Category Archives: Lowndes County Commission

Dollar General and a historical overlay @ GLPC 2014-01-27

Yet another Dollar General, two small rezonings in Lowndes County, a business office in Valdosta, and a proposed Historical Overlay District.

Here’s the agenda, supplied by an informant. It came as PDF of an image, so I OCRed it to get this text. But why should any citizen have to do that? Oh, right, “the expense”.

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, January 27, 2014* 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing

Continue reading →

the expense of agendas @ GLPC 2014-01-27

The Greater Lowndes Planning Commission meets tonight at 5:30PM, but there’s no agenda posted anywhere online. At the same meeting at which he asserted “we have broadband”, and “transparency is not a problem” County Chairman Bill Slaughter said the county doesn’t publish agendas or minutes for the Planning Commission because of “the expense”.

“the expense”
v.
“When officials act like
they have something to hide,
they often do”

I suppose I don’t know much about this Internet stuff, so maybe somebody can explain it to me: what’s the big expense in publishing the GLPC agendas and minutes the same way the county publishes its own agendas and minutes? Yet if you search for the Planning Commission on the county’s website, all you find is its name in a list of Boards, Agencies & Commissions; tonight’s meeting is not even listed in the county’s online calendar.

For that matter, what would be the big expense in posting the entire agenda packets, like for example Continue reading →

Two appointments, a Presidio, a library, and a highway @ LCC 2014-01-27

What’s a “Presidio Change Order”? (Not like those change orders in DeKalb County, let’s hope.) A GEFA loan application for what? What’s going on with the Moody AFB Library?

Apparently Nottinghill is going to have a community water system, since it’s on the agenda for a trust deed, but you wouldn’t know that unless you’d followed other trust deeds, such as the one for Raisin’ Cane approved in December.

At least we know they’ve been itching to turn Cat Creek Road into a highway at least since they put widening it on their T-SPLOST list in 2012, and on this agenda is replacing the old bridge on Cat Creek Road.

The agenda actually says the final item is only in the Work Session. Maybe this will avoid the kind of confusion that happened with the Sabal Trail pipeline presentation in November and December.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Videos: 2 agreements, education, jail, alcohol, and a health care presentation @ LCC 2014-01-13

They vote tonight at 5:30PM. Probably there won’t be a repeat of yesterday morning’s presentation by District Health Director Dr. Grow. The county wants an architect for a new roof and shower in one jail pod; it’s considering two interagency agreements, one for Valdosta Inspections for Lake Park and the other for the county extension, plus setting election qualifying fees and a Special Assessment Rate for 2014. There’s a beer license and acceptance of infrastructure for part of Grove Pointe Subdivision.

Here’s the agenda with links to the videos:

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Nottinghill resolved, Spectra profit sharing? Planning Commission transparency? @ LCC 2013-12-10

The Commission’s designated first speaker confused order with good. Chairman Bill Slaughter required a sitting judge to go to the podium to speak, even though he had not required that for multiple Spectra pipeline reps the previous morning. Nottinghill is finally resolved, after yet more probing questions by Commissioners; more than they asked the Spectra reps. A VSU professor and a landowner asked very good questions about the pipeline, a KLVB board member gave a report, and Gretchen asked the Commission to post Planning Commission minutes online.

Two people were appointed; one spoke. The two beer licenses, a liquor license, the decorative special tax lighting district for Windstone, the contracts, the resolution to ask the legislature for an additional judge, and the bids were all approved with little discussion. The settlement for back pay it turns out didn’t actually involve employees having to sue to get paid.

Here’s the amended agenda with the two added items, plus links to the videos and a few notes. See also the previous morning’s Work Session.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
AMENDED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Sabal Trail not a common carrier with open access in Georgia –Mindy Bland @ LCC 2013-12-10

A local landowner said that with no open access in Georgia, Sabal Trail Transmission should have no standing to use Georgia eminent domain law. And Sabal Trail must comply with local, state, and federal laws and ordinances, including ones that could be passed by the Lowndes County Commission, she said at their 10 December 2013 Regular Session.

For example, a depth ordinance, or an ordinance requiring a minimum distance from homes or schools. Or a tax on the pipeline easement. She recommended PipelineSafetyInfo.com. She asked for the Commissioners to use their voice.

As WCTV quoted her in their coverage, she said,

I don’t want to have to fear for my children as they sleep at night.

County Manager Joe Pritchard shuffled papers and alleged County Attorney Walter G. Elliott yawned during these citizen presentations.

Mindy Bland noted Commissioner Powell had asked for Continue reading →

The supposed pipeline economic benefits –Thomas Hochschild @ LCC 2013-12-10

How about a profit-sharing venture the pipeline partners and the County? A VSU professor asked that at the 10 December 2013 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

Dr. Hochschild listed a few benefits Spectra rep. Brian Fahrenthold had claimed the previous morning.

Considering the vast profits Florida Power and Light and Sabal Trail stand to make from the use of our land, I know they can do a lot better than hotel stays, Big Macs, and temporary jobs. Mr. Fahrenthold claimed the pipeline would be economically beneficial because it will supposedly bring in $460 million in property taxes over the next sixty years.

First I’d like to know if an independent agency came up with that projection, or if Continue reading →

Put Planning Commission agendas and minutes on web like for ZBOA? –Gretchen Quarterman @ LCC 2013-12-10

It’s curious how the City of Valdosta manages to put agendas and minutes for the Zoning Board of Appeals online, but Lowndes County doesn’t put agendas and minutes for the Planning Commission online. Gretchen Quarterman asked the County Commission to fix that, at the 10 December 2013 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

She noted that to get the minutes of the Planning Commission she had to file an open records request, and what she got was paper.

And I’ll show you one here. I’m relatively certain this wasn’t typed on a typewriter. It was typed on a computer. And I’d really like to get a computer copy of it; an electronic copy. I always just get a paper copy. So, my request would be: could I please get open records requests in electronic form when they’re available? And, even better, could the county put these minutes on the website somewhere?

Here’s the video: Continue reading →

New Nottinghill subvivision finally resolved @ LCC 2013-12-10

The long-deferred rezoning for the Orr Road version of the Nottinghill subdivision was finally resolved at the 10 December 2013 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

6.a. REZ-2013-11 Nottinghill, Orr Rd R-A to R-21

County Planner Jason Davenport said “staff has laid out for you background information”, etc. and staff recommended approval.

Commissioner John Page pointed out that there was still some question of the land being purchased by applicant, and not all the signatures were yet ready.

Davenport said some were word of mouth, others were power of attorney, etc.

The alleged County Attorney Walter G. Elliott said Continue reading →

2 interagency agreements, education, jail, alcohol, and a health care presentation @ LCC 2014-01-13

We can probably guess who “Dr. Grow” is and the general topic of his presentation, but why does the county make us guess? The county wants an architect for a new roof and shower in one jail pod; it’s considering two interagency agreements, one for Valdosta Inspections for Lake Park and the other for the county extension, plus setting election qualifying fees and a Special Assessment Rate for 2014. There’s a beer license and acceptance of infrastructure for part of Grove Pointe Subdivision.

Here’s the agenda: Continue reading →