Category Archives: Alcohol

Nottinghill resolved, Spectra profit sharing? Planning Commission transparency? @ LCC 2013-12-10



The Commission’s designated first speaker

confused order with good.
Chairman Bill Slaughter
required a sitting judge to go to the podium to speak,
even though he had not required that for multiple Spectra pipeline reps
the previous morning.
Nottinghill is finally resolved,
after yet more probing questions by Commissioners; more than they
asked the Spectra reps.
A

VSU professor
and

a landowner
asked very good questions about the pipeline,
a

KLVB board member gave a report,
and

Gretchen asked the Commission to post Planning Commission minutes online.

Two people were

appointed; one spoke.
The two

beer licenses, a

liquor license,
the

decorative special tax lighting district for Windstone,
the

contracts,
the

resolution to ask the legislature for an additional judge,
and the

bids were all approved with little discussion.
The

settlement for back pay it turns out didn’t
actually involve
employees having to sue to get paid.

Here’s

the amended agenda with the

two added items,
plus links to the videos and a few notes.
See also

the previous morning’s Work Session.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

AMENDED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

2 interagency agreements, education, jail, alcohol, and a health care presentation @ LCC 2014-01-13

We can probably guess who

“Dr. Grow” is
and the general topic of his presentation,
but why does the county make us guess?


The county wants

an architect for a new roof and shower in one jail pod;
it’s considering two interagency agreements,
one for

Valdosta Inspections for Lake Park
and the other for

the county extension,
plus

setting election qualifying fees
and

a Special Assessment Rate for 2014.
There’s a

beer license
and acceptance of

infrastructure for part of Grove Pointe Subdivision.

Here’s

the agenda: Continue reading →

Secret meeting of Lowndes County Commission and state reps @ LCC 2013-12-20


Dexter Sharper (District 177)
The VDT report doesn’t say when or where, and doesn’t say whether
Dexter Sharper (District 177) wasn’t invited or chose not to attend.

There’s nothing about this meeting in the online

agendas
or

calendar,
even though that calendar lists

Pictures with Santa at the Historical Courthouse (12/19/2013).

There is this undated

public notice with no agenda:


Paige Dukes, Lowndes County Clerk
The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners will meet with members of
Lowndes County’s Legislative Delegation on Friday, December 20,
2013, at 4:00 p.m. in the Commissioner’s Conference Room located on
the 3rd floor of the Judicial-Administrative Complex, 327 North
Ashley Street, Valdosta, Georgia.

K. Paige Dukes, County Clerk

pdukes@lowndescounty.com 229-671-2400


Tim Golden (District 8)
Matthew Woody wrote for the VDT 22 December 2013,

Commissioners host local delegation,
oddly omitting the when and where and much of the why from
the traditional

who, what, when, where, and why of journalism.


Amy Carter (District 175)
The Lowndes County Commission hosted Continue reading →

All 4 Commissioner questions about the pipeline –VDT @ LCC 2013-12-09



The VDT let local citizens speak, unlike the Lowndes County Commission.
Perhaps the VDT, like many local citizens, does not think transparency
means what the County Commission thinks it means.

Matthew Woody wrote across the top of the front page of the Valdosta Daily Times
today,

Sabal Trail presents at County Commission work session,

Protesters stood outside of the Lowndes County Judicial and Administrative Complex at 8:30 a.m. in opposition to the Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline project as representatives from the company made a presentation at the Commission Work Session.




That’s Matthew Woody across the street taking that picture,
and

here are more pictures of the protesters.

“We strive everyday for zero incidences,” Fahrenthold
said “All of our meetings, company wide, starts with a safety
update.”



Really?
So why afterwards did both Brian Fahrenthold and Andra Grover Continue reading →

Spectra Sales Pitch, Nothing about Nottinghill, etc. @ LCC 2013-12-09



Given

dozens of questions submitted by citizens
and every opportunity,
Commissioners asked only four perfunctory questions after
Spectra Energy’s

Sabal Trail pipeline sales pitch.
Chairman Bill Slaughter repeatedly let multiple Spectra reps
speak from the audience without having them come to the podium,
or even identify themselves before they spoke.
They were pointed at by the chief Spectra speaker when he named them,
but they did not stand up or raise their hand at the time,
so it was quite hard to tell which was which.
The Chairman never allows that sort of behavior from local citizens.
Why is he granting extra courtesies to a company from Houston
that wants to exercise eminent domain on local citizens’ lands?
Who does the Lowndes County Commission represent?

At least
WALB
and
WCTV
let a landowner speak: that’s more than the County Commission did.

Nottinghill is back yet again.
A Commissioner did ask staff whether it was really ready,
and it isn’t, but no Commissioners asked any such probing
questions of the Spectra reps.

The three

beer licenses, a

liquor license,
the

contracts, and the

bids were glossed over in almost as
perfunctory a manner.
There were some questions from Commissioners about
costs to the county government.
But there were none from Commissioners about costs to landowners
from gashing a pipeline through their property.

Given that there’s a

settlement for back pay for some county employees,
it appears that the employees maybe had to sue to get paid.

Staff did express concern about

“customer service” for a decorative
special tax lighting district, but none about service to the
landowners of the county whose land Spectra proposes to run through,
or for that matter to the taxpayers of the county to whom the
Commission and staff cannot be bothered to show what they’re voting
on before they vote.

