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).
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?
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
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.
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
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:
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:
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:
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,
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.
Here’s
Part 1 of 3:
