Update 2025-06-11: Half a million or zero dollars for the bar Lowndes County bought with no agenda item? 2024-07-09.

In Citizens Wishing to be Heard, Gretchen Quarterman spoke about Transparency and the purchase of Rascals, wondering why Lowndes County Commission approval of that purchase was not a lot more visible, instead of being recorded only in Minutes as a vote that took place after an Executive Session and everybody else had left. See below for more detail.

Kelly Saxon spoke about affordable housing, including asking for a town hall and a telephone contact.

The Lowndes County Commissioners at their Regular Session last night added an item, Chairman – Add agenda item to repair Hahira Health Dept (8b). That’s more than they did for the Rascal’s purchase back in July 2024. More on that in a later post.

Collage @ LCC 10 June 2025

Last night, they unanimously approved all the agenda items, including reappointing the incumbents to the two boards.

Nobody spoke against either of the two rezonings.

For 7.b. Purchase of one (1) Sutphen Heavy Duty Custom Pumper, they mentioned that prices had doubled, and locking in a price now would avoid further price increases.

In her Reports, County Manager Paige Dukes recognized Kellerman Construction and Jimmy Cone for their work on 8.a. Bid – A New Facility for Lowndes County Fire Rescue No. 4.

Earlier, Chairman Bill Slaughter called for Leadership Lowndes to be recognized, but, maybe for the first time ever, there were none present.

Commissioner Demarcus Marshall was absent from this meeting.

Here are LAKE videos of each Work Session agenda item, with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist.

See also the LAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session and the agenda and the board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request.

For the two rezonings, see also the LAKE videos of last month’s Planning Commission meeting.

• 1. Call to Order 2. Invocation 3. Pledge
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/0HjmKybVqRQ

  Lowndes County Board of Commissioners – Regular Session – 2025-06-10

  Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

• Chairman Recogitions – Leadership Lowndes – there were none
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/ktQXoKeYn2Q

• Chairman Thanks to Commissioner Evans
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/NjIpKgitp88

• Chairman – Add agenda item to repair Hahira Health Dept (8b)
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/YTh5KFGYEQw

• 4. Minutes for Approval from May 27, 2025
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/OIimzE26Uu0

• 5.a. Appointment – Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/sDU6mFGduUk

  Incumbent reappointed.

• 5.b. Lowndes County Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) Board
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/j55hrl1qQOY

  Incumbent reappointed.

• 6.a. REZ-2025-08 Joseph Williams, 7219 Good Hope Rd., 2.5ac, E-A to R-A
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/I2yBnOIIH-s

  6a. REZ-2025-08 Joseph Williams, 7219 Good Hope Rd., 2.5ac, E-A to E-A and R-A, Well and Septic

  Applicant was present to answer any questions.
  Approved.

• 5.b. REZ-2025-09 All Metal Buildings, 2515 Madison Hwy, ~2 acres, C-G to C-H
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/BdtVdhB976g

  5b. REZ-2025-09 All Metal Buildings, 2515 Madison Hwy, ~2 acres, C-G to C-H, Well and Septic

  Unanimously approved.

• 7.a. Service Agreement with SGRC to Perform Hazard Mitigation Plan Update
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/nwiOU9WnBx4

• 7.b. Purchase of one (1) Sutphen Heavy Duty Custom Pumper
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/Cuk5x3nKNQI

• 7.c. Highway 94 East Property
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/NCHPuiuqg4I

• 8.a. Bid – A New Facility for Lowndes County Fire Rescue No. 4
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/3XhCSPUiALA

• 8.b. Emergency Repair of Hahira Health Department
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/4roIXOEuCUI

  This was an added item at the beginning of the meeting.

• 9. Recognitions – County Manager – Kellerman Construction and Jimmy Cone
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/oLe3c_lOOo8

  Manger Dukes recognized Architect Jimmy Cone and bid winner Kellerman Construction for the new fire station.

• 9. Reports – County Manager
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/Sa_SvMQYutk

• 10. CWTBH – Kelly Saxon – affordable housing
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/kdS-hR29tHM

• 10. CWTBH – Gretchen Quarterman – Transparency and the purchase of Rascals
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/dW7Smm9FCGg

  Transcription below by jsq.

  “I appreciate that y’all continue to hear me, talk to me, and be my friends.

  “Yesterday I learned that Lowndes County bought Rascal’s and for use as a fire station. And a Commissioner told me today that that was old news and it happened last year. Which, actually when I went home yesterday, I looked it up, and it was old news. But it was old news that I didn’t know about. And I come to most of these meetings. And I wondered how is it that I didn’t know about it? Because I really try to stay well informed.

  “Well, it turns out that it happened after Regular Session, after an Executive Session, where you came back, and then you had the Regular Session is reopened, and you made this vote.

  “I think it’s awesome that Lake Park is going to get a highly visible at the Rascal’s location fire station. They’ll be able to respond to people down there in a highly populated area, in the same way that the one on US 41 will be able to soon… respond to north Lowndes.

  “What I’m not so keen about is that it appears as if, I know that this wasn’t the intention, but it gives the appearance that this was done behind the back, sly, nobody talked about, we didn’t make an announcement. The PIO didn’t say, hey, we’re going to have this new thing. I know why you don’t want to announce things because things don’t always go the way you expect them to.

  “But that was a lot of money to spend for a building that I don’t personally think can be rehabbed for… We’re going to build a new fire station for $4 million dollars, and you pay $500,000 for a piece of property and the building. And that just make me feel like, I don’t know… I know you’re trying to be good stewards, and probably in the big picture y’all are.

  “But this gives the feeling of something that wasn’t, um, that you had something to hide. And I’m hoping that’s not true.

  “So my ask is that you do the peoples’ business in the open. And not to the minimum requirement. Because the minimum requirement is that you had the public meeting, you went to Executive Session, you came back to the public meeting, everybody was gone by then. You didn’t take any video of your own, so there’s no recording other than the minutes.

  “The other ask that I would have is that, as we go forward, especially building up the fire department, why aren’t we more telling the public what we’re doing. Because people care about their pocketbook, and that fire tax is a big one. And I think they’d feel better; I would feel better, if every once in a while on the website or facebook I would see this great thing is happening, and this is what they’re going to be doing.

  “But thanks for building that down there, I’m really excited.”

• 11. Adjournment
  

  Video:
  https://youtu.be/H1Hmvxdpk7M

Here is the LAKE YouTube video playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLshUv86fYkiFCL0KoTW6f_1wNBqjSPU70&si=uyD13hnQ2DNXGkPm

-jsq

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