Category Archives: Economy

Brief agenda at unusual time and day @ VLCIA 2015-09-08

The only named existing industry project is Smith Drug, which according to the VDT, showed up here in 2009.

Tuesday 8 Sep 2015 at 10AM (no reason given for the odd date and time), the Development Authority is preparing for the Chamber Economic Summit 2015-010-08 and various other events, plus the usual reports. Here’s the agenda.

Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority
Tuesday, September 8, 2015 11:00 a.m.
Development Authority Conference Room/103 Roosevelt Drive
Monthly Meeting Agenda

Continue reading →

Let’s stop Sabal Trail before it makes any more mistakes

Thanks to Julie Bowland for the picture of my VDT op-ed today. -jsq

jsq op-ed in VDT The same day the Sabal Trail was quoted in the VDT August 5th as saying it had done enough subsurface analysis on our fragile karst limestone topography, a sinkhole opened up next to Shiloh Road. Sabal Trail already had to move its Albany compressor station because arrowheads had been found there. The pipeline itself is a much bigger mistake: let’s stop it before it damages our property values, forests, rivers, or our people.

Spectra Energy’s paid staff are continue to assert that Sabal Trail’s proposed gouge through our fields, farms, and under our rivers will proceed according their plan to profit executives and investors in Houston, Texas.

Actually, Continue reading →

Videos: Suwannee-Satilla Water Council @ SSRWPC 2015-07-20

Fascinating stuff here, especially from Liz Booth and Jim Kennedy. They meet again today at Aniston’s Restaurant, 1404 W. Baker Highway, Douglas, GA.

You’ll probably notice there were some glitches with these July videos; thanks to Gretchen for salvaging most of them. And there’s no video of WWALS board member Al Browning speaking about water quality, nor of my presentation of the WWALS letter to SSRWPC: Please join the opposition to the Sabal Trail watershed invader —WWALS to SSRWPC.

Videos: Transportation and electrical presentations plus officer elections @ VLCIA 2015-07-21

They meet again tonight; here are videos from last month, when Electrical Test Labs of Georgia was recognized, and claimed dibs on some land.

The Development Authority re-elected its same officers, after extending the term of the Chairman to two years.

SGRC’s Corey Hull presented very briefly about the 2040 Transporation Plan, and asked for questions. The Development Authority had none.

Lots of dials showing Continue reading →

World Trade Center Savannah and Gold Honey Bean @ VLCIA 2015-08-18

The Development Authority begins tonight with a presentation by Leigh Ryan, Director of Trade Services and Foreign Trade Zone 104, World Trade Center Savannah. According to WTC Savannah,

A foreign trade zone is a federally approved location within the United States, which is considered outside of US Customs territory where domestic and foreign merchandise may be placed without formal customs entry and without payment of duties and taxes. Subzones are special-purpose facilities for companies unable to operate effectively at public zone sites. Foreign trade zones are usually located in or near Customs ports of entry, at industrial parks or terminal warehouse facilities. Their purpose is to attract and promote international trade and commerce.

WTC has more on that page, but never actually says where FTZ 104 is.

Mary Carr Mayle, SavannaNow, 31 May 2015, World Trade Center Savannah expands FTZ 104, Continue reading →

Land is not just money: appeal tax valuations today

Appeal today if you think there’s more to land (or business) and woods and fields and streams than money, unlike the Tax Assessors, whose revaluation would drive development into agricultural areas of the county where it doesn’t belong, while avoiding populated areas such as the south side of Valdosta. We can expect pipeline companies and utilities from other states to think nothing of pillaging our lands for their profit. We shouldn’t expect that of our neighbors whom we elected Tax Asssessors. If you have affection for your land, your county, your neighborhood, today’s the deadline to appeal your valuation. And there will be an election later.

As Wendell Berry said,

Whatever has happened in what economists call “the economy,” it is generally true that the land economy has been discounted or ignored.

Are the Tax Assessors boomers? Are you a sticker? Wendell Berry explains: Continue reading →

Monday August 10th deadline to appeal tax valuations –VLCoC

Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce members just got a message from Bruce Allred, Government Affairs Council Chairman, saying:

MONDAY IS DEADLINE TO APPEAL PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENTS!

You can look up your property on the Tax Assessors’ website: www.qpublic.net/ga/lowndes.

See also the LAKE Videos: Rural revaluation meeting at Farm Bureau 2015-08-04.

That Chamber message includes this useful information: Continue reading →

Videos: Rural revaluation meeting at Farm Bureau 2015-08-04

See for yourself the Tax Assessor response to local landowners, in these LAKE videos of last night’s meeting at Farm Bureau. Do you think there’s a problem? If so, what do you think we should do to fix it?

The attendees appointed Gretchen to take notes. Here are her notes, followed by the videos.

Accessibility is not about access, it’s about geographic location…. That was done by one of our appraisers on staff. —Chief Appraiser Silas Hrobar

Rural and commercial land owners got surprises in the mail in July when they received the updated assessments of their properties. Lowndes County Assessors engaged a contractor last year to help with the reassessments of approximately 10,000 properties. Rural properties were categorized as small (under 20 acres) and large (over 20 acres) but complaints were the same, inconsistent and confusing application of criteria.

On Tuesday evening, Farm Bureau hosted Continue reading →

Videos: Building and billboard locations @ ZBOA 2015-06-02

June 2nd 2015, ZBOA approved Fairway’s new billboard request, and building location variance for Gloryhill Cowboy Church, both unanimously, 6-0. They meet again today at 2:30 PM (they didn’t meet in July).

They welcomed new ZBOA member, John Hogan III, who ran for Valdosta City Council in 2015, appointed to ZBOA by that Council 7 May 2015. Laverne Gaskins declined to be reappointed.

Here’s the agenda, from the City of Valdosta website, followed by the video. Continue reading →

Rural revaluation meeting at Farm Bureau 2015-08-04

Are Bill Gates and subdivisions really more important than agriculture or rivers or public transportation? Come to Farm Bureau tomorrow evening and find out what’s going on with the rural land revaluation. facebook event.

When: 7PM, Tuesday, 4 August 2015

Where: 3296 Greystone Way, Valdosta, GA, (229) 242-7876

By: Farm Bureau board member Buddy Coleman called this meeting.

What: Compare the Comprehensive Plan to this revaluation here (PDF).

Sprawl: sprawling residential growth is a certain ticket to fiscal ruin (Or at least big tax increases). PDF of the report by UGA Prof. Jeffrey H. Dorfman Lowndes County paid for in 2007, The Local Government Fiscal Impacts of Land Use in Lowndes County.

Who: At least some of the Lowndes County Tax Assessors Continue reading →