Here’s

the agenda plus links to the videos and a few notes.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED-AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Check your Pipeline, Dollar General, 3 special tax lighting districts, and mosquitos @ LCC 2013-11-12



Sabal Trail pipeline presentation
is

December 9th like
the front page of the VDT said.
The online agenda

is still incorrect a month later
about

Green Lane
which is still listed as “For consideration” when it should be listed
as a Public Hearing.
Alapaha Water Treatment Plant
was voted on this time,
as was mysteriously appearing
“Consideration of Back Pay for 911 Employees”.

Like the

the Planning Commission,
they tabled
Nottinghill.
With much less discussion than the

Planning Commission,
they approved
yet another Dollar General.
Plus
three decorative special tax lighting districts,
mosquito control,
pump replacement, the annual

MIDS bus service
contract,
a

beer license,
something about

NOAA, and an agreement with the Lowndes County
Board of Elections
for paying employees.

Here’s

the agenda.
See also the

videos of the previous morning’s Work Session.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

AMENDED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Pipeline and Nottinghill, VLMPO, lawyers and alcohol @ LCC 2013-12-09



The proposed

Sabal Trail pipeline
presentation is really on this time,
with
citizen questions asked by the Commissioners.
Nottinghill is back yet again.
Two appointments to the
VLMPO Citizens Advisory Committee.
All that plus three beer licenses, a liquor license,
and a bunch of contracts and a couple of bids.

Here’s
the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED-AGENDA


WORK SESSION, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor



  1. Call to Order



  2. Invocation

    Only in the Regular Session, Tuesday at 5:30 PM.



  3. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag

    Only in the Regular Session, Tuesday at 5:30 PM.



  4. Minutes for Approval



    1. Work Session — November 11, 2013



    2. Regular Session — November 12, 2013


  5. Appointment



    1. MPO Citizens Advisory Committee (2)


  6. Public Hearings


    1. REZ-2013-11
      Nottinghill, Orr Rd R-A to R-21, Community Well and Septic, 14.71 acres



    2. Decorative Special Tax Lighting District – Windstone Subdivision (Orr Rd)



    3. Beer and Wine License — Twin Lakes Ventures, LLC — 4878 HWY 41 South



    4. Liquor License — Big Al’s — 4991 HWY 41 S. Lake Park


  7. For Consideration



    1. Approval of the 2014 Commission Meeting Schedule



    2. 2014 Public Defender Services Contract & 2014 Operating Contract



    3. Land Application Site (LAS) Bar Screen Replacement



    4. Budget Calendar FY 2014-2015



    5. Beer and Wine License — Parnish Corporation — 3119 Madison HWY



    6. Beer and Wine License — Jay Brahamani, LLC — 2601 Madison HWY



    7. Back Pay for 9-1-1 Center Employees



    8. Second State Court Judge — Resolution & Act


  8. Bids



    1. Repair of Damaged F150- LCSO



    2. Repair of Damaged Fire Tanker- LCFR


  9. Reports-County Manager



  10. Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address

    Only in the Regular Session, Tuesday at 5:30 PM.



  11. Sabal Trail (Work Session)

-jsq

80 years ago alcohol prohibition ended: time to end drug prohibition



The twenty-first amendment to the U.S. Constitution

was ratified eighty years ago today, repealing the eighteenth amendment,
ending alcohol prohibition, and along with it the alcohol mobs
it had bred.
It’s time to do the same with drug prohibition,
and along with it not only drug gangs
but also

the epidemic of incarceration in this country.


Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her newspaper column My Day, 14 July 1939,

Prohibition, Continue reading →

No Sabal Trail, Dollar General, 3 special tax lighting districts, and mosquitos @ LCC 2013-11-11



“We apologize for any inconvenience.”

No Sabal Trail pipeline presentation this time;
yes it really is December 9th like
the front page of the VDT said.
So the online agenda was incorrect, and

it’s still incorrect
about

Green Lane
which is still listed as “For consideration” when it should be listed
as a Public Hearing.
And another item was listed so obscurely on the
agenda that a Commissioner had to ask “exactly where is this?”
A report turned into an agenda item for the
Alapaha Water Treatment Plant,
and an item for
“Consideration of Back Pay for 911 Employees”
has appeared on

the amended agenda with no public discussion.
How are citizens to know what their elected officials are going to
vote on tonight at 5:30 PM if the agenda changes all the time
yet is still incorrect?

Plus they could take up Nottinghill even though

the Planning Commission recommended tabling,
there’s yet another Dollar General proposed
(see

Planning Commission video,
three decorative special tax lighting districts,
mosquito control, pump replacement, the annual MIDS bus service
contract, a beer license,
the return of Green Lane (why isn’t that one

a pubic hearing as promised last time?)
something about NOAA, and an agreement with the Lowndes County
Board of Elections:
will they stop

changing the precincts every year?

Here’s

the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

AMENDED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Sabal Trail, Dollar General, 3 special tax lighting districts, and mosquitos @ LCC 2013-11-11



Nevermind what the front page of the VDT said
about December 9th:
the Sabal Trail pipeline presentation is on the agenda for Monday morning, 8:30 AM.
Or maybe Tuesday evening, 5:30 PM; it doesn’t say, but if they’re sticking
to at least the Work Session part of the request from Demarcus Marshall,
it’s tomorrow morning.

Plus they could take up Nottinghill even though

the Planning Commission recommended tabling,
there’s yet another Dollar General proposed
(see

Planning Commission video,
three decorative special tax lighting districts,
mosquito control, pump replacement, the annual MIDS bus service
contract, a beer license,
the return of Green Lane (why isn’t that one

a pubic hearing as promised last time?)
something about NOAA, and an agreement with the Lowndes County
Board of Elections:
will they stop

changing the precincts every year?

Here’s
the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

AMENDED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →