Category Archives: Valdosta City Council

Valdosta writes to legislature against HB 170 transportation tax grab



Valdosta City Council Tim Carroll
sent a message Saturday with an attached letter from
City Manager Larry Hanson to the sponsor of

HB 170, strongly opposing that stealth tax hike.
This is in addition to

the resolution the Valdosta City Council passed against HB 170.

Carroll’s cover letter:

All,

Attached is a message Mr. Hanson prepared and sent to Rep. [Jay] Roberts
regarding the proposed State Transportation Funding legislation or
HB 170. Rep. Roberts is the lead sponsor of this bill.

As many of you have already heard, the Valdosta City Council adopted
a resolution Continue reading →

Valdosta resolution against GA HB 170 sales-to-excise transportation tax switch

While the Lowndes County Commission has no position,
the City of Valdosta already voted to oppose the legislature’s

HB 170 proposed stealth tax hike that would convert a local sales
tax into a state excise tax, forcing local governments to raise
property taxes.

Valdosta PR

Resolution to Oppose the State of Georgia’s Transportation Funding Act of 2015,




Click here to view the Resolution to Oppose the State of Georgia’s
Transportation Funding Act of 2015.


Click here to view the Local Sales Taxes Collected on Motor Fuel
Sales by county.

The Valdosta Mayor and City Council unanimously approved Continue reading →

Videos: 1 church, 2 small, 1 subdivision @ GLPC 2015-01-26



Videos of the Planning Commission recommending Monday 26 January 2015.
The Central Avenue Church of Christ wants

to rezone 5.6 acres to Downtown Commercial,
while the two small rezonings are on

Old Pine Road
and

Skipper Bridge Road,
plus

Devine Subdivision
on Tillman Crossing.

See
the agenda.

1 church, 2 small, 1 subdivision @ GLPC 2015-01-26



The Central Avenue Church of Christ wants

to rezone 5.6 acres to Downtown Commercial,
while the two small rezonings are on

Old Pine Road
and

Skipper Bridge Road,
plus

Devine Subdivision
on Tillman Crossing.
This meeting already happened tonight.

Thanks to Lowndes County for starting to

post Planning Commission agendas
including

this one. -jsq

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission

Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park


REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING

AGENDA


Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office

325 West Savannah Avenue


Monday, January 26, 2015 * 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing

Continue reading →

Valdosta City Council Retreats to Moultrie this weekend

Citizens can attend this open meeting to hear about that flooding study, traffic cameras, compensation, and other issues, even though it’s


inconveniently located in another county, almost as if the
Valdosta City Council didn’t want you to see what they’re doing.
If City Hall wouldn’t do, why not the Convention Center?
It has its own chef. Like the VDT editorialized,
there was no need to go to a out-of-town fancy resort.

Joe Adgie wrote for the VDT 8 January 2014,

Valdosta City Council retreating in Moultrie,

The two-day event will feature discussion of issues that Mayor John
Gayle and the City Council want to focus on in the coming year, as
well as priorities for the legislative delegation and the Georgia
Department of Transportation.

In addition, the results of a city employee compensation study will
be released and discussed at the retreat.

The number one issue listed by the council for the current year
involves funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for a
levee and pump proposal.

According to the city, Continue reading →

Sunshine for local government


We’ve got a little list, a spreadsheet as a list,

please don’t take this as a diss, we think they have been missed….



Unlike Ko-Ko’s in the Mikado,

this list is of things previously
missed that are slowly being found (or created),
so local governments can tell the citizens what fine things they’ve
been up to, and so citizens can decide what they need to deal with
and what topics they can provide input on.
Here’s the

LAKE sunshine list for local government.

The Lowndes County Commission just got some additions,
with
its new website,
by

posting videos of its own meetings,
and by

posting agendas and minutes for the Planning Commission.

The Valdosta City Council does pretty well, with its website,
its agendas and minutes,
and
the

agendas and summaries and minutes for ZBOA.
Valdosta does not (yet) video and post its own meetings, but
it does have what appears to be

a complete list of its ordinances with links to their text.
Dasher also has
its ordinances online.



Meanwhile the Lowndes County Commission has only Continue reading →

Topics and Highlights @ Town Hall Meeting 2014-12-15

“
There were overwhelming complaints about Advance Disposal Sanitation
customer service.” Many other issues and concerns are listed in this text published by Demarcus Marshall (PDF)
of feedback received and
and
LAKE videos
of the Town Hall Meeting 5 December 2014. -jsq

Lowndes County Board of Commissioners

Commissioner Demarcus Marshall

Super District 4


Post Office Box 1349 ● Valdosta, Georgia 31603-1349 ● Phone (229) 671-2400 ● Fax (229) 245-522

Super District 4 and Concerned Citizens,


300x388 Thanks to those who came, in Topic and Highlights @ Town Hall Meeting, by Demarcus Marshall, 15 December 2014
I want to thank those who came to my Town Hall Meeting on December
15, 2014. It was a pleasure to hear from you. Your presence made the
event a success and I look forward to another one in the near
future. I have listed the “Topics and Highlights”
addressed at the Town Hall Meeting below for your review. As well, I
have released my State of the District Address for the public. It is
my sincere hope that you will remain actively involved in our local
community. In the meantime, I want to wish everyone Happy Holidays
and a blessed New Year!

Sincerely,

[signed] Demarcus A. Marshall Continue reading →

Valdosta Passes Resolution Against Sabal Trail Pipeline: not in this city, this county, or this state @ VCC 2014-12-11


Go away, Sabal Trail:



NOW THEREFORE,
be it resolved that the City of Valdosta supports the
Lowndes County Board of Commissioners in their opposition to the
construction of the Sabal Trail pipeline in any portion of Lowndes
County. The City’s support includes concerns with fundamental
property rights, the manner in which eminent domain might be
utilized, and the lack of demonstrated benefit to the City and
County. Furthermore, the City of Valdosta supports the Lowndes
County Commission in their formal request to the Federal Energy
Regulation Commission (FERC), and to State and Federal Legislators
in the effort to have Lowndes County and the State of Georgia
bypassed in the construction of the proposed pipeline.

Here is Continue reading →

Resolution against Sabal Trail pipeline + 3-1 ordinances @ VCC 2014-12-11



The resolution against the Sabal Trail pipeline, including to be filed with FERC, was

passed 6 to 1 by the Valdosta City Council Thursday 11 December 2014,
supporting

the resolution the Lowndes County Commission passed unanimously Tuesday,
plus

a clause about protecting our drinking water in the Floridan Aquifer; see
separate post.
John Robinson

thanked the city for a VSEB contract.
The

personal care home rezoning passed.
The

taxicab ordinance was deferred (not all cab company owners had been consulted yet), while two others passed.
Also

some bids rejected
while

others

were

approved,
a reappointment of

Tom Kurrie to the Valdosta Housing Authority,
and
recognized

employee of the month Terrial Small.

Here’s

the agenda.
For background, see the

videos of the Tuesday Work Session,
including

a bomb report by Police Chief Childress.
The videos from the Thursday Regular Session are linked below,
followed by a video playlist.

Continue reading →

Against Sabal Trail pipeline + 3 ordinances + bomb report @ VCC 2014-12-09



The Valdosta City Council

discussed
a

resolution against the Sabal Trail pipeline
at their Work Session Tuesday, as you can see in these videos.
Come see them vote on it tonight at 5:30 PM
at City Hall.

They also heard

a bomb report at the Work Session,
in addition to discussing all the other business,
especially the taxicab ordinance.

At the same time Tuesday,
the Lowndes County Commission

unanimously Continue reading →