Category Archives: Military

Moody Family Housing is in aquifer recharge zone @ LCC 2013-08-27

The

Moody Family Housing just rezoned is in a recharge zone for



our drinking water supply, the Floridan Aquifer.
What will keep runoff from this subdivision from feeding through
the wetlands and sinkhole into the aquifer?
Should we depend on county engineering, which never put in

the traffic calming measures
required for nearby Nelson Hill, or other county staff,
who gave waivers for other required items there, or just didn’t
require them to be implemented?
What assurances can we get from our county government that Moody Family
Housing won’t pollute our drinking water?


WRPDO Title Alone
The above map is a detail from

Lowndes County’s own
Water Resource Protection Districts
Ordinance (WRPDO) overlay Map.
Here’s an even more detailed view courtesy

VALOR GIS (turn on Streams and Waterbodies, NWI Wetlands, Muncipal Boundaries, and Groundwater Rechard Areas): Continue reading →

Moody can’t get onto site for Moody Family Housing –Michael Noll @ LCC 2013-08-27


Dr. Michael G. Noll of VSU said representatives of
Moody Air Force Base for the second time could not
get permission to go on the site for the Moody Family Housing
the Commission

approved rezoning for two weeks before,
at

the 27 August 2013 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

He also handed the Commission and interested parties copies of

a public comment
he and VSU professors Don Thieme and Can Denizman
had sent to USAF.

Michael G. Noll handouts
Plus the developer still refused to
provide a copy of
the geotechnical report

the Air Force’s Environmental Assessment
says the developer is required to send to the Air Force.

If there is nothing to hide,
if there are no problems with possible developments of the area,
why not share the report?



Two different people report seeing Commissioner Richard Raines
catch Dr. Noll on the way out of the building and ask him
what would be involved in doing the geophysical survey Dr. Noll
has

repeatedly asked to do.

See also Continue reading →

Importance of transparency, due diligence, and communication –Michael G. Noll @ LCC 2013-08-27

Received yesterday on

VSU professors write to USAF consultant about Moody Family Housing @ LCC 2013-08-27. -jsq



Thanks for posting this John.

One should note that the VDT was absent at

the LCBOC meeting on
August 13, when the

county commissioners approved the rezoning
request. This approval came after

we presented our concerns and
before


the period given by AFCEC for public comments
in regard to the

Environmental Assessment (EA) expired. No mention in the VDT on
August 14 about any of it, since no VDT reporter was present.



In regard to the EA and the possibilities to submit comments, it
should also be noted that

the phone number listed in the public announcement was incorrect.
Thus, any attempts to contact Mr. Allen
Richmond, the AFCEC representative, with this published phone number
were unsuccessful. We eventually received the correct phone number
with the help of Moody AFB personnel. While we were able to speak
once with Mr. Richmond and establish email contact, his ability (or
willingness?) to communicate was limited.

Moreover, we asked Mr. Allen Richmond on August 12 if we Continue reading →

VSU professors write to USAF consultant about Moody Family Housing @ LCC 2013-08-27

Presented to the Lowndes County Commission yesterday
by Dr. Noll; video to come. I’ve added a few links and illustrations. -jsq



AFCEC/CZN

2261 Hughes Ave.

Lackland AFB

TX 78236-9853
ATTN: Mr. Allan Richmond

Thursday, August 15, 2013

PUBLIC COMMENT_

RE: Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI), Moody
AFB, Georgia



This letter is written in response to the

Environmental Assessment (EA)
of the

proposed Military Housing Privatization Initiative
(MHPI) northwest of Valdosta, Georgia, on Val Del Road (also
referred to as the “Val Del parcel”).

After a careful analysis of the report, we have come to the
conclusion that the current EA of the proposed site for military
family housing


does not address a number of

potential issues
commonly found in areas of karst topography. Such areas display
unique geophysical conditions, including the presence of sinkholes
and the potential for future sinkhole formation, as well as
geohydrological conditions that need to be studied more carefully
and in a larger geographical context than currently given in the EA.



Without a more thorough environmental analysis and planning of the
construction phases, the danger exists Continue reading →

Videos: Moody, Moody, acre, water, and SPLOST VII @ LCC 2013-08-13



The

big item was a public-private partnership for units to be rented only to
military personnel, built on top of the same soil as has a sinkhole
next door.
They also approved a no-bid contract for
a drinking water treatment plant upgrade near the Alapaha River,
plus another no-bid contract for Lovell Engineering, for
wastewater treatment.
And they’re so confident SPLOST VII will be approved
by the voters (even though they never held a town hall or public hearing)
that staff is going to ask the state

to continue collections in January;
plus Gretchen pointed out that
if citizens knew what was in SPLOST they might be more willing to vote for it.
Including maybe even
the woman who noted that since garbage trucks
are coming down her road it needs to be fixed.

Here’s

the agenda,
with links to the videos and a few notes, including a few links to related posts.



LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Access to information about SPLOST –Gretchen Quarterman @ LCC 2013-08-13



If voters knew what they were voting for with SPLOST VII,
maybe they’d be more likely to vote for it,
noted Gretchen Quarterman
at the

13 August 2013 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

Gretchen Quarterman said she was happy about the work the county
had done with the cities to figure out SPLOST VII, but:

Last year we didn’t do a good job in the county about getting
the county residents to go and vote for SPLOST
so now we’re in this gap.
Thank you for figuring out how to
fill the gap; if we do that, that’s good.

One of the things that I think would really help us Continue reading →

Ground-penetrating radar and karst topography –Michael Noll @ LCC 2013-08-13



Yes, we can look under the ground at the Moody Family Housing site,
and it won’t take very long,
said a VSU professor
at the

13 August 2013 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

Dr. Michael Noll further answered

Commisioner Richard Raines’ previous question
as to what Dr. Noll was offering
regarding REZ-2013-09 Moody Family Housing
by saying


VSU does have ground-penetrating radar equipment on campus,
and a survey would take only a few weeks.
Here’s

an example of VSU work using that equipment.

Here’s

the video:



Ground-penetrating radar and karst topography –Michael Noll

Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),

Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 13 August 2013.

-jsq

Grassy Pond Sinkhole –April Huntley


When I was going down there from 2010-2011 this area of land was roped
off with caution tape (not the temporary kind). I was told when they had
problems with their piping and had to drain down the pond to fix it, when
they refilled it, they did so too fast and caused a sink hole here. I’m
not sure what kind of info can be found on it since it is

a military installation.
Chris says years back he went down there and the docks
were sinking, he was told there was a sinkhole in the pond, I think. A
couple more pics of the area I saw to follow. I guess it was remediated.

-April Huntley


Continue reading →

Traffic study? –John Page; Who pays? Richard Raines; Tax exemption –Demarcus Marshall @ LCC 2013-08-13

Traffic and taxes were discussed by Commissioners about REZ-2013-09 Moody Family
Housing on Val Del Road,


but none of them thought those topics important enough to make them conditions,
and they didn’t even discuss

use of local contractors
or

sinkholes

like the one in the Phase II site,
or the missing

geotechnical study
mentioned in the

USAF Draft Environmental Assessment whose comment period wasn’t even ended
when they voted
at

the 13 August 2013 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.


Traffic study? --John Page
As he had at the previous morning’s

Work Session,
Commissioner John Page wanted to know if that traffic study
was going to be required before the development could start.
Planning Commissioner Tommy Willis had also asked about that

back in July.
This time Page didn’t ask about GA 122 or anywhere other than
“Val Del and that area”.

Answer from County Engineer Mike Fletcher: Continue reading →

Karst subsidence beneath a house in Lowndes County –Don Thieme @ LCC 2013-08-13

Received yesterday on

Florida sinkholes spreading real estate effects in same Aquifer as under Lowndes County. -jsq


Scanning
John — Thank you for pressing forward on this important issue for the
airmen and their families at Moody AFB as well as for all citizens of
Lowndes County. My colleagues and I are also concerned and hope that we
can eventually obtain the Phase I geotechnical study. Of course, we have
our own research agendas as well as a desire to see our students working
on these problems close to their own university campus. In particular,
one of my undergraduate students just completed his thesis on karst
subsidence beneath a house in Lowndes County. Here is a link to a poster
where he presented those finding to our undergraduate research conference:

GPR Investigation of Subsidence.

-Don Thieme

Ground-Penetrating Radar Investigation of Subsidence

in Covered Karst near Valdosta

Benjamin Davis, Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences

Faculty Sponsor: Donald M. Thieme

Abstract

Continue reading →