Category Archives: Trash

Videos: paving and suing @ LCC 2013-05-14

See how the Commission does “the people’s business” one of the
Christian minister Commissioners mentioned in

his invocation
before another Baptist minister Commissioner

expressed concerns about a different religion’s choice of location.
No explanation for

why county citizens can’t choose their trash service
or

why the county is suing a local business on behalf of New York City investors,
and

half a million dollars for paving without any competitive bid named
while

one man says the county took his property for road right of way.

One more potential board appointee showed up, for 2 out of 3.


County Staff

Chairman Slaughter, Frenchy, and Joyce Evans

Gretchen videoing

Here’s

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

the videos of the previous morning’s Work Session.


Richard Raines and John Page
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Fiscal responsibility and legal actions –John S. Quarterman @ LCC 2013-05-14

Chairman Bill Slaughter said
“At this time we can’t discuss that issue”
of why the Commission thinks its a good use of taxpayer funds to
sue a local business with a valid business permit,
after the Commission apparently recently
didn’t want to defend against a potential lawsuit against itself.



In the

Lowndes County Commission Regular Session Tuesday 13 May 2013,
I spoke in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard, noting
a trust indenture is a legal contract, and since
as building a well often leads to development, as someone
(Commissioner Page a few minutes before)
pointed out, why don’t trust indenture decisions lead to public hearings?
This might be a legal question for the state (although I would guess
the County Commission could hold a public hearing on whatever it likes,
even if the state doesn’t require it).

But a lot of commissions actually let the public speak on any item.
For example, the Tallahassee Council lets anyone sign up at the beginning
and say I want to speak on X. It’s a thought.



But during that particular item I found it particularly refreshing to
hear Commissioner Page say that he was concerned about what the majority
of the neighbors and property owners think about the use or potential use
of the property, and nearby property owners and the majority of people
who live in that area.



Now it’s curious how we did not hear much concern about that
on an item a few meetings back about

Old State Road.

The majority of the people who live in that area
did not want that road closed.

The majority of the property owners, as near as I can tell from the names
on the petition, did not, but no one seemed concerned about that.
It is a nice concern to have.

Now at that time I heard through various people that the main reason,
and correct me if I’m wrong here,

Continue reading →

Why can’t we choose our trash pickup service? –Tom Hallman @ LCC 2013-05-14

Hahira life-long resident Tom Hallman asked a simple question
in the

Lowndes County Commission Regular Session Tuesday:


I just can’t for the life of me figure out why,
myself as a resident, I don’t have a choice to choose who
picks up my trash.

Chairman Bill Slaughter said he’d be glad to explain it to Hallman
after the meeting.
Chairman didn’t offer to explain it to the public.
And the Executive Session lasted so long all the citizens
left before it was over, so I don’t know if Tom Hallman
ever got an explanation.

Here’s

the video:



Why can’t we choose our trash pickup service? –Tom Hallman

Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),

Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 May 2013.

-jsq

Trash lawsuit on WALB



WALB found the Lowndes County government sticking to the letter of its own recently-passed
ordinance and contract, and Deep South Sanitation
concerned about the county trying to put it out of business.

Lydia Jennings wrote for WALB yesterday,

Lowndes Co. files lawsuit against solid waste company,

Lowndes County leaders are going to court to try to stop a
sanitation company from picking up trash for some county residents.

County leaders say Deep South Sanitation is in violation of a new
ordinance that only allows Advanced Disposal to contract with county
residents.

And if the cease-and-desist order is successful, the owner of Deep
South Sanitation worries he’ll go out of business.

Cary Scarborough owns Deep South Sanitation, a family owned and
operated business he started in 2011 when he saw trash pickup
problems in unincorporated Lowndes County.

In two years, he has seen his business grow with 800 Lowndes County
resident contracts. But his days of picking up trash could be coming
to an end.

“It could shut me down,” said Scarborough.

So why did the county give him a business license?
And why is it a good use of taxpayer funds to sue him?
The county’s answer:

Continue reading →

May LAKE meeting tonight

Same agenda as in January, local governance: Water, trash, and money.

What: Monthly LAKE Meeting
When: about 6PM Tuesday

(after the County Commission meeting)

14 May 2013
Where: Let's Eat Cafe

2102 W. Hill Ave.

Valdosta, GA 31601

(just west of I-75,
at the Shell station)

Don't let the location fool you:
Let's Eat is locally owned, and serves a lot of locally-grown food.

