Category Archives: Lowndes County Commission

Putting power on the grid at Wiregrass Solar Commissioning

Congratulations on the commissioning ceremony for Wiregrass Solar!

Allan Ricketts (Acting Executive Director, VLCIA), Georgia Power rep., Roy Copeland (VLCIA Board member), Crawford Powell (Lowndes County Commissioner), John J. Fretti (Mayor of Valdosta), Therrell “Sonny” Murphy (Chairman of Sterling Planet), Tim Golden (Georgia State Senator), Pete Marte (CEO of Hannah Solar).

Continue reading →

Do you miss him yet? Brad Lofton in SC

He may be gone, but he’s still up to his old tricks, and he’s using us for a reference.

Adva Saldinger wrote in The Sun News 8 May 2011, Lofton hits ground running in new post; CEO asking taxpayers for $1.6 million:

The new Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corp. president and chief executive is by many accounts aggressive and personable, and he says, ready to take charge and bring much needed jobs to the area quickly.
Brad Lofton said he will bring 500 jobs in the first 18 months, and an average of 500 jobs each year over the next five to 10 years.

And a pony!

Has anybody verified the jobs Lofton claimed he brought to Lowndes County? Continue reading →

Come back and expand on this one —Valdosta Mayor John Fretti

Yes, let’s celebrate Hannah Solar and this solar array! But why do people have to keep gilding the lily and claiming it’s the largest in the state when it wasn’t even back at groundbreaking? So if Valdosta Mayor John Fretti and County Commissioner Crawford Powell have agreed to expand this solar array if somebody leapfrogs it, time to get cracking! It was already leapfrogged before it was built.

After lauding his class of Leadership Lowndes over others, Mayor Fretti complimented various local organizations and said:

…not only that it has a good quality of life, it has the infrastructure that is needed for industrial recruitment, but that you will be successful when you locate in Valdosta-Lowndes County, and I think Hannah Solar is evidence of that.

All true, and note which comes first: “a good quality of life.”

Mayor Fretti quoted the first law of thermodynamics (conservation and conservation of energy) and remarked:

But now we have some energy sources in our area that we can take advantage of. Unfortunately we don’t have an ocean for tidal power. Unfortunately we don’t have geothermal as much as other areas of the country.
We do have sunlight. Certainly not as much as some areas of the country, but we have an abundance enough that we could put out what is currently the largest array in the state of Georgia.

That’s all good stuff, except this wasn’t the biggest solar array in the state even the last time Mayor Fretti stood on the same spot and said the same thing.

Maybe he (and everyone) should double-check what VLCIA tells him.

Brad Lofton knew Continue reading →

What does this mean? —Leigh Touchton

This comment from Leigh Touchton came in last night on It’s not over until it’s over. I have added links and pictures. -jsq

I asked VLCIA Board member Roy Copeland afterwards whether this means the biomass incinerator is STILL going to be built? He shrugged and walked away.
Karen Noll asked Allan Ricketts what does this mean, since we all heard Lowndes County Commission Chairman Paulk give us a very different scenario at the last LCC meeting, and his remarks were covered in the Valdosta Daily Times. Mr. Ricketts said he was not aware of Chairman Paulk’s remarks.

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Rezoning on Old Pine Road again: is anything different this time?

Has anything changed since the contentious Glen Laurel rezoning on Old Pine Road? Maybe yes.

The new case decided yesterday (REZ-2011-05 – Laurel Brooke), was also represented by Bill Nijem, who got up and started speaking for it, and after a bit said:

First let me introduce myself, there are new faces up here. Bill Nijem. I represent the applicant.

Assuming that Commissioners should just know who he is may not sound like a good start, But, as he already said, nobody was speaking against this rezoning. Why is that?

I would like to note when the applicant first submitted this application, it was submitted as planned development, and worked with Mr. Davenport, we did tweak the site plan somewhat, made larger lots, and now it’s R-10.

And that’s what the opponents of the Glen Laurel rezoning asked for. At least a couple of them were present this time. Gretchen talked to them later, and they told her that since this subdivision had what they asked for last time, they had no objections this time.

Bill Nijem even discussed traffic and accidents, which you may recall Continue reading →

Developers refused to budge and Commissioners caved: Glen Laurel

Should the County Commission approve rezoning for a subdivision just because developers say they won’t compromise any more?

Bill Nijem presented Moody and schools nearby and the proposed house price as arguments for the Glen Laurel subdivision, plus county services, which, remember, were put in for them to use. This was after Pine Grove Elementary closed and moved farther away.

Here’s Part 1 of 5: Continue reading →

Put there for us to use —Barbara Herring

Should developers drive the extension of county services, or should there be a planning process that takes other factors into account? The Glen Laurel rezoning case suggests that developers drive the process now.

Speaking for the Glen Laurel subdivision were Bill Nijem and Barbara Herring. She described the original layout as “a very efficient layout”. She said they redesigned it and added a park in the middle and other green space in addition to natural vegetation.

All the neighbors on the outside wouldn’t be able to see into it very well.

She said they also increased the lot sizes, but they did not change the road plan.

Here’s Part 1 of 2: Continue reading →

Density and traffic

A retired Air Force veteran weighed in, asserting that new subdivisions need to be compatible and consistent with homes already in the area, and Glen Laurel would cause a lot of traffic and drive land values down.

In the long run, as far as Lowndes County is concerned, do you feel in your hearts that this is going to enhance Lowndes County as a place to come and live and enjoy?

Here’s Part 1 of 3: Continue reading →

Whose responsibility is it after the developers are gone?

A landowner directly across from Glen Laurel pointed out that all the other subdivisions on Old Pine Road also connect to another street, so there are two ways in and out, but Glen Laurel does not. She said the photographs they submitted were of Blue Pool, Callaway Circle, and Hamilton Circle, which are all subdivisions that were developed as affordable housing for first-time homeowners, yet the houses are now in sad shape. She wondered whose responsibility is it to maintain the entrance after the developers are gone? Is it the homeowners association? This is basically the same question Mr. Mulligan asked, which Chairman Ashley Paulk answered with code enforcement.

She said that at Hamilton Circle there are cars parked on the green area, Continue reading →

Small lot size means more traffic —Ms. Zaun

A landowner (probably Glynda Faye Zaun) between Old Pine Road and Mulligan Road says if all those little houses are built her property values will decrease, and she’ll be surrounded by 94 little homes that will generate too much traffic.

I am not against growth. Growth is beneficial to every community; I recognize that. But it should be constructed in a way that is beneficial and pleasing to everyone and not just to the developers or the ones who want to make a lot of money quick and then leave.