session, Hahira City Council, Hahira, Lowndes County, Georgia, 1 October 2012.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

-jsq

Video Playlist @ LCC 2012-09-24

A parade of speakers not on the agenda extended yesterday morning’s Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission. They spoke about the conference center, about South Georgia Partnership for Homelessness, and about health and life insurance. Commissioners heard from staff about repairs to a sewage lift station and laptops for the Sheriff’s office. They vote on all these things at their Regular Session tonight at 5:30 PM.

Here’s the agenda, annotated below with links to the videos and a few notes, and followed by a video playlist.

  1. Call to Order
  2. Invocation
  3. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
  4. Minutes for Approval
    1. Work Session — September 10, 2012
    2. Regular Session — September 11, 2012
    The Chairman announced guests not on the agenda.
  5. For Consideration
    1. Bevel Creek Lift Station Repair
      MR Systems’ quote for SCADA control panel was $13,775, plus another control panel $25,194, for a total of $38,969. Utilities Director Mike Allen said making an addition (presumably of the $25,194 control panel) would save four weeks of downtime.
    2. Dell Lease Agreement for Sheriff’s Office Laptops
    3. Contract with Corporate Health Partners
      County Manager Joe Pritchard said they had achieved $260,000 in savings towards projected $300,000 savings in health care expenses. He introduced Chris Park(?) with Park(?) Group and Jack Curtis with Corporate Health Partners. Pritchard said the county Wanted to add a wellness program to improve employee quality of life and wellbeing. Chris Park(?) spoke first. He introduced Jack Curtis, who spoke about a wellness program proposal.
    4. Agreement with Basic Life
      Chris Park(?) spoke again, saying what he was proposing would save $10,000 or 23% over the current plan while preserving all the current benefits.
  6. Reports-County Manager
    Joe Pritchard had no report, so they adjourned.
  7. Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address
    That’s only for the Regular Session.

Video Playlist
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Videos by Brandon Livingston for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 24 September 2012.

-jsq

Video Playlist @ LCC 2012-09-11

After briefly discussing or at least hearing items at the previous morning's Work Session, the Lowndes County Commission voted on them at its Regular Session of Tuesday 11 September 2012.

Here's the agenda, and the copy below has links to the corresponding videos or previous blog posts. Here's a video playlist.

  1. Call to Order
  2. Invocation
  3. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
  4. Minutes for Approval
    1. Work Session — August 13, 2012
    2. Regular Session — August 14, 2012
  5. Resolutions
    1. Adopt Resolution Appointing an Open Records Officer
    2. Resolution Regarding Review & Approval of Minutes of Executive Sessions
    3. Adopt Resolution accepting infrastructure for Glen Laurel Subdivision Phase II
    4. Adopt Resolution accepting infrastructure for Crestwood Subdivision Phase IV
  6. Appointment — Keep Lowndes/Valdosta Beautiful
  7. Public Hearings
    1. REZ-2012-12 Parker Place, 4842 Parker Place Rd., 0070 015; 3.4 ac., 3 lots, E-A to R-1, well/septic
    2. REZ-2012-14 Harris, 6926 Jones Dr., 0139 023, 6.8 ac., 1 lot, E-A to R-A, well/septic
    3. TXT-2012-01 — Primary Intent: Appendix A Land Disturbance & Clean Version of ULDC
    4. Public Hearing Renaming Sandy Creek Drive (CR #1118)
    5. Beer License — Lin's Hibachi — 1078 Lakes Blvd.
  8. For Consideration
    1. Letter of Understanding — Bond Refunding
    2. USGS Funding Agreement for HWY 122 Stream Gauge
    3. Section 5311 Rural Transportation Program Operating Contracts
    4. Declaration of Surplus Vehicles
    5. Brown Bag Ordinance
  9. Bid – Rescue Pumper for Lowndes County Fire Rescue
  10. Reports-County Manager
  11. Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address

-jsq

Sewers, laptops, and insurance @ LCC 2012-09-24

Repairs to a sewage lift station, laptops for the Sheriff’s office, and health and life insurance. I’ll bet this morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session will be brief.

What’s this about a Bevel Creek Lift Station Repair? That sewer line station seems to have last been mentioned in a Commission meeting 11 February 2003:

Mr. Clark stated that the Bevel Creek Lift Station rehab came in under budget enough to cover the additional $26,000.00 from the Exit 22 project.

The Commissioners (of whom only Joyce Evans is still or again on the Commission) proceeded to approve one of their famous transportation change orders.

But what is Bevel Creek? According to Watershed Assessment: The Watersheds Associated with Lowndes County, Georgia, May 2001,

Bevel Creek discharges into the Withlacoochee River in north-central Florida.

Since Bevel Creek doesn’t join the Withlacoochee River in Georgia, it’s considered as a separate watershed basin for Lowndes County.

