Category Archives: Transportation

Board Packet @ LCC 2019-07-22

For the first time ever, the county returned the complete board packet before the Lowndes County Commission voted on it! This was in response to an open records request sent Wednesday, so the statutory three days were actually up Monday morning. They emailed the packet Monday afternoon about 5PM.

Google Map annotated by LAKE to show the quit claimed part of Reed Road in magenta (this map was not part of the board packet).

All the dirt part of Reed Road, back from the old Skipper Bridge over the Withlacoochee River, to the entrance to Pine Grove Middle School, is what is being abandoned. It is possible to decipher this from the quit claims in the board packet for yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session and tonight’s Regular Session.

All the SPLOST VIII Project Lists, for the county and the five cities, are included; see below.

Everything the county sent, plus images of each page, is on the LAKE website. LAKE looks forward to the county putting all these packet documents on the county’s own website, along with the agenda and agenda sheets.

SPLOST VIII Project Lists

Valdosta Project List
PDF

Hahira Project List
PDF

Remerton Project List
PDF

Dasher Project List
PDF

Lake Park Project List
PDF

Videos: SPLOST VIII, Grassy Pond Sewer, and Hospital Authority funding @ LCC 2019-07-23 2019-07-22

The whole Work Session took eleven minutes, of which three were about the county guaranteeing refinancing Hospital Authority debt. They vote tonight at 5:30 PM; Gretchen will be there with the LAKE video camera. Update 2019-07-23:< Obtained in response to an open records request from LAKE, board packet is on the LAKE website.

Second longest yesterday morning at a minute and a half was the SPLOST VIII Agreement, for which it seems the list is already finished, finalized at a “public” meeting between the county and the five cities, which was not announced to the public.

Most of the bids for the Grassy Pond Sewer Connection were not in the board packet, we discovered due to a question by a Commissioner. The Abandonment of Portion of Reed Road is the bit to the Withlacoochee River, which they county says was “unopened”, which is a strange way to describe the old dirt road that used to cross the river on a bridge.

Below are Continue reading →

SPLOST VIII, Grassy Pond Sewer, and Hospital Authority funding @ LCC 2019-07-22

Not on Lowndes County’s online calendar, the county already met with the five cities about SPLOST VIII:

On July 8, 2019, Lowndes County met with the cities of Valdosta, Hahira, Lake Park, Remerton and Dasher to officially call for SPLOST VIII. As a result, the attached SPLOST VIII Agreement between Lowndes County and the cities has been prepared for consideration. Once approved by Lowndes County, the agreement will be forwarded to the cities for consideration during a public meeting.

Lowndes County on the previous SPLOST.

Will when and where for that upcoming “public meeting” be announced in advance? Where is “the attached SPLOST VIII Agreement”? Wednesday morning at 9:35 AM, I sent the county a Georgia Open Records Act (GORA) request for the board packet for this week’s Lowndes County Commission meetings. By a very generous interpretation of the three business days GORA permits to respond to such a request, time’s up this morning at 9:35 AM. So far, the county has not even acknowledged receipt of the request.

The Hospital Authority, over whom the county has so little authority it has to Continue reading →

Updated Packet: Lowndes County Commission @ LCC 2019-05-14

Lowndes County did supply the items missing from the May 14 and 15, 2019 board packet, on 11 June 2019, and those items are now on the LAKE website.

Letter

LAKE looks forward to the county putting all these packet documents on the county’s own website, along with the agenda and agenda sheets.

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Videos: 2 appointments, Tower, GDOT Utilities, various agreements @ LCC Regular 2019-05-28

Animal welfare was the topic of the one Citizen wished to be Heard: Ed Barr, a former VSU faculty member, who said he spoke for a group of people who want a better-designed animal shelter, with better accessibility, as in closer to a residential area, or maybe redesigned like Miss Kitty Feline Sanctuary in Thomasville; he never said quite what features that meant.

The Regular Session was double-booked at the same time as the Planning Commission, so Gretchen went to the Planning Commission. The county’s own video was not available yesterday, but it appeared after I inquired.

They appointed Continue reading →

Videos: Tower, GDOT Utilities, 2 appointments, various agreements @ LCC Work 2019-05-28

The Work Session was at 4PM on Tuesday. The longest item was 7d. Corrections Software Solutions Probation Tracking System.

On the 6 a. TWR-2019-01 US Hwy 84 E. E-A, New 300′ Telecommunications Tower, tabled last time, staff did hear from Moody AFB that the tower was no problem for helicopter pilots, and the FAA has said no hazard. But they didn’t say whether Moody had issued its TERPS report.

Berinda Nwakamma did introduce herself very briefly as an applicant for the 5a. Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD). County Manager Joe Pritchard said “her information is in your agenda,” but it was not among the board packet documents the county sent LAKE in response to an open records request. What we dug up about her is below.

The Chairman had to speak for the one applicant for the 5b. Appointment – Southern Georgia Area Agency on Aging, since Commissioner Joyce Evans declined to say anything.

They had an Executive Session to discuss pending litigation.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also Continue reading →

Videos: One county case: Knudson & Son Outdoor Activities @ ZBOA 2019-06-04

ZBOA granted some relief on parking, but not as much as they wanted, and not anything else: not setbacks, fencing, etc., to Knudson & Son Outdoor Activities, the only case on this month’s ZBOA agenda.

This is the case before the Lowndes County Commission today, after it Continue reading →

Packet: Lowndes County Commission @ LCC 2019-05-28

Received in response to an open records request by LAKE. The county supplied it onto the same USB drive with the documents from the previous County Commission packet. The county charged LAKE $6.65 for that USB stick.

GDOT to Lowndes County, Actual Cost Preliminary Engineering Agreement, Cover Letter

These documents are on the LAKE website.

LAKE looks forward to the county putting all these packet documents on the county’s own website, along with the agenda and agenda sheets.

Missing from what the county sent: Continue reading →

Packet: Lowndes County Commission @ LCC 2019-05-14

Update 2019-07-09: Missing items supplied by the county.

Here’s the mysterious Moody AFB “Helicopter Corridor and Class D Airspace” map from item 6.c. TWR-2019-01 Value Concepts, Inc., US Hwy 84 E. E-A, New 300′ Telecommunications Tower on the May 13 and 14, 2019, Lowndes County Commission agenda.

Page 24

This in the agenda packet, now on the LAKE website, including files returned by the county in response to a LAKE open records request. The county supplied those files on a USB drive, for which it charged LAKE $6.65.

Missing from what the county sent: Continue reading →

Two sewer projects, personal care home, street name change @ VCC 2019-06-06

This agenda brought to you by Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), because mighty Valdosta’s new website forgot all its agendas and minutes since last October. No doubt they will get that fixed soon.

Still from LAKE video of CUP-2019-03 at the preceding Planning Commission meeting.

Here’s the agenda. See also the LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission meeting about the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to establish a Family Personal Care Home facility in a Residential-Professional (R-P) Zoning District as requested by Chad Bailey (File No. CU-2019-23 at 4019 Forrest Run Circle.

AMENDED AGENDA
REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL
5:30 PM Thursday, June 6, 2019
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL
Continue reading →

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange