Category Archives: Transportation

Video: two appointments, a public hearing, and two grants @ LCC 2013-02-25



Newsflash! “no new information” and “questions were resolved” about
the proposed abandonment of Old State Road at Hotchkiss Landing
on the Alapaha River, according to the Commission.
They vote tonight at 5:30 PM.

Dr. Bill Grow talked for fifteen minutes about

South Health District,
and managed not to ask the county for money, although the Health Dept.
clearly could use some.
Ashley Tye reported on
local weather conditions
and the county’s Code Red
emergency warning system, in which lack of Internet access by
some county residents came up.

It’s J. Glenn Gregory again for the

South Regional Joint Development Authority
and
Commissioner Joyce Evans for the

Southern Georgia Area Agency on Aging Advisory Council.
They are applying for a grant for the county’s MIDS
bus system and reapplying for a CDBG grant for Second Harvest.

Here’s

the agenda, with links to the videos and some notes,
followed by a video playlist.



LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Proposed abandonment of a portion of County Road 16/Old State Rd. —Brett Huntley @ LCC 2013-02-25

Received today; he sent it to all the Commissioners. -jsq

To the commission on the proposed idea of road abandonment on County
Rd. #16:



On the morning of 2/25/13 after the county commission’s morning work
session, my wife and I spoke with Joyce Evans and Bill Slaughter on
some of our concerns and new found technical information about road
abandonment, Georgia state waterways, and what the county and state
are expected to protect.

During our conversation we were told that for unexplained legal
reasons the county would have to give the road back to the land
owner. At this time my thoughts and questions come back to: Why if
for legal reasons do we have to give the land back or away, and why
are we even having to have a public hearing on this matter, if the
public has no say?

Also during this conversation Bill mentioned

Continue reading →

Agenda: two appointments, a public hearing, and two grants @ LCC 2013-02-25



The county’s website,

down earlier today,
is back up, so we can see there is a Work Session this morning, with voting
at the Regular Session tomorrow evening at 5:30 PM.
The proposed abandonment of Old State Road at Hotchkiss Landing
on the Alapaha River,

tabled two weeks ago,
is on the agenda, although

the Georgia Supreme Court makes me wonder why.
One of the two appointments is to the
South Regional Joint Development Authority

which Andrea Schruijer mentioned at the most recent VLCIA board meeting.
Another is to the
Southern Georgia Area Agency on Aging Advisory Council.
I’m guessing one person to each agency; the agenda doesn’t say
how many nor who the candidates are.
Here’s

the agenda. -jsq

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

County can’t “lawfully vacate a public street or highway for the benefit of a private individual” —Georgia Supreme Court

While I don’t know if the proposed closing of the end of Old State Road
leading to Hotchkiss Landing at the Alapaha River is even on the agenda
for this morning’s Work Session (Clarification: Monday 25 Feb 2013; they vote 5:30 PM Tuesday 26 Feb 2013), because

the county’s website is down and I can’t retrieve an agenda,
in case it is, it may be of interest to know that the Georgia Supreme
Court appears to have explicitly forbidden what the county is proposing to do.

Georgia Supreme Court,

GRIFFITH v. C & E BUILDERS,
231 Ga. 255 (1973),
200 S.E.2d 874:

Held:

1. “When a grantor sells lots of land, and in his deeds describes
them as bounded by streets, not expressly mentioned in the deeds,


but shown upon a plat therein referred to as laid out in a subdivision
of the grantor’s land, he is estopped to deny the grantees’ right to
use the streets delineated in such plat. Ford v. Harris [95 Ga. 97,
22 SE 144]; Schreck v. Blun, 131 Ga. 489 (62 SE 705); Wimpey v. Smart,
137 Ga. 325 (73 SE 586); Gibson v. Gross, 143 Ga. 104 (84 SE 373). By
parity of reasoning those claiming under such conveyances are estopped
from denying the existence of the streets so delineated upon the
plat of the subdivision and given as boundaries of lots acquired by
these and others from the grantor or those claiming under him. All
persons claiming under such grantor are forever estopped to deny their
existence. 19 CJ 928, § 127 (b).” Tietjen v. Meldrim, 169 Ga. 678, 697
(151 SE 349); Davis v. City of Valdosta,223 Ga. 523 (156 S.E.2d 345).

I am not a lawyer, but I wonder what a lawyer would say 1. above implies
about the county

doing nothing about a blocked public road?

But the Georgia Supreme Court didn’t stop there:

Continue reading →

Georgia Recreational Use Statute



Suppose you owned land next to a river.
You might have concerns about liability for people getting out of
canoes or kayaks onto your land.
But you’re in luck!
Georgia state law says you’re not liable for most things that could happen.

The Georgia Recreational Use Statute is in

O.C.G.A. §51-3-20 through §51-3-26.
Here are a few excerpts.

§51-3-20. Purpose of article

The purpose of this article is to encourage owners of land to make
land and water areas available to the public for recreational
purposes by limiting the owners’ liability toward persons entering
thereon for recreational purposes.

Does that include boating?

Continue reading →

Why cant we keep and restore something that is very important to a community of people? —April Huntley

Received Friday. April Huntley also sent it to the Lowndes County Commissioners.
I have added a few links and pictures. -jsq

Dear Editor,



I’m not sure if people know or care that there is

another Dollar
General about to pop-up in Lowndes County. This time it will be in
Naylor. I’m not sure if this will be an improvement or not.

Something I am also aware of and hold an opinion about is the

proposal to abandon a road in Naylor that leads to the Alapaha
River. This is

the only public access to the Alapaha in Lowndes
County. It is a place of history, recreation and fun for many
people.

The spot where County Road 16, Old State Rd., dead ends at the
Alapaha River is an area of rich history for Naylor and

Continue reading →

Thank you for helping the community —April Huntley

Received Wednesday from April Huntley to Joyce Evans. -jsq

Good morning, Commissioner Evans!

Thank you very much for helping the community get the public hearing


for the closure of Old State Rd. tabled until next meeting! I hope
we will all be able to work together to find a lasting solution that
will enable the residents of Lowndes County and surrounding areas to
continue to enjoy this beautiful spot on the Alapaha River. I hope
you agree that this is not a standard road abandonment since it
affects a body of water. I hope you have a great day, and I look
forward to speaking with you soon!

Thank you again!

April Huntley

Videos: Tabled Hotchkiss Landing Road Closing but Trash Co. Apology @ LCC 2013-02-12



Tabled! The applicant requested and the Commission unanimously voted
to table

the proposed closing of Old State Road to Hotchkiss Crossing
on the Alapaha River
until their next meeting, which is in two weeks, Tuesday 26 February 2013.

A waste company executive suddenly rescheduled so he could come back
and apologize to the public.
All this and 3 rezonings and 3 contracts at the Lowndes County Commission
Regular Session Tuesday 12 February 2013, plus people haven’t forgotten
about animal shelter issues.

Here’s

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

Work Session of the previous morning.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Video of Tabling of Abandonment of Old State Road to Hotchkiss Crossing at the Alapaha River @ LCC 2013-02-12

First the Chairman talked about how many people could speak and
for how long in the public hearing; then
at

Tuesday evening's Regular Session
the Commission tabled it
for two weeks, so closing the only public access to the Alapaha River
in Lowndes County will be up for a vote again Tuesday 26 February 2013.




6.a. Public Hearing: Abandonment of a portion of Old State Road (CR 16)

You can see in the video that the room was packed, which is very unusual.
The great majority were there to oppose closing the road.
As Chairman Bill Slaughter
remarked, about nine people signed up for Citizens Wishing
to Be Heard to speak about this item; as he noted, anyone can speak
in a public hearing without signing up.
To my knowledge, only one person was there to speak for closing the road,
and that was the applicant who had just agreed to ask for it to be tabled.
The Chairman said:

Continue reading →

Tabled for two weeks: proposed Old State Road to Alapaha River @ LCC 2013-02-12

The good news: they didn’t close the road to Hotchkiss Crossing
at the Alapaha River.

Lowndes County Water Resource Protection Districts Ordinance (WRPDO) Overlay Map
They tabled it until their next meeting, which is in two weeks,
26 February 2013. Video will follow tomorrow, in which you will
see the room was packed, mostly with people opposed to the road closing,
some from as far away as Tifton.
All concerned now have two weeks to absorb all the new information
and work out a solution.

Below is what I sent to the Lowndes County Commission at
Commissioner Joyce Evans’ request before the meeting tonight,
followed by a bit more information.

Subject: River Corridor Protection Plan

Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:49:50 -0500

Dear Commissioners and County Planner,

When I was talking to Joyce Evans just now, I mentioned the
100 foot natural vegetative buffer state law requires
local governments to establish next to perennial rivers.
Here is a summary of the state law, the definition it contains,
the GA EPD rules, and some notes on the relevant parts of
the Lowndes County Comprehensive Plan.

Continue reading →