Category Archives: Hahira

VALOR GIS and Tax Assessors Map don’t agree on Hahira annexation property @ LCC 2014-09-08

Looks like the 5720 S. Hagan Bridge address is in VALOR GIS map for the Hahira extraterritorial request in the board packet, which appears to have been received as an attachment to the request letter from Hahira. It’s easier to see if you go directly to VALOR GIS and zoom in. Which raises the question of why is the address in VALOR GIS different from the address in the Tax Assessors map.

See also this comment today by Barbara Stratton. -jsq

Mr. Allen said 5720 S Hagan Bridge Rd, which is the agenda address I was also given by one of the County Commissioners Tuesday afternoon. 5710 S Hagan Bridge Rd is the address in the Tax Assessors records and also the address that was approved by the Hahira City Council in previous meetings. So where did the 5720 address come from and I also agree that the correct address and owner name should have been published for public record. The 5710 property owned by John Bailey was purchased in February 2014 and almost immediately Continue reading →

Board packet @ LCC 2014-09-08

232x300 Survey plat REZ-2014-15, in Board Packet, Lowndes County Commission, by John S. Quarterman, 8 September 2014 Here is the board packet for this morning’s Work Session and Tuesday evening’s Regular Session. First time I’ve ever seen one before they vote on it. I thank the county for that, and you can all see what they are considering.

Hoever, it cost me $33.50, because staff included all 385 pages of the ULDC, even though that (unlike the rest of it) is online on the county website.

They also delivered it only on paper, and only in black and white, even though the Planning Department produces all the land use maps electronically and in color. And they didn’t deliver before the Work Session as I asked, even though obviously the board packet was assembled Continue reading →

Videos: GP Investments and Hahira’s Extraterritorial Request @ LCC 2014-09-08

Update 2014-09-09: Board packet via LAKE open records request.

Twelve minutes. When do they actually talk about things? They vote Tuesday at 5:30 PM. “Hahira’s Extraterritorial Request” is for water and sewer for John Bailey. “Rezoning case REZ-2014-15” is also about water and sewer. The other obscure public hearing is to fix something county staff didn’t do correctly back in June.

Yes, it’s the old white guy to replace the young black woman on the Planning Commission, and it’s Commissioner Joyce Evans for the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. And yes, it’s the annual renewal of hiring prisoners from Valdosta State Prison.

Here’s the agenda with links to the videos and some notes.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

County back at Lake Alapaha, Hahira dwelling, Solar maybe solved in Valdosta @ ZBOA 2014-09-09

Back again: the county’s never-ending no-bid Alapaha Water Treatment plant. And Dr. Urbonas may withdraw his solar parking variance because if he connects the structures to his building they don’t need a variance.

New cases: a single-family design variance near Hahira an accessory structure near Valdosta, and a sign variance in Valdosta.

Here’s the agenda for Tuesday 9 September 2014. The City of Valdosta puts ZBOA agendas and minutes online in real PDFs. Continue reading →

What are REZ-2014-15 and Hahira’s Extraterritorial Request? @ LCC 2014-09-08

300x268 Location map, in GP Investments, by John S. Quarterman, 8 September 2014 Public hearings with no details: how is the public to know to show up? Why no description at all for “Rezoning case REZ-2014-15”? And no identifying number for the next case? And why the extra obscurity about “Hahira’s Extraterritorial Request”? This agenda goes beyond brief into opaque. LAKE can answer two of these questions because Gretchen went to the Planning Commission meeting and photographed that agenda that Lowndes County refuses to even publish. But why should the taxpayers be left guessing about what their only elected county-wide government is doing?

Also two appointments: the Planning Commission’s recommendation to replace its departing young black woman member with an old white man and somebody unnamed to the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Plus the annual renewal of hiring prisoners from Valdosta State Prison.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Nova Scotia banned fracking; will southeast U.S. ban fracked methane pipelines?

