Category Archives: SPLOST

Airport Authority Director pled for SPLOST VII funding @ LCC 2013-07-23

The Executive Director of the Airport Authority pled for runway funding
at

the 23 July 2013 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.




5. SPLOST VII request from Executive Director of Airport Authority


The one public speaker when County Chairman Bill Slaughter
“opened up” the SPLOST VII item
was Jim Galloway,
Executive Director of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Airport Authority,
who noted SPLOST VII included nothing for the airport from the county
or any of the cities.
The long runway is federally funded, but the shorter runway is not.
He asked for county funding.
which I see now lists its board members on

its website:

Steve Everett – Chairman

Jeff Sikes

Nathaniel Haugabrook

Dr. James Sinnott

Anthony Payton

Jane Shelton

Jim Galloway – executive director/airport manager (229) 333-1833

Here’s

Jim Galloway in a Valdosta CEO video
explaining what the Airport Authority is and does,
for example 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 →

Videos: Moody, Moody, acre, water, and SPLOST VI @ LCC 2013-08-12 @ LCC 2013-08-12



The “SPLOST VII Agreement” has been drafted among the county and the local
cities, but it isn’t quite done yet,
you can’t see what they’re still considering,
and there was no mention of any public hearings.
A local engineering firm is apparently going to get two no-bid contracts,
one for the
Alapaha Water Treatment Plant
and one for
the county’s Land Application Site.
A local attorney represented both

a bond refinancing
and

Moody Housing.
Many renewal contracts were presented, and the long-running
juvenile justice item saw some progress.
They ended with an Executive Session
but didn’t say what for.
Chummy lot, those Commissioners and staff and attorneys and engineers.

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


  1. Call to Order
  2. Invocation

    That’s only in the Regular Session, which is 5:30 PM Tuesday 13 August 2013.

  3. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag

    That’s only in the Regular Session, which is 5:30 PM Tuesday 13 August 2013.

  4. Minutes for Approval

    Chairman Bill Slaughter said:
    “Please take a look at those before tomorrow night.”

    Continue reading →

Moody, Moody, acre, water, and SPLOST VI @ LCC 2013-08-12

Does “SPLOST VII Agreement” mean the SPLOST lists are a done deal and
there will be no public hearings?
Two Moody and one small rezoning cases move from the Planning Commission
to the County Commission.
And that Alapaha Water Treatment Plant is back on the agenda for tomorrow morning and voting Tuesday evening by the Lowndes County Commission.

Here’s

the agenda,
with 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 →

Thanks for a boat ramp & a new community center –Kristofer Graham, Naylor

Received yesterday. -jsq


State Park style trash can

I just want to take a min of my time & thank you all the Lowndes county
commissioners for Consideration of Proposed List for a boat ramp & a new
community center in our community. This mean a lot to our community &
our surrounding counties. It’s a good asset to Lowndes county. Lowndes
County needs public access to the beautiful scenic Alapaha River as
residents have enjoyed the river for generations. Now our community will
have something to cherish for generations & more generations to come. I
hope the community will come together. Continue reading →

County setting parks legacy –April Huntley

LTE in the VDT today. -jsq

I would like to inform the community that the Lowndes County Board
of Commissioners has announced their “Consideration of Proposed
List” for Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax VII on July 22-23,
2013. It can be viewed on LowndesCounty.com.

The part of the budget that is most impressive to me is the
allocation to Parks & Recreation. Its allocation is 3.5 million
dollars. We need good recreation for our families in Lowndes County
and to me this number sounds like our county commissioners take it
serious.

I would also like to send out a big thank you to the commissioners
for putting a Community Center in Naylor and a boat ramp on the
Alapaha River as part of the purpose for the Parks and Recreation
allocation.


Lowndes County needs public access to the beautiful Alapaha River as
residents have enjoyed the river for generations. I hope the
community will come together over this project and create a legacy
for generations to come. Please send thank yous, ideas and comments
to the commission about the Naylor project:

Continue reading →

Community Assessment Group and Internet access @ LCC 2013-07-22

Valdosta Mayor Gayle was standing next to the video ghetto
after the county’s rather rudimentary SPLOST VII presentation
Monday morning, so I asked him why I hadn’t seen anything about Internet
access either Valdosta’s or Lowndes County’s SPLOST lists?
He said that was because it was being handled by the Community Assessment Group (CAG).
What’s that?



Mayor Gayle said CAG is a group of representatives from the county
and all the local cities, the two school districts (Valdosta and Lowndes County),
VSU, Wiregrass Tech, the Industrial Authority, the Chamber, and he may have
said others.
It’s an attempt at better local cooperation, specifically about issues
that cross all the various local governmental and non-governmental groups.
So far they’ve had two meetings, Continue reading →

Videos: SPLOST, Children’s Appointment, Prisoners, and Water @ LCC 2013-07-22 @ LCC 2013-07-22



Valdosta Mayor Gayle attended, apparently because of

the SPLOST VII presentation.
Emily Golden for DFCS.
Prisoners for wastewater,
another wastewater problem,
insurance for liabilty,
and I’m not the only one who
makes jokes at Joe Pritchard’s expense.
They vote tonight at 5:30 PM, and apparently they’re going to give the SPLOST presentation again, too.

Here’s

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

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JULY 22, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JULY 23, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor


  1. Call to Order

    Chairman Bill Slaughter recognized Valdosta Mayor John Gayle,
    who was sitting in the back.


    County Chairman Bill Slaughter noticing Mayor Gayle

    County Chairman Bill Slaughter recognizing Mayor Gayle

    Valdosta Mayor John Gayle

  2. Invocation

    Only in the Regular Session.

  3. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag

    Only in the Regular Session.


  4. Minutes for Approval

    1. Work Session — July 8, 2013

    2. Regular Session — July 9, 2013


      Pritchard asks for clarification of minutes
      County Manager Joe Pritchard was also confused as to

      what did the Commissioners approve
      regarding the “conjoined” items in the 9 July Regular Session:

      1. For Consideration

        1. Video Arraignment for Magistrate and Juvenile Court Contract

        2. Enterprise and Backup Storage Solution Scope of Work


      Commissioner Crawford Powell cracks a joke
      Pritchard noted County Attorney Walter Elliott referred to the
      purchase orders
      for item 6.a., saying purchase orders item 6.b. were “not present”.
      Pritchard wanted to know if Commissioners approved both of them.


      County Attorney Walter Elliott gets the joke
      Commissioner Crawford Powell said he thought the way “Walter”
      stated it they didn’t approve either one of them.
      Little joke.
      “Walter” got it, and eventually Pritchard did, too, after everyone
      else laughed.
      Then Powell clarified that they had approved both items.

      County Manager gradually catches on
      Which anyone can see in

      the LAKE video of those items      .
      Hm, if the Commission kept their own videos, Pritchard could have
      just looked at those and seen.


  5. Special Presentation & Consideration — Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax VII

    There was something new in what Joe Pritchard said:

    Commissioners each had an opportunity for independent review and evaluation.

    For that and more, including the slides, see

    separate post    .


  6. Ellen S. Golden raising her hand

    Appointment – Department of Family & Children’s Services Board

    Emily Golden is the candidate; see

    separate post for much more    .

  7. For Consideration


    1. Prison Detail Contracts

      Three details at $39,500 each, no increase from last year, said Public Works Director
      Robin Cumbus;
      see

      other post       for what Commissioners Marshall, Slaughter, and Powell had to say.


    2. Lake Alapaha subdivision

      Letter to Environmental Protection Division concerning Alapaha Water Treatment Plant Upgrade

      It’s because of a notice of violation from GA EPD, said Utilities Director Mike Allen,
      and he’d been working with Lovell Engineering on a letter to say the problem
      of disinfection byproducts would be fixed by the end of March 2015.

      Commissioner Demarcus Marshall wanted to know if
      Lovell Engineering would be submitting “on our behalf, or would we be submitting it?”
      See

      separate post       for more.


    3. Contract with GA Department of Transportation for Off System Safety Action Program

      The county has received a grant from GDOT for striking, signs, and
      raised pavement markers for 30.79 miles of road, for $142,491.75.

      I will also give you a copy of the roads that will be restruck
      under this contract.
      Commissioners had no questions.

      Why wasn’t that copy in the board packet and online with the agenda?
      How can you find out if your road is on that list?
      File an open records request.


    4. County Engineer Mike Fletcher

      Adopt Resolution accepting infrastructure for Barrington Subdivision Phase I

      Engineer said it was mostly complete but they were waiting on a punch list
      from the developer before signing off on it.
      Commissioners had no questions.


      Barrington Subdivision off Bemiss Road



    5. ACCG IRMA Liability Program Renewal

      So the county does have liability insurance that covers Commissioners,
      and all other employees, too.
      See

      separate post      .


    6. Resolution for ACCG-GEBCorp Retirement Eligibility Amendment

      Couple of new employees missed being in county’s retirement plan,
      and this deals with that.
      See

      separate post      .


  8. Reports-County Manager

    No report, but he asked for an executive session “for purposes of
    attorney-client communications”.

    In

    this video of them returning from that executive session    ,
    you can see local attorney Tom Gooding coming out of the side room with them.


    Tom Gooding coming out of the Executive Session room

    Then they adjourned the Work Session.


    Tom Gooding at Adjournment

  9. Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address

    Only in the Regular Session, which is tonight at 5:30 PM.

Here’s

a video playlist:



Videos: SPLOST, Children’s Appointment, Prisoners, and Water @ LCC 2013-07-22

Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),

Videos by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 22 July 2013.

-jsq

SPLOST VII county list @ LCC 2013-07-22



Not quite most of the money for roads, streets, and bridges
(none of them named to the public), plus everything from animals to public safety,
in the county’s SPLOST VII list.
But don’t be alarmed: it contains no new library and no new auditorium,
and the Chairman referred to it as a “back to basics” list.
It also contains nothing about Internet access; more on that in a separate post.
You can be told about this list tomorrow night or at a forthcoming joint county-cities
public telling: no town hall meetings have yet been scheduled.
These videos and slides are from

this morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session.

5.
Special Presentation & Consideration — Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax VII

There was something new in what Joe Pritchard said:



Commissioners each had an opportunity for independent review and evaluation.

That’s better than the county tradition of the staff write down the list
and Commissioners rubber-stamp it.
However, where are

those town hall meetings Commissioner Joyce Evans promised?
She reminded me afterwards that she had said “hopefully”.
Mayor Gayle told me afterwards the problem was they were too close
to the deadline for turning in the lists for the election.
He indicated that was because the county was late.
Remember Valdosta already presented its list

9 July 2013.
Rumor has it the delay was in some Commissioners insisting on actually
having input.
That’s a good thing, but if the county planned ahead, there still
would have been time for the rest of us to provide input before
the lists were finalized.

The slides presented say they’re also available on the county’s website,
but I don’t see them there, so I’m posting stills from the LAKE video here.

Continue reading →

SPLOST, Children’s Appointment, Prisoners, and Water @ LCC 2013-07-22

A SPLOST VII presentation, an appointment to the


Department of Family & Children’s Services Board,
rehiring prisoners who are cheaper than local labor,
and a letter to GA EPD about an upgrade to
the Alapaha Water Treatment Plant they’ve been tinkering with since
13 and 14 August 2007 at least.
Is this the upgrade
Reed Construction Data says is on US 84,
was engineered by Lovell Engineering?
If so, it’s for:

Water Treatment, Sewage Treatment The Work To Be Done Shall Consist
Of Furnishing All Labor Materials & Equipment Necessary To Construct
The Project Titled Alapaha Water Treatment Facility As Shown On The
Construction Drawings In General Construction Consists Of
Approximately 950 LF Of 6 PVC Watermain, Relocation Of 20000 Gallon
Hydro-Pneumatic Tank, Valves, Fittings, Controls, Erosion Control
Grassing, 2 Submersible Wells, Water Supplies Sulfide Removal
Stripper Tank, 2 Booster Pumps, 16′ X 16′ Blcok Masonry Bldg & All
Other Associated Apertures Necessary For A Complete Installation

Here’s

the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JULY 22, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JULY 23, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →