They vote 5:30 PM Tuesday about what they discussed this morning. The longest item at five minutes was 6a. FY2018 Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant Program REquest. Third longest was a subvision asking to be forgiven paving money the county gave it that never was used. And second longest, although not on the agenda, was a T-SPLOST report by the County Manager.

Below are links to each LAKE video, with a few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the agenda.

• 1. Call to Order 5. Minutes for Approval

  Video.

• 6a. FY2018 Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant Program REquest

  Video. The fifth year, said Ashley Tye. $531,360 to include adding a third therapist. As before, also available to Brooks County. They have to submit by April 28, 2017, and expect to hear by the first week of June. How will they do that unless the county finishes its feud with the local cities about SPLOST tax distribution.

  A commissioner did ask about that. County Manager Joe Pritchard said there is additional paperwork they’re submitting “substantiating the claims of the county”. He did say they did’t know whether that would be adequate.

• 6b. GDOT Project 00762 Exit 22 & 29 Utilities Relocation

  Video. $684,000 and a bit, said Steve Stalvey: GDOT does the work and then county reimburses.

• 6c. GDOT Mowing Contract

  Video. County will mow and GDOT will reimburse, said Public Works Director Robin Cumbus.

• 6d. Tuscany Palms Subdivision Past Due Special Assessment

  Video. Previously a potential buyer wanted to have the county forgive the assessment. This is actually not possible according to GA constitution (so says Tom Gooding). One choice is to send to Tax Commissioner for collections.

• 7. Reports – County Manager – TSPLOST

  Video. Previously there had been an agenda item about TSPLOST. Since then 10 of 18 regional counties have voted in the affirmative to have a regional list and vote. The members of the round table will be county commission chairs and one mayor from each county. First meeting is in Pearson at 1PM on April 17 and the meeting is open to the public. The roundtable also must make a decision about whether and when to have the regional T-SPLOST referendum. If roundtable decides for, all communities in the region will have to submit projects for approval by the roundtable and by GDOT.

  County Engineer Mike Fletcher said “they’re pushing to get this done by November”. And if the vote in November failes, individual counties can schedule their own T-SPLOST vote later.

  County Manager Joe Pritchard further clarified that if the county had voted two weeks ago to have its own individual T-SPLOST, that would have been overridden by the 10 counties deciding to go on the regional vote.

  Apparently Commissioner Joyce Evans is the “chairman of the regional commission”. She and Chairman Bill Slaughter and Mike Fletcher will be at the Pearson meeting 1PM April 17th.

  Joyce Evans is listed as Chair of South Georgia Regional Commission Council in the Southern Georgia Regional Commission Directory of Governments and Officials, which says Vivian Miller-Cody and Anthony Payton are also council members from Lowndes County: they are both on the Valdosta City Council. That document lists three members of that Council from each the 18 SGRC counties, which are the same counties in the T-SPLOST region. Except for Brooks County, for which it lists Myra Exum (Chair of the Brooks County Commission), James Brown, and Vacant. I’m not sure James Brown is still with us.

• 9. Meting Adjournment

  Video.

Here’s a LAKE video playlist:

Videos: T-SPLOST report, delinguent subdivision, Juvenile Justice Incentive, GDOT Exits & Mowing
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, April 10, 2017.

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