If you're on Facebook,
please Like the

LAKE facebook page.
You can sign up for

the meeting event there,
or just come as you are.

-jsq

Lowndes County v. Deep South Sanitation: Why?

Why is Lowndes County suing a local business
for the benefit of investors in New York City?
I guess we’ve discovered the litigation
last month’s Lowndes County Commission executive session was about.
Why is this a good use of taxpayer money?



On Deep South Sanitation’s facebook page

yesterday,

Friends, we all watch the news and we see governments making changes
that are unacceptable to the American people. Well, it is happening
right here in our hometown. LOWNDES COUNTY has issued a CIVIL ACTION
LAWSUIT against DEEP SOUTH. The preliminary hearing is set for
FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013 at 9:30AM in Courtroom 5D of the Lowndes
County Judicial Complex. The purpose of the hearing is to force DEEP
SOUTH to shutdown on that day! (We are a small, local, family owned
and operated business.) We need your support because this hearing
will effect almost every one of you. “IF” we are forced out,
Advanced Disposal will be your “ONLY CHOICE” for garbage service.
That means there will be a MONOPOLY for garbage service in Lowndes.
The County maintains that it is not MANDATORY for the citizens to
use Advanced Disposal so then who else can we choose? CHOICE keeps
business healthy and HONEST. Please help support this matter for
your sake and ours by calling LOWNDES COUNTY and voice your
concerns. Also, there are several petitions being sent around as of
today. We personally thank each and every one of you!! From: Cary,
Debbie, Trevor, Dylan and Sadee Scarborough



Unnamed Lowndes County “representatives”

spelled out in the VDT back in January
that

“According to the solid waste ordinance, Advanced Disposal will
be the only residential hauler licensed to serve unincorporated Lowndes
County.”

A few hours later yesterday, also on

DSS’s facebook page,

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 →

Retreat, Lowndes County Commission @ LCC 2013-02-22


Clockwise: Stephanie Black (Finance), John Page (Dist. 5), Joyce Evans (Dist. 1), Demarcus Marshall (Dist. 4), Richard Raines (Dist. 2), Bill Slaughter (Chairman), Crawford Powell (Dist. 3), Paige Dukes (Clerk), Joe Pritchard (Manager)
The Lowndes County Commission has retreated to Berrien County once again
this year.
So far they’ve talked about budgets and finance, LOST and SPLOST,
departmental requests, and the local Land Bank Authority,
with the occasional policy interjection.
Commissioners and staff were clearly taking their tasks very seriously,
although not without humor from John Page’s sneeze.
And I congratulate them on

going some place that couldn’t have cost much.
I wish they’d talk more about policy and strategies for increasing the pie,
rather than almost entirely about how to divvy up the existing pie.
Video will follow; meanwhile here are a few notes.


On the one hand, it’s great that county staff have pulled together
and managed with 30 fewer people, and while Commissioner Page
was right that that’s efficiency, I think Chairman Slaughter was
even more right in saying it’s beyond that, it’s beyond capacity.
County Manager Joe Pritchard noted if there’s no SPLOST, the
current Commission will have to decide between cutting some
services and raising taxes.
That’s no doubt true, and he indicated that Valdosta seemed to
be waiting to hear what the County wants to do about SPLOST,
while the county is waiting to hear what Valdosta wants to do.
Several people remarked that the prior LOST negotiations (which
are currently on judicial hold pending one participant returning from
the current session of the state legislature)
did affect SPLOST losing in the most recent election.
I didn’t hear anybody suggest holding public hearings this time,
but Commissioner Marshall did say it would be good to say what
SPLOST funds would be for in some detail.


On the other hand, the Chairman asserted

Continue reading →

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 →

Repeat trash talk, plus map @ LCC 2013-02-12



Dave Shepler, regional manager of Advanced Disposal,
suddenly decided he didn’t have to be in Biloxi after all,
and reappeared at

Tuesday evening’s Lowndes County Commission Regular Session
for a more public (and more polished) version of

what he said at the previous morning’s Work Session.


Trash day map
There was a bit of new information, which included
that his company had delivered a map of on which day to expect
waste collection pickup, which is now

on the Lowndes County website
and he said it was published as an advertisement in the VDT.

Here’s

the video:

He also got into a TV news station’s website report.
Eames Yates wrote for WCTV yesterday,

Company Apologies for Problems with Trash Collection.

Thanks to Commissioners Demarcus Marshall and John Page for getting some public
explanation out of this company granted by the Commission before those two
Commissioners were elected.

-jsq