What would you be willing to vote for in SPLOST VII this November?
There will be a presentation on the proposed SPLOST VII projects at the work session.
in Valdosta News posted yesterday
Valdosta City Council Holds Work Session and Council Meeting This Week.
And as
an ad in the VDT Sunday:
Scan by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2013.
-jsq
Valdosta’s proposed SPLOST list will be presented Tuesday
at the city’s Work Session 5:30PM Tuesday 9 July 2013:
be there, or be blindsided by what’s on that list.
Scan by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2013.
You know that if you read to the middle of the
ad in today’s VDT about the Work Session and Regular Session.
That’s in the paper paper;
ads in the paper don’t get put online.
There’s no agenda online for the Work Session.
The agenda for the Regular Session says nothing about SPLOST.
There’s nothing on the city’s calendar about SPLOST.
There’s no PR about this on the city’s website.
There’s nothing about it in any of the city’s TV videos that I can find.
Don’t be surprised if nobody shows up….
-jsq
The political appointee was replaced by a librarian,
and the marketing guy by a marketing guy,
at
the 25 June Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.
5.a. Lowndes County Library Board
Back
on June 10th
Library Director Kelly Lenz brought
candidates
Jack Hartley, Linda Most, and Matt Lawrence,
who spoke, and
at the June 24th Work Session
Commissioner Joyce Evans submitted the name of Mr. Robert Jefferson,
who did not speak.
This time County Manager Joe Pritchard mumbled behind his monitor
and did not deign to name any of the candidates, referring to “a list”
that Commissioners could see but the public could not.
He did say that the openings were for the board slots previously occupied by
Kay Harris and Ray Devery.
Previous political appointee Kay Harris
failed to get the new library at Five Points approved
in
last year’s failed SPLOST VII vote
and
resigned as Library Board Chair and from that board 15 March 2013.
Here are
some related points she never seemed to discuss.
And while she and the County Commission and the Valdosta City Council
and Mayor pointed fingers about who lost SPLOST, Continue reading
“Hopefully” there will be four town hall meetings before
the final SPLOST lists are settled, said
Lowndes County Commissioner Joyce Evans (District 1)
at last night’s
Lowndes County Democratic Party Annual 4th of July Barbecue.
We’re beginning to put things together for the SPLOST.
Hopefully we’ll be able to do several….
I know the mayor has stated that they were going to do
two town hall meetings and the county’s going to do
a couple of town hall meetings and then we’re going to come together
with the information that we’ve received from the community
and go and put together an overall SPLOST
for the city and the county.So please, take time, think about it, and be involved.
We shall see.
At least it’s a small change in the old boy backroom behavior so popular among elected officials around here
that the famously reclusive commissioner said this in front of a video camera.
Here’s
the video:
Four SPLOST town hall meetings –Joyce Evans
July 4th BBQ, Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP),
Gretchen Quarterman (Chair), Dennis Marks (Vice-Chair / Elections),
Amanda Hall (Vice-Chair / Membership), Richard Saeger (Vice-Chair / Qualifying), Jerrell Anderson (Secretary), James J. Parker (Treasurer),
Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 2 July 2013.
-jsq
Tonight you can go be told what the county’s budget will be,
5PM at the county palace.
If you want to see the proposed budget,
you’ll have to go their beforehand and view the one paper
copy they are
required by law to show you.
They say they’re short of money,
so why are they
wasting taxpayer funds suing a legitimate business?
On the county’s online calendar:
Budget Public Hearing (6/18/2013)
PUBLIC NOTICE
The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing for the purpose of considering
the Fiscal Year 2014 proposed budget on the following dates:June 18, 2013 at 5:30 p.m.
June 25, 2013 at 5:00 p.m.
Location:
Lowndes County Commission Chambers
327 N. Ashley St.
Valdosta, GAA copy of the proposed budget is available for public review in the office of the County Clerk.
For questions please call 671-2400.
Kay Harris wrote for the VDT 19 June 2013,
Lowndes County facing budget woes,
Slower and more expensive than the rest of the world: U.S. Internet access
doesn’t have to be that way.
Bob knows about our Internet issues here and is interested in helping.
Chunka Mul wrote for Forbes 26 April 2013,
The Lunacy of Our Internet Access, and How Google Fiber Could Provide Needed Shock Therapy,
Imagine you are the world’s largest operator of shopping malls, and
shoppers can only get to your malls via the equivalent of dirt paths
and country roads. What’s more, those meager routes are all
controlled by an oligopoly of private, toll-road operators that
focus on their profitability, not on getting consumers to the stores
in your malls.The result would be a mess. The roads would be slow yet expensive.
Consumers would limit shopping trips. The stores in your malls would
have a hard time generating business, so your malls would languish.Yet the entire online economy runs on an analogous network. The
network could easily be lightning fast, pervasive and cheap (or even
free). Instead,
Received 26 April 2013. Basically Valdosta is accelerating its
plans to do something about wastewater, including adding pumpstations
and force mains, as well as
relocating the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant uphill.
Here are the summary pages; there’s much more detail in
the plan. -jsq
Utilities Department 5-Year Action Plan:
Since 1992, the City has received $179 million in SPLOST funding and
over the same time period has invested nearly $168 million in
capital projects for the Water and Wastewater system. This includes
SPLOST funding, system revenues, bonds, and GEFA loans.Since 2009, the Utilities Department has expended over $49 million
on sewer system improvement with approximately $5.6 million spent on
the Withlacoochee Treatment Plant. When the projects listed below
are completed by December 2018, the City will have invested
approximately $230 million in capital projects for its Utilities
system from 1992 to 2018, a 26-year period.PUMP STATION, FORCE MAIN, HEADWORKS AND EQUALIZATION BASIN PROJECT
The city of Valdosta responds. I have decorated this PR with a few
images with links, and a few comments after it. -jsq
Mayor and Council Address Recent Wastewater Issues,
The Valdosta Mayor and City Council are committed to providing quality
municipal services that meet the expectations of our citizens. In addition
to providing fire and police protection and other beneficial quality of
life services, the city leadership is equally committed to providing
adequate water and wastewater treatment services to its citizens,
maintaining a functioning sewer collection system and discharging treated
water in an environmentally responsible manner.
Recently, citizens have been inundated with information about
the current state of the city’s wastewater treatment plant and sewer
collection system, as well as the decisions made during the recent flood
event. The following information is provided to explain the recent event
and to help citizens better understand these important issues and the
dedicated work of their elected officials and municipal staff.THE SITUATION
Received yesterday. -jsq
Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:43:47 -0400
All, just so everyone is on the same page- the sewer line is currently
spilling sewage. It just started at mu house but has been going strong
at sugar creek for awhile by the looks of it. Here are some current
pictures as of 3:30 today. It will get worse until the river crests..Gabe
Some thoughts on the
Kay Harris resignation letter.
Certainly a SPLOST is better than a MOST.
-gretchen
