LAKE has obtained the planning revision documents Lowndes County refused,
in violation of the law, to return in response to an open records request.
Here they are for all to see.
The Standards and Procedures for Local Comprehensive Planning,
established by the Georgia Planning Act of 1989, require updates
to the Short Term Work Projects (STWP) list and the Report of
Accomplishments (ROA) every 5 years.
Lowndes County and the cities in Lowndes County have submitted the
documents to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs
(DCA)
An open records request to Lowndes County for the documents was not satisfied.
However other government agencies were willing to abide by the
Georgia Open Records Law ocga 50-18-70.
Today from 5 to 7 PM at the Rainwater Conference Center is the
2011 Meet the Candidates Forum organized by the Valdosta-Lowndes County
Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber’s Meet the Candidates Reception provides an opportunity
for Chamber members to meet and hear from candidates running in the
Nov. 8 general election. All Chamber members and guests are invited to
attend this event at the Rainwater Conference Center. There is no cost
to Chamber members to attend.
Here’s a list of
who qualifed to run.
As you can see, most local incumbents are running unopposed.
Maybe they’ll show up anyway, and there are at least a few contested positions
(Valdosta Mayor and Council At Large, Hahira Council 3, Dasher Post 3, and Lake Park Council At Large.
This being an odd year, there are no county-wide posts up for election,
but the municipal elections affect everyone around here, even people
like me who do not live in any of the cities.
Whether at this event or elsewhere, you may want to ask the candidates
their platforms and positions on local issues.
Usually there’s also an
AAUW Lowndes County Political Forum;
I don’t know what’s up with that this year.
Usually it’s immediately after the Chamber thing,
and the AAUW Forum is open to all.
Mayor Sonny Vickers said he thought it was important for children
and grandchildren and proper for the City Council to take a stand
against school consolidation, and City Manager Larry Hanson read
the statement (transcript appended).
For:
James Wright
District 1
Hoke Hampton
District 3
Alvin Payton
District 4
Ben Norton
At Large
Didn’t Have to Vote:
Sonny Vickers
Mayor
Against:
Robert Yost
District 6
Tim Carroll
District 5
Missing:
Deidra White
District 2
After very brief discussion, the vote was 4 for
(James Wright of District 1, Hoke Hampton of District 3,
Alvin Payton of District 4, and Ben Norton At Large)
and 2 against
(Robert Yost of District 6 and Tim Carroll of District 5).
Valdosta City Council voted to oppose school consolidationo
education, consolidation, resolution,
Regular Session, Valdosta City Council (VCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 6 October 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Here’s the statement transcribed as accurately as I could from the video:
Continue reading →
A few people qualified on the last day. They’re marked ! below,
in this latest information from
Deb Cox, Lowndes County Supervisor of Elections;
* indicates incumbent.
-jsq
Valdosta
Mayor
Brooks D. Bivins !
John Gayle
Gary Minchew
At Large
Matt Flumerfelt
Ben Norton *
Council 1
James R. Wright *
Council 3
Joseph Sonny Vickers *
Council 5
Tim Carroll*
Hahira
Council 2
Bruce Cain *
Council 3
Ralph Clendenin *
Sherry Parham Brown
Dasher
Post 2 special election
Donald J. Bryan
James (Jim) Dew !
Becky Rogers
(was held by Rodney Lieupo)
Post 3
Albert Hall !
Edwin R. Smith *
Post 4
Anita Armstrong *
Lake Park
Mayor
Walker Keith Sandlin *
City Council At Large (Vote for 4)
Eric Schindler *
Ronald Carter *
Paul Mulkey *
Cathi Brown !
Russell Lane !
Sandy Sherrill !
Special election
voting now
Cathy Brown
Sandy Sherrill
Whoever wins will also have to run again in November.
Remerton
Mayor
Cornelius Holsendolph *!
City Council At Large (Vote for 5)
Alexander Abell !
Sam P. Flemming, Jr. !
Steven Koffler !
Jasen L. Tatum *
Bill Wetherington *
A few people qualified on the last day. They’re marked ! below,
in this latest information from
Deb Cox, Lowndes County Supervisor of Elections;
* indicates incumbent.
-jsq
Valdosta
Mayor
Brooks D. Bivins !
John Gayle
Gary Minchew
At Large
Matt Flumerfelt
Ben Norton *
Council 1
James R. Wright *
Council 3
Joseph Sonny Vickers *
Council 5
Tim Carroll*
Hahira
Council 2
Bruce Cain *
Council 3
Ralph Clendenin *
Sherry Parham Brown
Dasher
Post 2 special election
Donald J. Bryan
James (Jim) Dew !
Becky Rogers
(was held by Rodney Lieupo)
Post 3
Albert Hall !
Edwin R. Smith *
Post 4
Anita Armstrong *
Lake Park
Mayor
Walker Keith Sandlin *
City Council At Large (Vote for 4)
Eric Schindler *
Ronald Carter *
Paul Mulkey *
Cathi Brown !
Russell Lane !
Sandy Sherrill !
Special election
voting now
Cathy Brown
Sandy Sherrill
Whoever wins will also have to run again in November.
Remerton
Mayor
Cornelius Holsendolph *!
City Council At Large (Vote for 5)
Alexander Abell !
Sam P. Flemming, Jr. !
Steven Koffler !
Jasen L. Tatum *
Bill Wetherington *
On Monday, qualifying week begins for candidates interested in running
in the November election for
Valdosta Mayor, City Council At Large and
Council Districts 1, 3, and 5;
Hahira City Council Districts 2 and 3;
City of Dasher
Post 3 and 4;
City of Lake Park Mayor and four council
positions;
Remerton Mayor and five council seats;
Valdosta School Board
Districts 4, 5, and 6.
The VDT points out that city elections usually don’t get much turnout,
but this year there are two referendum questions on the ballot that
may cause record turnout.
They are:
Continue reading →
The five‐year Short Term Work Plan (STWP) for the 2030 Greater Lowndes
County Comprehensive Plan is due for an update later this year. The
STWP is a key implementation tool that reflects the activities and
strategies to support the Comprehensive Plan goals, which the City
of Valdosta has undertaken for the past five years (2007‐2011). It
also sets future activities and strategies for the next five years
(2012‐2017). A ‘report of accomplishments’ that identifies the
current status of each activity in the current STWP must be submitted
to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. A local public hearing
must be held and a local resolution passed in order to adopt a the STWP
update. Please check our website at
www.valdostacity.com/planning
for news and meeting schedules related to the STWP update.
Ensuring that people who will
engage in dialog and seek the benefit of the entire community are
appointed to boards lies in the hands of the elected officials.
Electing people who engage in dialog and seek the benefit of the
Continue reading →
How much should it cost for a citizen to get access to agendas
and minutes of a tax-funded board?
How does about $2 per meeting strike you?
Bobbi Anne Hancock filed an open records request for the
agendas and minutes of all regularly scheduled and called
meetings of the
VLCIA letter asking $125.09 for copies of agendas and minutes
of the
Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA)
from 2006 to the present, and got this letter back:
So at 12 meetings per year for five years plus another 3 months,
that would be about 63 meetings, divided into $125.09 gets
about $1.99 per meeting.
Susan Hall Hardy says that in most places industrial authority executives
don’t interact with their communities.
Well, paraphrasing what Yakov Smirnoff used to say,
in Lowndes County, community interact with officials!
Not to be rude, although honesty is very often perceived that way
these days, but, the industrial authority executives rarely thank their
communities. In the six states I’m most familiar with, these fellows
see themselves as beholden only to their employers. After all, they work
with their directors, elected officials, a few bankers and city/county
department heads. Rarely do they come in direct contact with the average
voter, employee or homeowner, although all those people often pay a large
part of their salaries and office operating expenses. Despite the public
funding, these groups are usually tight lipped about how they do business
and rarely provide the public with records or audits. We’ve all put up
with that manner of doing business for so long we now see it as just
that — the way you do business. We’d never accept that from a nonprofit
organization, a charity group or most elected officials. Shame on us all.
Susan, you’re helping by reading, and you’re helping more by posting.
Many local officials have noticed LAKE and this blog because
they know people read it.
Anyone who wants to help still more,
you, too, can go to a meeting.
The Industrial Authority is a good one to attend,
but I hear the Tree Commission isn’t trying as hard to enforce things,
and does anybody know anything the Hospital Authority does?
The Airport Authority?
Continue reading →
The Standards and Procedures for Local Comprehensive Planning,
established by the Georgia Planning Act of 1989, require updates
to the Short Term Work Projects (STWP) list and the Report of
Accomplishments (ROA) every 5 years.
Lowndes County and the cities in Lowndes County have submitted the
documents to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs
(DCA)
