Leadership Lowndes Class of 2015 was there,
and Gretchen Quarterman spoke about
the WWALS Alapaha River Water Trail Conference.
Everything else went as predicted
with the rezonings and pretty much everything else unanimously approved,
at the Tuesday 10 October 2015 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.
Tag Archives: WWALS
Maps for Naylor Boat Ramp, Frank’s Creek Bridge, and Deloach Road @ LCC 2015-02-10
The three maps arrived by email for the engineering items in
the Lowndes County Commission
Monday Work Session and Tuesday Regular Session.
The rest of the response to that Open Records request did not,
so I’ll have to go back again to pick up the rest of it on paper.
And the other Open Records request, for Continue reading
Videos: Devine tabled, Naylor boat ramp, no HB 170 or animals @ LCC 2015-02-10
Nothing was said about the
GA HB 170 state tax grab from local governments,
even though both school boards and the Valdosta City Council
already passed resolutions against it.
No citizens spoke about animals, or about anything else,
not even in the Public Hearings,
except for
me thanking the Commission about the Naylor Boat Ramp.
The Devine Subdivision at Tillman Crossing was tabled at request of applicant to try to sort out continuing concerns about safety and congestion, while REZ-2015-01 Gramercy 2 and REZ-2015-03 Scurry Property, were unanimously approved. No citizens spoke for or against any of them.
You the taxpaying public didn’t get to see any of the materials in the board packet beyond the one-page agenda item forms, before the Commission voted last night, unless you were in the Commission Chambers or watched the LAKE videos of yesterday morning’s Work Session. The open records request for those rezonings came back with paper maps, despite my request for electronic format; at least the paper maps were in color this time. I asked again for electronic format, and will post them soon even if I have to scan them. The other open records request, for maps and materials for the engineering agenda items, came back with no maps at all, so I sent it back to be satisfied. Both County Planner Jason Davenport and County Engineer Mike Fletcher said they had never seen those open records requests, and they’d both be happy to email electronic copy if they were authorized to do so by the County Clerk.
All the other items were unanimously approved: Continue reading
Video: SPLOST Facility Update with boatramp @ LCC 2015-02-05
The Naylor boat ramp might be finished this fall,
and here’s a list of other SPLOST expenditures, from
yesterday’s Lowndes County Commission Annual Planning Meeting.
County Manager Joe Pritchard asked Chad McLeod Project Manager and Mike Fletcher County Engineer to come forward, saying “Turn in your book to that tab….” A book you, the taxpaying public reader, do not have. The county can publish board packets on their new website if they want to.
McCleod presented current facilities for SPLOST VII, after a long introduction by Pritchard, who said McLeod was the county’s liaison with Parks and Rec (VLPRA) and the Sheriff’s Department and other offices. McLeod said VLPRA projects are built by the county and turned over to VLPRA for administration, except for two projects at Freedom Park, which are being managed by VLPRA due to House Bill 489. He listed dollar amounts. I couldn’t catch all of them, but here are some of them: Continue reading
Valdosta Passes Resolution Against Sabal Trail Pipeline: not in this city, this county, or this state @ VCC 2014-12-11
Go away, Sabal Trail:
NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved that the City of Valdosta supports the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners in their opposition to the construction of the Sabal Trail pipeline in any portion of Lowndes County. The City’s support includes concerns with fundamental property rights, the manner in which eminent domain might be utilized, and the lack of demonstrated benefit to the City and County. Furthermore, the City of Valdosta supports the Lowndes County Commission in their formal request to the Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC), and to State and Federal Legislators in the effort to have Lowndes County and the State of Georgia bypassed in the construction of the proposed pipeline.
Here is Continue reading
Resolution against Sabal Trail pipeline + 3-1 ordinances @ VCC 2014-12-11
The resolution against the Sabal Trail pipeline, including to be filed with FERC, was
passed 6 to 1 by the Valdosta City Council Thursday 11 December 2014,
supporting
the resolution the Lowndes County Commission passed unanimously Tuesday,
plus
a clause about protecting our drinking water in the Floridan Aquifer; see
separate post.
John Robinson
thanked the city for a VSEB contract.
The
personal care home rezoning passed.
The
taxicab ordinance was deferred (not all cab company owners had been consulted yet), while two others passed.
Also
some bids rejected
while
others
were
approved,
a reappointment of
Tom Kurrie to the Valdosta Housing Authority,
and
recognized
employee of the month Terrial Small.
Here’s the agenda. For background, see the videos of the Tuesday Work Session, including a bomb report by Police Chief Childress. The videos from the Thursday Regular Session are linked below, followed by a video playlist.
Continue readingSabal Trail disappointed in GWC Dirty Dozen; locals disappointed in Sabal Trail –WCTV
Spectra’s Andrea Grover is “disappointed” in Sabal Trail being on the Georgia Water Coalition Dirty Dozen; does she also find it “hard to believe” like Sabal Trail’s well-documented eminent domain threats?
Winnie Wright, WCTV, 26 November 2014,
Sabal Trail Pipeline Environmental Concerns Cited In Annual ‘Dirty Dozen’ Report,
Recently, The Georgia Water Coalition put the Sabal Trail Pipeline on their Dirty Dozen Report for 2014.
You can see Cherry Creek sinkhole behind her as she reported.
She was navigated there by VSU professor Can Denizman.
She also interviewed several locals, including me at the Withlacoochee River.
Continue readingChina, U.S., and Russia energy deals: bad news for Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline?
The U.S. and China made a historic deal on climate change this week.
Here’s the good (it’s real, it’s huge, and it’s positive economically
for both countries), the bad (nuclear is first on the list of those “clean energy” sources), and the ugly.
Also this week China made a second huge natural gas deal with Russia:
what does that mean to the current U.S. push for LNG exports,
including the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline gouge through Georgia?
The Deal
Rebecca Leber, The New Republic, 12 November 2014, The World Has Waited for the U.S. and China to Take Action on Climate Change. They Just Did.
President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced on Wednesday commitments to reduce both countries’ greenhouse gas emissions. The surprise announcement, which came while Obama visits Beijing this week, is the clearest sign yet the two countries are serious on climate change.
After months of negotiations Continue reading
A Hazardous Sabal Trail to LNG Export
Here are
the slides for the talk I gave at the
Alabama Sierra Club Retreat 1 November 2014.
The outline, with links to supporting evidence:
-
AL-GA-FL Sierra Club Statement:
- Water more important: do Solar power instead
- 100-foot RoW, 36-inch pipe, AL-GA-FL + Transco & FSC
-
Georgia Water Coalition Dirty Dozen,
- FPL’s “need” for FL power & eminent domain
- LNG export of fracked methane for 5 times domestic price
- What can be done
Afterwards, somebody asked me if there was a study on LNG exports driving up domestic natural gas prices. Turns out there is, requested by LNG-export-authorizing Office of Fossil Energy from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. EIA’s summary of 29 October 2014: Continue reading
WWALS on Tourism Authority agenda @ VLCCCTA 2014-10-28
Dave Hetzel from Tifton will appear via video at the Tourism Authority Tuesday morning to talk about the Alapaha River Water Trail that WWALS Watershed Coalition is preparing. Here’s the agenda, sent by VLCCCTA board member Tim Carroll. -jsq
Continue readingVALDOSTA-LOWNDES COUNTY
CONFERENCE CENTER & TOURISM AUTHORITY
MEETING
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
8:00 a.m.
AGENDA