Category Archives: Government

Roger Budd on Francis Lake and Riverview on the Withlacoochee River @ GLPC 2014-07-28

Neverending Nelson Hill was completely withdrawn this time. Opposition showed up against Roger Budd Jr‘s rezoning of 4.28 acres from R-10 to C-G on Francis Lake in Lake Park. Plus recommendations for a county appointee to GLPC. In Valdosta, Turner Brooks was withdrawn although paperwork was in progress for a different submission, and Riverview Development LLC still wanted to rezone 3.59 acres to Community Commercial and to rezone 7 parcels of 3.14 acres total to Multi-Family Residential partly in the floodplain of the Withlacoochee River behind Music Funeral Home.

Here’s the agenda, and the videos are below. Continue reading →

Riverview development next to Withlacoochee River? @ GLPC 2014-07-28

A flood plain rezoning next to the Withlacoochee river came back from 2011, at the 28 July 2014 Planning Commission meeting, which voted unanimously for, as did the Valdosta City Council later.

7. VA-2014-05 Riverview Development LLC

Video. This is parcel 0074 088 on North Valdosta Road behind Music Funeral Home, next to Langdale Park, on the other side of the Withlacoochee River from Foxborough.

City Planner Matt Martin said only a tiny part of the property was in the floodplain of the Withlacoochee River. Continue reading →

Family Dollar on Roger Budd property near Francis Lake in Lake Park? @ GLPC 2014-07-28

Opposition started arising to Roger Budd’s request to rezone to put another Family Dollar near Francis Lake in Lake Park, at the 28 July 2014 Planning Commission meeting, which voted 5 to 2 with one abstention to recommend a compromise solution.

6. REZ-2014-14 Roger Budd Jr

Video. County Planner Jason Davenport said he had received no indications of any opposition. And one GLPC member asked the developer’s presenter whether residents of Francis Lake had been notified.

Yet J.D. Carroll spoke against, Continue reading →

Why open government matters –VDT

Maybe the Lowndes County Commission should have read these quotes before it approved that unbudgeted no-bid not-discussed-in-the-retreat second water treatment system purchase.

Update 17 October 2014: Fix date of editorial. -jsq

VDT editorial 12 April August 2014, Why open government matters,

“The same prudence, which, in private life, would forbid our paying our money for unexplained projects, forbids it in the disposition of public moneys.” — Thomas Jefferson.

Continue reading →

Construction Board, Nelson Hill, and Creekwood @ LCC 2014-08-11

Water, water, construction, subdivisions, and alcohol: Nelson Hill and Roger Budd are back, like at the 28 July 2014 Planning Commission. The first board appointment from the list of ones to fill this year is for the Valdosta-Lowndes County Construction Board of Adjustments and Appeals. The Lowndes County Commission already met yesterday morning for the Work Session, and they meet tonight at 5:30 PM to vote in the Regular Session.

Here’s the agenda. Continue reading →

Videos: Double water equip. 2 to 1@ LCC 2014-07-22

The three Commissioners who showed up voted 2 to 1 for a no-bid purchase of not just one but two expensive pieces of water treatment equipment, with no bids, not on the budget, not discussed at the retreat, and not included in SPLOST VII.

The KLVB appointment was tabled because applicant withdrew. They finally found out the open Board of Health slot was only until December 2015 and the usual terms are six years. Commissioners as usual didn’t ask any questions when County Engineer Mike Fletcher said yet another subdivision was ready for infrastructure to be accepted by the county.

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JULY 21, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor

Here are links to the videos, followed by a playlist.

Continue reading →

Children, cancer clusters, citizen water tests @ GA EPD 2014-07-17

Citizens are not convinced EPA, GA-EPD, and GA Dept. of Health are doing enough to find what’s causing widespread sickness and death in Waycross, GA. They asked questions and provided data and anecdotes for more than an hour, demanding more testing and answers, at a meeting about the Seven Out Superfund and other air and water contamination, for example from CSX and AGL.

Georgia Department of Health did offer a new survey, with local help. She also offered to send a local health dept. rep. right out whenever they were alerted a certain site stunk after rains. EPA and GA-EPD admitted there was a problem and said they were trying to fix it, which is a step forward from their preliminary Waycross meeting last November. But not a big enough step or quick enough to satisfy Waycross people who are or who know many who are sick or dying.

They asked very insightful questions, about Continue reading →

Videos: New name, new member @ VLCIA 2014-07-15

They’re aiming at 20 August 2014 for a meeting with local educational and business leaders. After mulling it over for more than two years, VLCIA waited until somebody in Atlanta told them to, and finally added a trading name of Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority (VLDA), which two board members immediately said wrong. Still, much actual thought, discussion, investigation and potential courses of action was presented, especially in the Executive Director’s Report and in the answers to Alvin Payton’s questions.

Only three board members attended VLCIA’s first meeting in its new office near the hospital: Roy Copeland, Vice-Chairman Jerry Jennett (presiding), and new member Georgia Power VP Terri Lupo, who was just appointed to VLCIA by the Lowndes County Commission. They did not have the expected officer nominating committee report, because Chairman Mary Gooding and Tom Call were not there; they barely had a quorum with 3 out of 5 board members. Also attending were Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter, Valdosta Mayor John Gayle, and Valdosta City Council Alvin Payton. All three spoke in Citizens To Be Heard, as did I, delivering the traditional welcome gift.

This move uptown leaves their old building to Sabal Trail and its proposed fracked methane pipeline. Has VLCIA ever developed an opinion on that boondoggle?

Here’s the agenda, with links to the videos, followed by a video playlist.

Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority
Tuesday, July 15, 2014 5:30 p.m.
Industrial Authority Conference Room
103 Roosevelt Drive
Monthly Meeting Agenda
Continue reading →

Nelson Hill and new county appointee + 2 Valdosta @ GLPC 2014-07-28

Tonight at 6PM, neverending Nelson Hill is back after GLPC tabled it last month and half of it was withdrawn at the County Commission and the other half tabled. Is that other half related to the staff variances of 2009 and 2011 without any public hearings? Roger Budd Jr wants to rezone 4.28 acres. Plus recommendations for a county appointee to GLPC. In Valdosta, requests to rezone 3.59 acres to Community Commercial and to rezone 7 parcels of 3.14 acres total to Multi-Family Residential.

Here’s PDF of the agenda (no, not from Lowndes County), and it’s below in HTML.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission

Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park

REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING

AGENDA

Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue

Monday, July 28, 2014* 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing

Continue reading →

EPA hearings in AJC: where’s the second step about natural gas?

AJC on the EPA hearings this week: they didn’t print my proposed second step for natural gas, but they did quote Sierra Club on efficiency.

Kristina Torres wrote for the AJC today, EPA brings ‘clean power’ plan to Atlanta. Will it hurt Georgia? Continue reading →