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2012, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
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KLVB 2012 Executive Director’s Report —Aaron Strickland @ LCC 2012-09-10

Here is the Keep Lowndes-Valdosta Beautiful (KLVB) 2012 Executive Director’s Report, provided to LAKE by KLVB Executive Director Aaron Strickland.

This is the report he discussed at the 10 September 2012 Lowndes County Commission Work Session.

-jsq

Video Playlist @ LCC 2012-09-10

Yesterday morning’s County Commission Work Session started on time! In addition to the open records and open meetings items, it included a report from KLVB, two rezonings, typo fixes and date changes in the ULDC, a vanity road name change, an alcohol license and an alcohol ordinance change, a USGS river gauge, surplus vehicles, purchase of a new fire truck, and more! They vote on all this tonight at their Regular Session, 5:30 PM. Here’s the agenda.

5.a. Unsurprisingly, the County Manager suggested the County Clerk be appointed the Open Records Officer now required by state law. 5.b. They also have a resolution before them about review and approval of minutes of executive sessions, but of course they don’t allow we the taxpayers to see that before they vote on it.

They considered adopting subdivision infrastructure for 5.c. Glen Laurel and 5.d. Crestwood.

6. Videos of the KLVB report and of applicant Emily Macheski-Preston are in a separate blog post.

7. Public Hearings:

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Lowndes County continuing funding for USGS HWY 122 Stream Gauge —Ashley Tye @ LCC 2012-09-10

Lowndes County Emergency Management Director Ashley Tye reported to the Lowndes County Commission at their Work Session yesterday morning that after the floods of 2009, Lowndes County negotiated with USGS to put a stream level monitor on the Withlacoochee Little River at the GA 122 bridge, and the county typically renews that funding once a year. We shall see whether they approve that this evening.

Here's the video:

Lowndes County continuing funding for USGS HWY 122 Stream Gauge —Ashley Tye
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 10 September 2012.

-jsq

County to renegotiate bonds for the county palace @ LCC 2012-09-10

In yesterday morning's Work Session, County Finance Director Stephanie Black proposed a letter of understanding for Morgan-Keegan to act as underwriter for approximately $17 million to refund the original bonds done for this building as well as the water-sewer bonds only if the terms are favorable and the net value savings are at least 3%. Current projections show a savings of $1.2 million or a little over 7% at this time. Chairman Ashley Paulk remarked that:

The bond market has changed drastically.

At least the county palace that former Chairman Rod Casey got a former commission to approve at his last Commission meeting now won't cost we the taxpayers quite as much as we thought. They vote on this tonight.

Here's the video:

County to renegotiate bonds for the county palace
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 10 September 2012.

-jsq

KLVB report —Aaron Strickland @ LCC 2012-09-10

In the 10 September 2012 Lowndes County Commission Work Session, Aaron Strickland of Keep Lowndes-Valdosta Beautiful (KLVB) said there were two applicants for appointement to the KLVB board: Emily Preston and Deanna Wagner. They did not speak; Emily Macheski-Preston and Deanna Wagner. Ms. Macheski-Preston spoke (included below); Ms. Wagner did not; maybe tonight.

He gave a brief verbal report, which he said was a summary of a report he submitted last week (which we the taxpayers haven’t seen). He said at their Rivers Alive event last year they had a record number of sites cleaned: seven. Great American Cleanup, KLVB’s signature event used to be 1 day, but this year was 3 days.

  1. Valdosta asked for help with a creek project.
  2. Helped emergency management after the tornadoes, through Ashley Tye and a group called Vision 388(?).
  3. Traditional cleanup day in Valdosta, Lowndes County, and Lake Park.

He read some statistics on numbers of volunteers and things cleaned up. He listed some future events. There’s more in the video.

Commissioner Richard Raines wanted to know how much time commitment was involved. Answer: an hour per board meeting and helping out with events and committees.

Here’s the video: video of Aaron Strickland’s aural report:

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Open Records Officer at Lowndes County Commission @ LCC 2012-09-10

Apparently the Lowndes County Commission has noticed the new provisions of the Georgia Open Records and Open Meetings laws that VLCIA’s lawyer explained to the Industrial Authority back in May, seeing these two items on the agenda for Monday morning and Tuesday evening:

5.a. Adopt Resolution Appointing an Open Records Officer
5.b. Resolution Regarding Review & Approval of Minutes of Executive Sessions

Plus infrastructure for two subdivsisions, one of them the famous Glen Laurel, several well/septic rezonings, approval of USGS Funding Agreement for HWY 122 Stream Gauge (one of the four that let us know about river flooding in Lowndes County less than a month ago), a beer license, and approval of the changes to the ULDC that were discussed in the recent Planning Commission meeting, in the public hearing the public didn’t know about. And more.

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2012, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2012, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →