Category Archives: Transparency

Videos: New Library Board, Wisenbaker Rd rezoning, communications tower in Langdale Park, Pre-Disaster Logistics, Juvenile Justice, Lift Station Bypass @ LCC Work 2026-07-14

1 Reply

Not on the agenda for that Tuesday morning Work Session, Chairman Bill Slaughter introduced the new Executive Director of Legacy Behavioral Health, Paivi Parssinen. The LBH website says her title is Chief Executive Officer.

County Manager Paige Dukes said a bit more about obstacles to such care, in her County Manager Report.

[Collage of LCC Work, 2026-07-14 --LAKE]
Collage of LCC Work, 2026-07-14 –LAKE

They rotate the Vice-Chair seat. It just moved from Scottie Orenstein to Mark Wisenbaker.

On the Minutes for Approval, Chairman Bill Slaughter forgot that the Regular Session was for later that same Tuesday evening because the Work Session had been moved from Monday to Tuesday for reasons they never made public.

County Manager Paige Dukes explained the complicated staggered nine board slots for the revamped Lowndes County Library System Board of Trustees. At least two of the applicants were actually present.

There was some discussion about merging the current split zoning on 6.a. REZ-2026-14 Ray Colding, 6808 Wisenbaker Rd., ~8.5ac, M-1 & R-A to M-2.

Once again the County Planner presented slides that were not in the board packet for 6.b. WR-2026-02 New 159′ Telecommunications Tower in Langdale Park: tower inventory and why Verizon says they can’t cover what this tower could. See Propagation maps.

Cities in the county can participate if they want to, in 7.a. Award of Pre-Event Disaster Logistics Support Services Contracts.

Utilities Director Steve Stalvey continues to stay ahead of potential sewage spills, with 7.c. Lift Station Bypass Pump Request for Proposal.

Here is a YouTube playlist of the LAKE videos of each agenda item, with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBUxmZO8Jk-I&si=KsvfRMuC0MnJKlBG Continue reading →

Lowndes County budget and transparency –WTXL TV 2026-07-13

Leave a reply

WTXL reporter Malia Thomas told me Lowndes County Manager Paige Dukes had said that LAKE’s concerns were valid.

Well, LAKE’s main concern with the Lowndes County budget is the same as with most things the Lowndes County Commission does: lack of transparency.

The county can easily do something about that if it wants to.

[Lowndes County budget and transparency and LAKE, 2026-07-13 --WTXL TV, Malia Thomas]
Lowndes County budget and transparency and LAKE, 2026-07-13 –WTXL TV, Malia Thomas

Malia Thomas, WTXL, July 13, 2026, Lowndes County’s fiscal budget approved — here’s what it means for your tax dollars:
Lowndes County approved a $193 million FY2027 budget — up 16.5% over last year — while holding its general operating budget flat since 2018. Continue reading →

Packet: New Library Board, Wisenbaker Rd rezoning, communications tower in Langdale Park, Pre-Disaster Logistics, Juvenile Justice, Lift Station Bypass @ LCC 2026-07-14

2 Replies

Update 2026-07-20: Videos: New Library Board, Wisenbaker Rd rezoning, communications tower in Langdale Park, Pre-Disaster Logistics, Juvenile Justice, Lift Station Bypass @ LCC Work 2026-07-14.

Here are the board packet materials for the Work Session and Regular Session, both tomorrow, Tuesday, July 14, 2026, of the Lowndes County Commission.

About the communications tower in Langdale Park, the packet still does not include the Propagation maps that are required by ULDC 5.05.05.B and 5.05.05.E; see Verizon tower in Langdale Park? @ GLPC 2026-06-29.

[Packet: New Library Board, Wisenbaker Rd rezoning, communications tower in Langdale Park, Pre-Disaster Logistics, Juvenile Justice, Lift Station Bypass @ LCC 2026-07-14]
Packet: New Library Board, Wisenbaker Rd rezoning, communications tower in Langdale Park, Pre-Disaster Logistics, Juvenile Justice, Lift Station Bypass @ LCC 2026-07-14

How are the County Commissioners supposed to decide without all the evidence, this “quasi-judicial decision whether the standards for a telecommunications tower in Section 5.05.05 of the ULDC are met”?

The agenda sheet says, “At the Planning Commission, the applicant’s representative spoke in support, while one citizen spoke in opposition, claiming that inadequate information was available to the GLPC for their consideration. Staff presented the information to the GLPC, who found it sufficient to recommend approval (7-2).”

If the information presented to the Planning Commission was sufficient, why does this County Commission packet include an additional signed and sealed letter from an engineer, which says, “As part of the proposed telecommunications site listed above, we are designing the site in compliance with the Section 5.05.04 (A) of the Lowndes County, Georgia Land Development Code….”

That would appear to satisfy the letter of ULDC 5.05.05.E. Unfortunately, it may not be accurate.

I still don’t see any of these points addressed:

  • An inventory in VALORGIS of the applicant’s existing towers or alternative tower structures. See ULDC 5.05.05.B.2
  • An argument for why Langdale Park would not be a “historic district” or a “scenic view corridor.” See 5.05.05.G.5
  • An argument for why hiking trails cleared by numerous citizens would not be public rights of way. See 5.05.05.I.I. and the Right-of-Way definition on page 1-25.
Continue reading →

Agenda: New Library Board, Wisenbaker Rd rezoning, communications tower in Langdale Park, Pre-Disaster Logistics, Juvenile Justice, Lift Station Bypass @ LCC 2026-07-14

2 Replies

Update 2026-07-13: Packet: New Library Board, Wisenbaker Rd rezoning, communications tower in Langdale Park, Pre-Disaster Logistics, Juvenile Justice, Lift Station Bypass @ LCC 2026-07-14.

Tuesday evening the Lowndes County Commission will decide on a communications tower in Langdale Park.

They will also completely reconstitute the Library Board. “The Constitution of the Lowndes County Library System was amended in March 2026 to conform with Georgia law.” So they’re making a new nine (9) person board, for which these nine Lowndes County residents wish to apply: William Booth, Dr. Elveta Miller, Dr. Kendal Crawford, Greg Moore, Dean Poling, Debra Carruth, Jane Peeples, Gary Wisenbaker, and Mary Beth Brownlee. Their terms will all start on July 1, 2026, with staggered end dates: two in 2027, three in 2028, and three in 2029, all ending on June 30.

[Agenda: New Library Board, Wisenbaker Rd rezoning, communications tower in Langdale Park, Pre-Disaster Logistics, Juvenile Justice, Lift Station Bypass @ LCC 2026-07-14]
Agenda: New Library Board, Wisenbaker Rd rezoning, communications tower in Langdale Park, Pre-Disaster Logistics, Juvenile Justice, Lift Station Bypass @ LCC 2026-07-14

I know this because if on https://lowndescounty.com/AgendaCenter you click Download for the July 14, 2026, agenda, and select PDF, the result has links to the agenda sheets. For each sheet, if you refresh your screen you get an image of that page.

Why get them that way? Because if you select HTML or Packet, only the agenda proper has content. All the agenda sheet pages are blank.

Also, I set the wrong date to send an open records request for the board packet, so that only went out today.

If the county simply put the entire PDF of the board packet on its own website, as many other counties smaller and larger have been doing for years, nobody would have to go through this rigamarole.

I did find advertisement for the RFP for L8400.075 Pump Station Improvements and that is included here.

The files I got are on the LAKE website. Images of each page are below, even the blank pages.

Here is the agenda.

For the two Public Hearing items, the Wisenbaker Road rezoning and the communications tower in Langdale Park, see also the LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission meeting.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2026, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2026, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Draft Minutes: Lowndes County small subdivision and communications tower, Valdosta doublewide and contractor office @ GLPC 2026-05-26

2 Replies

And, finally, the draft minutes for the May 26, 2026, Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC).

[Draft Minutes: Lowndes County, small subdivision and comm. tower, Valdosta doublewide and, contractor office @ GLPC 2026-05-26]
Draft Minutes: Lowndes County, small subdivision and comm. tower, Valdosta doublewide and, contractor office @ GLPC 2026-05-26

In the LAKE videos of the following month’s June 29, 2026, GLPC meeting, Gretchen Quarterman noted, “The approval of the minutes was tabled until next meeting because not all commissioners had received, or reviewed the minutes.”

https://youtu.be/YbAOx7HWXEM?si=UNTUFyFILY2xKyfg

So maybe the May minutes will get approved in July.

These draft minutes are on the LAKE website, with images of each page below.

See also the Continue reading →

Work Session Monday or Tuesday? @ LCC 2026-07-14

3 Replies

Update 2026-07-12: Agenda: New Library Board, Wisenbaker Rd rezoning, communications tower in Langdale Park, Pre-Disaster Logistics, Juvenile Justice, Lift Station Bypass @ LCC 2026-07-14.

Which is the first meeting next week of the Lowndes County Commission?

The Valdosta Daily Times for Wednesday, July 8, says the Work Session will be Tuesday morning at 8:30 AM.

[Work Session when? Monday says lowndescounty.com, Tuesday says valdostadailytimes.com @ LCC 2026-07-14]
Work Session when? Monday says lowndescounty.com, Tuesday says valdostadailytimes.com @ LCC 2026-07-14

But the calendar on lowndescounty.com says it will be Monday morning at 8:30 AM, which is the usual day of the week.

So I called the County Clerk’s office. They said the Work Session will be Tuesday morning.

I asked, have you considered updating the county website?

They said they hadn’t gotten to that yet.

And by the Georgia open meetings law, as long as they informed the local newspaper of record 24 hours before the meeting and put a notice out front, they’re good.

Still, a bit more transparency would be better.

Both sources agree the voting Regular Session will be Tuesday at 5:30 PM.

We don’t know what will be on the agenda. They don’t usually post that until late Friday.

It’s a pretty safe bet it will include the two Lowndes County items from the preceding Greater Lowndes Planning Commission. For the mostly uncontroversial REZ-2026-14 6808 Wisenbaker Road and the misguided TWR-2026-02 proposed communications tower in Langdale Park, see:

Whatever is on the agenda will first be discussed Tuesday morning before they vote on it Tuesday evening. Continue reading →

Videos: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC Regular 2026-06-23

The Regular Session of June 23, 2026, took 39 minutes, largely because a special presentation, an unscheduled report on the 911 center, and five Citizens Wishing to Be Heard.

One of the citizens asked a question about the Alcoholic Beverages Ordinance that he could have read the answer to for himself if the county had published the draft ordinance before the meeting.

Why does the county continue to make more work for itself and everybody else by not publishing its own board packets?

Unsurprisingly, the Lowndes County Commissioners unanimously approved every voting item, including reappointing Raymond Conner to the Lowndes County Division of Family and Children Services (LCDFCS). Commissioner Demarcus Marshall was absent.

[Collage: Datacenter, Craig Center, Alcohol Ordinance, DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software @ LCC Regular 2026-06-23]
Collage: Datacenter, Craig Center, Alcohol Ordinance, DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software @ LCC Regular 2026-06-23

Three citizens spoke about Datacenters: George Fisher about sinkholes, Michael Noll about a datacenter ordinance, and Tetiana Babcock, who wanted to know where the county stands in developing a datacenter ordinance. You may recall that in March she alleged encroachment on her property from the datacenter site, which would be a violation of one of the conditions of the July 2025 rezoning of that potential datacenter site.

This time she asked for a timeline of development of a datacenter ordinance and robust citizen involvement. Which would be refreshing, compared to what we just saw as the usual Lowndes County ordinance public engagement: none. They just slapped the alcoholic beverage ordinance update on the agenda and voted on it, without any public hearing and without even publishing the draft beforehand.

Kelly Saxon spoke about Craig Center warming/cooling center funding.

Mr. Patel wanted to know how the Alcoholic Beverage Ordinances changes would affect established businesses.

If the county had simply published that ordinance before voting on it, they wouldn’t get so many questions, and we wouldn’t see at least one Commissioner trying to explain it on facebook.

As you may know, LAKE published that ordinance as soon as we got it by open records request.

http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/?p=25794

The county has finally published it on lowndescounty.com: Continue reading →

Videos: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC Work 2026-06-22

Update 2026-06-30: Videos: Datacenter, Craig Center, Alcohol Ordinance, DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software @ LCC Regular 2026-06-23.

They asked a few questions about the three court grant cash match items, the Lowndes County Commission in their 14-minute Monday morning Work Session, June 22, 2026.

Regarding the Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance, Gretchen Quarterman wondered, “I would have thought that the commission might want to have a public hearing on an issue like this to hear from both liquor store owners and churches and schools.”

[14-minute Lowndes County Commission Work Session, 2026-06-22 --LAKE videos]
14-minute Lowndes County Commission Work Session, 2026-06-22 –LAKE videos

Here is a LAKE video playlist.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLshUv86fYkiHj9P_d0XwfATVAWOI3xNiy&si=vDsQm_cdRJcXLBfq Continue reading →

Packet: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC 2026-06-22

Update 2026-06-24: Videos: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC Work 2026-06-22.

You can now see the proposed Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance the Lowndes County Commission intends to adopt this evening at 5:30 PM, and something about the infrastructure they intend to approve for the Camelot Crossing Commercial Development.

You can speak about pretty much anything, including datacenters, in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard.

Don’t forget the 5:00 PM Budget Public Hearing.

[Packet: DFACS reappointment, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC 2026-06-22]
Packet: DFACS reappointment, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC 2026-06-22

Raymond Conner wants to be reappointed to the Lowndes County Division of Family and Children Services (LCDFCS).

Three court grants require county matches, plus Microsoft has left little option but for shifting to Microsoft Exchange Online.

Cost What
$42,404.00Lowndes County DUI Court FY 27 Grant Award
$32,459.00Lowndes County Accountability Court Grant Approval and Cash Match
$31,886.40Email Software License
$12,773.00Lowndes County Juvenile Accountability Court Grant Approval and Cash Match
$119,522.40Total

This Monday after 4 PM the county satisfied the LAKE open records request of last Tuesday. The resulting board packet and minutes from the previous Commission meetings are on the LAKE website. Images of each page are below.

See also the Continue reading →

Agenda: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC 2026-06-22

Update 2026-06-19: Notice: Two Budget Public Hearings @ LCC 2026-06-22.

It would be interesting to see the Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance the Lowndes County Commission will be voting on Tuesday evening, and the infrastructure they intend to approve for the Camelot Crossing Commercial Development.

But there is nothing on the county website but the bare agenda, and the county has not yet responded to an open records request for the board packet.

We do know that Tuesday evening at the 5:30 PM Regular Session you can speak in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard.

But not at the 8:30 AM Monday Work Session, where you do get to hear staff and Commissioners discuss agenda items.

[Agenda: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC 2026-06-22]
Agenda: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC 2026-06-22

Here is the agenda.

All the agenda sheets linked under “Documents:” are blank.

LAKE still does not have the board packet, even though the LAKE open records request went to Lowndes County at 8 AM on Tuesday, June 16. I would think Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday count as the three days permitted to respond to a Georgia Open Records Act (GORA) request. If so, they’re late.

I’ve included a map of Camelot Crossing from the Lowndes County Tax Assessors website. I’ve marked some well-known nearby sinkholes. I wonder how many of the other visible wetlands are also sinkholes?

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2026, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2026, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →