Category Archives: VLPRA

Lowndes County position on LOST negotiations @ LCC 2012 04 09

Lowndes County Clerk Paige Dukes handed out this document, Lowndes County’s Report for Initial LOST Negotiations: April 9, 2012, at that first LOST meeting yesterday. When I spoke to her later, I mentioned that I thought it was the very model of how to write such a document: clear, complete, pithy, and easily understandable. She did not have a readily-accessible electronic copy, so I’ve posted these scanned images on the LAKE website.

The document includes a summary of the negotiation procedure (60 days to negotiate, after which it goes to mediation, then Superior Court “baseball arbitration”), plus how and how much LOST can reduce property taxes.

The rest of the document is the county’s position, which includes that the county provides services such as sheriff, courts, public health, and animal control that benefit the entire county, and the county could claim 72% of LOST. However, the county is only asking for the same 58% as negotiated in 2002.

A few things I did not know include that the dedicated millage for Parks and Rec (VLPRA 1.5mil) and the Industrial Authority (VLCIA 1 mil) come out of county property taxes, not out of any city property taxes. Also VLCIA’s millage started since 2002, before which VLCIA was funded out of hotel-motel taxes, including Valdosta hotel-motel taxes.

I also remarked to Paige Dukes that I wished the cities had prepared similar position statements. She said they may be depending on LOST negotiating documents by the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), and that there were similar documents by the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG), both which you can find linked in on the LAKE website.

The ACCG guidelines include this interesting passage:

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Parks and Rec @ LCC 2012 03 26

George Page, Executive Director of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreational Authority (VLPRA), gave a presentation to the Lowndes County Commission Work Session, 26 March 2012.

Here’s a playlist:


Parks and Rec
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 26 March 2012.
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

-jsq

 

 

Land Bank appointment by Lowndes County Commission @ LCC 2012 03 26-27

Two appointments at this week’s Lowndes County Commission meetings:
5.a. Metropolitan Planning Organization Citizen Advisory Committee
5.b. Valdosta/Lowndes County Landbank Authority
We know who’s on the Land Bank Authority now: Burke Sherwood, Frank Morman, James Wright, and Joyce Evans, because the Georgia Department of Community Affairs publishes that information (neither the Lowndes County Commission nor the City of Valdosta does so). Which slot is up for appointment? Who is the County Commission considering appointing?

This is tacked onto the end of the agenda:

Immediately following the Work Session, the Commissioners will receive reports from the Valdosta/Lowndes County Industrial Authority & Valdosta/Lowndes County Parks & Recreation Authority
So the Industrial Authority reports to the County Commission! That’s good news.

Also this item:

6.e. Proposals for Groundwater Sampling and Analysis at the Clyattville Landfill
And did you know they had a Special Called Meeting on 15 March 2012? Approval of minutes for that is on this agenda.

Here’s the agenda for the Monday morning Work Session and Tuesday evening Regular Session.

-jsq

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2012, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2012, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

  1. Call to Order
  2. Invocation
  3. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
  4. Minutes for Approval
    1. Work Session — March 12, 2012
    2. Regular Session — March 13, 2012
    3. Special Called Meeting — March 15, 2012
  5. Appointments
    1. Metropolitan Planning Organization Citizen Advisory Committee
    2. Valdosta/Lowndes County Landbank Authority
  6. For Consideration
    1. Greater Lowndes 2030 Comprehensive Plan Update & Resolution
    2. Rental Agreement for space occupied by the Department of Human Services, Family and Children Services, located at 206 S. Patterson Street, 2nd and 3rd Floors
    3. Declaration of Copiers as Surplus
    4. Copier Leases
    5. Proposals for Groundwater Sampling and Analysis at the Clyattville Landfill
    6. Abandonment of unopened Right of Way of Fiveash Road
  7. Reports-County Manager
  8. Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address
Immediately following the Work Session, the Commissioners will receive reports from the Valdosta/Lowndes County Industrial Authority & Valdosta/Lowndes County Parks & Recreation Authority

The group overwhelmingly supported the building of… —Matt Portwood

Second of two reports on last night’s VLPRA steering committee received today. -jsq
The message of Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority Executive Director George Page was clear at tonight’s Master Planning Steering Committee workshop when he told the group “I’m not a fan of the status quo.” If you’ve followed the work of Mr. Page and the staff of the VLPRA, especially their work on securing the upcoming baseball tournament which is projected to have an economic impact of about $250,000, then you know that this is no exaggeration.

The meeting tonight was the first of a series of meetings that are geared toward getting public involvement in the upcoming Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Master Plan. The VLPRA has contracted with the Nashville-based architectural and land planning group Lose and Associates, to conduct the comprehensive plan. Lose is pronounced more like the geologic term defining windborne silt (loess), and less like how we identify the team that scores fewer goals in a soccer match (lose). The meeting tonight, which was led by two Lose planners, was focused on evaluating current VLPRA programs and facilities and offering suggestions for future improvements.

This evening’s group of about 15 participants consisted of

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We had interesting discussions at our group table —Barbara Stratton

First of two reports on last night’s VLPRA steering committee received today. -jsq
If you attended any of the CUEE meetings the format was exactly the same. We were divided into groups. Each person wrote down their answers to a list of questions they handed out. Then each group was told to combine their answers into a group list which was written on poster size dry erase sheets. Then the sheets were displayed on the wall in front of all the groups & the answers were discussed. I had to leave when they were discussing the answers to the first question which was: List the 5 things you think are most important to improve the parks & recreation program. I am assuming the group lists were combined into a master list for that question. They were doing each question all the way through before going to the next question. I brought the list of questions with me intending to share what they were but I left my notebook in the car trunk of the person I was riding with & forgot to get it when we left the Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner. I will not retrieve the notebook until Tuesday, but if you want to know the questions I will send them to you then. If you want more info in the meantime Karen Noll was there also. She came late & probably stayed the entire time. We had interesting discussions at our group table & I’m sure a lot of interesting subjects were covered. However,
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“I’m not a director to sit behind my desk and wait for them to come to us.” —George Page of VLCPRA @ LCDP 2012 01 09

George Page, Executive Director of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLCPRA), said at the 9 January 2012 meeting of the Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP), that amateur baseball tournaments were coming in April 2012, bringing 1200 room nights to Valdosta. That caused applause. He said the Black Softball Association is coming in February, with 80-100 teams, and more room nights. Local players won’t have to go to Atlanta for tournaments anymore.

Ed Hooper wrote for the VDT 1 Dec 2011, Baseball tournaments coming to Lowndes County

At its monthly meeting on Wednesday, the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority announced the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) is set to bring its highly-respected baseball tournament to Valdosta and Lowndes County in April.

The tournament features 24 teams from the state of Florida and 24 from Georgia, and consists of teams from ages 9-14 years old. The tournament will run from April 22-24, and will be played at Freedom Park, Vallotton Park, South Lowndes Park, Lowndes and Valdosta High Schools and possibly Valdosta State University.

“It will be the absolute best 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14-year-old teams coming out of the state of Georgia to face Florida,” Bubba Smith, Director of Tournament Operations for the USSSA said. “Obviously, it is a real competitive tournament that we put together, but it is real exciting to give the teams opportunities to mingle with each other.”

…

VLPRA director George Page also announced the Black Softball Association Tournament, which features 80-100 teams, will be played in Valdosta this upcoming February. The tournament will bring in around $200,000 to the local community.

At LCDP, he said all those tournaments would bring close to half a million dollars into the economy. More applause.

“I’m not a director to sit behind my desk and wait for them to come to us.”
Apparently he’d modest, as well, because even more tournaments are coming, and the expected economic benefit of all those tournaments is actually larger. Continue reading →

Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks & Recreation Authority (VLCPRA) 2012 Jan 19

Here are videos of the entire January monthly meeting of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks & Recreation Authority (VLCPRA).

Here’s a playlist:


Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks & Recreation Authority (VLCPRA) 2012 Jan 19
Regular Session, Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks & Recreation Authority (VLCPRA),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 19 January 2012.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

Bike News —Matt Portwood

Received Friday. -jsq In the Fall of 2010 the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority cut a red ribbon at a ceremony dedicating Phase II of Freedom Park. The park’s new phase included a walking track, disc golf course, and a dog park. The addition of the small dog park to Freedom Park’s amenities was largely the result of a motivated group of citizens who urged the Authority to build the leash-free exercise and play space. 444 locals signed an online petition requesting that the VLPRA “create an off-leash dog park, accessible to all residents and visitors where pets can safely be taken for exercise and play.” As a result of this community involvement, park visitors now have a safe and shaded spot to enjoy a game of fetch with Fido.

The mission of the VLPRA is

“to provide quality Recreation and Parks, and to advance environmental conservation, which promotes the highest quality of life for the entire community.”
In the upcoming months, the VLPRA will begin revising its master plan. Continue reading →

I was disinvited to be on Black Crow radio —Ashley Paulk

It wasn’t after the Commission meeting that Ashley Paulk said
“I was disinvited to be on Black Crow radio.”
It was during the meeting, as in this video. I was confused because I left the room briefly and didn’t see it. Fortunately, Gretchen had a camera going.

Here’s the video:


I was disinvited to be on Black Crow radio —Ashley Paulk
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 12 July 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

Maybe we citizens need to hear the rest of the story —Barbara Stratton

Received today on Ashley Paulk is a big man again:
Ref comments by outof control – This is definitely confusing. I don’t see anything in the controversy about contracts being put out to bid. Isn’t the fact an electrical company owned by one of the board members was contracted to do work on a government project illegal conflict of interest? It appears to me that someone needs to come in & educate all the government entities (elected & appointed)& the public in Lowndes Co on what conflict of interest means.

I have seen several incidents in government meetings where an elected or appointed individual excused himself from voting because of an admitted COI. How does that excuse the COI when COI also includes impaired objectivity, unequal access to information, etc. Basically if there is any connection between a government elected or appointed official & a private company contractual relationships of any kind come under COI & are not supposed to be allowed even if a bid process takes place.

That is another reason why citizens should not allow public/private partnerships. Normal bidding procedures are ignored

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