School Consolidation Statement tonight at Valdosta City Council

There are a bunch of changes to the Comprehensive Plan and the Land Development Regulations (LDR) that people ought to pay attention to, scheduled for tonight’s Valdosta City Council (VCC) meeting. But the one many people are going to see is this one:
6.a) Consideration of a Position Statement on School Consolidation.
Some people are confused, because VCC has no formal authority over any school system. They didn’t have any formal authority to decide whether to put the school referendum on the ballot, either. According to the Lowndes County Board of Elections, once enough petition signature were validated, the referendum automatically went on the ballot; the Valdosta City Council had nothing to do with that decision, nevermind that nobody sitting on the podium on 25 August seemed to know that.

Neither of the position statements by the two school boards have any formal authority, either.

This time, the Valdosta City Council knows it’s merely expressing an opinion. But I think that’s both good and important. Just because the City Council has no formal authority doesn’t mean nobody listens to its opinion, or to the opinions of the individual Council members, or to the mayor.

You may recall that I pointed out to the previous mayor that the mayor of Gretna, Florida had made a proclamation against biomass, and he could, too. Investors and voters listen to that sort of thing.

The Council of Hamlets danced around that issue and at various times various of them said they may or may not be able to say whether or not they can or cannot speak during, at the end of, or after their council meetings. Yet some of them did speak about biomass, and we sometimes discovered some Council members were not familiar with the issues.

If they make this position statement tonight, they are setting a precedent that the Valdosta City Council can indeed express opinions. And if they can do it collectively, they can do it individually. Which would be a good thing, because Council members would then be expected to state their opinions, which would mean they’d have incentive to actually be up to date on the issues.

All that plus people vote for elected officials they think have a clue, and people care what they think even after they are elected.

Y’all come! The mayor and council invite you:

The Mayor and the members of the City Council invite and encourage citizens to attend City Council meetings whever possible because good government depends on the interest and involvement of citizens. City Council meetings are held on the first and third Thursday following the first Sunday of the month, although changes may be necessary to avoid conflict with holidays. All City Council meetings are held in the Council Chambers, located on the second floor of City Hall, and are open to the general public.
Here’s the agenda:
AMENDED AGENDA
REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL
5:30 PM Thursday, October 6, 2011
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL
  1. Opening Ceremonies

    1. Call to Order

    2. Invocation

    3. Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag

  2. Awards and Presentations

    1. Consideration of the October, 2011 Employee of the Month Award (Curtis Mincey, Public Works Department).

  3. Minutes Approval

    1. Thursday, September 22, 2011

  4. Public Hearings

    1. Consideration of an Ordinance to amend the Future Development Map of the Comprehensive Plan and change the Character Area Designation of two contiguous properties as requested by Patricia Ann and Ari Santas (File No. VA-2011-18). The property consists of approximately 1.24 acres and is located at 2229 and 2249 East Park Avenue. The Planning Commission reviewed this request at their September Regular Meeting and recommended approval (8-0 vote).

    2. Consideration of an Ordinance to rezone 0.18 acres from Single-Family Residential (R- 6) to Residential-Professional (R-P) as requested by Taylor Biddle (File No. VA-2011- 19). This property is located along the east side of the road between Baytree Drive and Blanton Street. The Planning Commission reviewed this request at their September Regular Meeting and recommended approval (8-0 vote).

    3. Consideration of an Ordinance to rezone 0.54 acres from Neighborhood-Commercial (C-N) to Community-Commercial (C-C) as requested by Hetal Patel (File No. VA- 2011-20). The property is located at 1410 Gornto Road. The Planning Commission reviewed this request at their September Regular Meeting and recommended approval (8-0 vote).

    4. Consideration of an Ordinance for Text Amendments to the Land Development Regulations (LDR) for Chapter 210 – Overlay Districts (File No. VA-2011-21). The Planning Commission reviewed this at their September Regular Meeting and recommended approval (8-0 vote).

  5. Ordinances and Resolutions

    1. Consideration of a Resolution to update the Greater Lowndes 2030 Comprehensive Plan’s Short-Term Work Program (File No. VA-2011-22). The Planning Commission reviewed this at their September Regular Meeting and recommended approval (8-0 vote).

  6. Local Funding and Requests

    1. Consideration of a Position Statement on School Consolidation.

  7. City Manager’s Report

  8. Council Comments

  9. Citizens to be Heard

  10. Adjournment