Yesterday Nova Scotia announced a ban on fracking. Will local or state governments in the southeast, now threatened by the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline, ban such pipelines? Especially since FERC has now directed Sabal Trail to examine routes through Americus, Cordele, Ashburn, Tifton, Adel, Valdosta, and even Thomasville, in addition to the ones it already proposed through Dougherty, Colquitt, Brooks, and Lowndes Counties?

Sierra Club Canada wrote about public meetings in its Media Release of 28 August 2014, Government of Nova Scotia Needs to Ban Fracking,

“Public meetings held by the panel were attended by an overwhelming majority of well-informed citizens who had deep concerns about fracking,” according to [Gretchen] Fitzgerald, “Those concerns should be met with the type of leadership they deserve: an immediate, legally binding ban.”

And the Nova Scotia government listened. Bruce Erskine wrote for The Herald Business 3 September 2014, Nova Scotia to ban fracking, posting a video in which you can hear Energy Minister Andrew Younger say: Continue reading →

Annexation postponed @ Hahira 2014-06-05

They tabled until July 10th the Wetherington-Nelson annexation request, and approved the city budget; also a beer and wine license. And voted to accept a bid from EZsite to fix their website. Council Mason Barfield said in Council Comments he loves being on video, and sees the Internet as the future of local government. County Manager Jonathan Sumner noted Hahira’s budget is in the black, and, unlike other local governments, does not need to raise its millage. Hm, maybe they could afford to do their own videos, then.

Since their website is still broken, I don’t have an agenda. Here are links to the videos, followed by a playlist. Continue reading →

Videos: Hahira rezoning and annexation, two Valdosta CUP @ GLPC 2014-04-28

Tabled at applicant’s request: the Hahira rezoning and annexation; see also the Lowndes County Commission letter of objection of 22 April 2014. The proponents to establish a recycling center didn’t show up to answer questions, and due to lack of information (noise, hours, odors, vermin, expansion, etc.), GLPC unanimously voted to recommend tabling. GLPC voted to recommend approval with selected conditions for Langdale Ford’s minor automotive repair facility.

Remember, Lowndes County answered an open records request for the agenda 47 hours after this Planning Commission meeting started. Here’s the actual agenda by other means.

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

Here are videos of what GLPC did. Continue reading →

Videos: fire chief, teachers, web site, and chairs @ Hahira 2014-05-15

They talked about a new website; is it up yet? Nope, according to http://www.hahira.ga.us/cityofficials.html Wayne Bullard is still Mayor, Rose Adams is still on the Council, and new Council members Kenneth Davis and Mason Barfield are nowhere to be seen. However, former Council member Bruce Cain has vanished, even though he’s the actual Mayor per last November’s election. Here are some videos from the May 15th special called meeting of the Hahira City Council where they talk about that proposed new website.

Here’s a video playlist:


Videos: fire chief, teachers, web site, and chairs
Special Called Meeting, Hahira City Council (Hahira),
Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Hahira, Lowndes County, Georgia, 15 May 2014.

-jsq

Videos: DFCS and ZBOA appointments + guns, lawyers, and money @ LCC 2014-06-10

They wouldn’t say what they would do to secure their own building after July 1st when the Georgia guns-everywhere law goes into effect. A split vote for not opposing the Hahira annexation recommended against by the Planning Commission plus unanimous approval of everything else under For Consideration, including declaring some Finance computers surplus. They voted to approve their opaque selection of auditing services and to buy an unnamed firewall replacement among other things for unknown amounts. Maybe somebody should bring that up at the county Budget Hearings.

They reappointed Lonnie Denton to a sixth five-year term on the Lowndes Division of Family and Children Services (he spoke) and Willie Houseal and Gretchen Quarterman each to a third three-year term on the ZBOA (they spoke yesterday morning). Also Public Hearings for well and septic and a special events change to the ULDC. in their Luke Bryan balancing act.

Here’s the agenda, with links to the videos and a few notes. See also the videos of the Work Session of the previous morning and the videos of the 27 May 2014 Planning Commission meeting.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →