Eight minutes to do your business: yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session. Commissioner Demarcus Marshall took the day off from his work at the City of Valdosta to be there. Not clear the rest of them took it that seriously. He and at least one other Commissioner did get some questions in. And they did all show up, at least. We’ll see if they’re all there for voting this evening at 5:30 PM.
Some interesting questions on the Continue reading
In an interesting version of a revolving door,
county appointee Michael H. McDowell’s KLVB term is expiring,
so is Valdosta appointee Bubba Highsmith’s,
and the county proposes appointing Highsmith.
Highsmith is
a State Farm Insurance Agent.
Also on the Lowndes County Commission agenda for 8:30AM Monday morning are: banking services (looks like Ameris Bank costs way less than BB&T, and SunTrust even less, but Ameris has the best interest rate), a computer bulk purchase for $54,795.98, yet another pump purchase, allegedly for $0 dollars because this is actually for specifications rather than actual purchase.
Typical Application: Residential Pump System, Triple “D” Pump Company
Finally, the tabled-from-last-meeting Ordinance about Board of Health Rules: will the Commissioners have had time to read the one copy the County Manager allows them?
Plus an alcohol license, Continue reading
The most interesting items were not on
the agenda
of the Regular Session two weeks ago of the Lowndes County Commission Work Session.
The County Engineer had
One more thing: Loch Laurel Bridge Work and Closure 7/16 – 7/23,
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall
reminded everyone the Georgia hands-free driving law was going into effect,
and the Chairman announced
swearing in of the newly un-privatized Probation Officers the following morning.
The longest scheduled item at almost 3 minutes was New Consoles For 911 Dispatchers, followed by Contract With Parks And Recreation Authority, because both had questions from Commissioners.
The two grant items added the previous morning, for Accountability Court and DUI Court, sailed through, as did the Francis Lake Lift Station Repair and the LAS Storage Pond Improvements.
Below are Continue reading
Videos of the Lowndes County Commission Work Session two weeks ago.
See
agenda post for background.
The budget got no comments from Commmissioners.
County Manager Joe Pritchard asked for addition of two grant agenda items, for Accountability Court and DUI Court. Proponents of each spoke, and both items were added to the agenda for the next day’s Regular Session.
Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes, especially about the Hotel/Motel Tax and the still-mysterious Wisconsin Public Finance Authority Bond Issue, a rare verbal appearance by Joyce Evans on Continue reading
A busy morning’s agenda starts with approving a new annual budget and related hotel and motel taxes. Plus a Contract with Valdosta Continuing Land Bank Authority.
Parks and Rec is negotiating a $3 million loan from Ameris Bank for improvements to Freedom Park and wants the county to guarantee its 1.25 mil tax base.
Utilities wants about $20,000 for impellers and wear rings for the pumps in the Francis Lake Lift Station and about $275,000 to improve the Land Application Site (LAS), where they spray sewer waste onto a field which they then rent out for hay production (the county does not have a wastewater treatment plant). See also WWALS blog post.
The mysterious out-of-state apartment bonds actually get an explanation this time:
The Board of Commissioners is requested to adopt the attached revised Resolution approving the issuance of bonds by a Wisconsin Public Finance Authority. A portion of the proceeds of the bonds will be used for a project located on Old Statenville Road. The project is a 204-unit multi-family affordable housing development known as Brittany Woods & Park Chase Apartments.
1150 Old Statenville Road, Parcel 0159D 014,The reason for this revised Resolution is Continue reading
Two weeks ago, they spent the most time (5.5 minutes) on the
two
sections of
5. Proclamation Presentations for National Drug Court Month.
They spent 2.5 minutes on bids and almost 2 minutes (almost 5.5 total) on the wetland credits for the North Lowndes Park Soccer Complex.
Third most time was 4.5 minutes on recognizing retiring volunteer firefighter Scott Caldwell(?). The speaker was Chief Ashley Tye, so I guess he’s now the regular county Fire Chief.
They tabled the Airport Authority appointment waiting for more information. Maybe they noticed George Page had also asked the City of Valdosta to appoint him.
The alleged County Attorney, with his microphone three feet from his face and pointing 90 degrees away, muttered something about the mysterious Wisconsin bond issue.
The Probation agreement and Electronic Monitoring Contract got more than three minutes total. They spent a bit more than a minute voting on a law form for the opioid litigation.
The Hay Lease Agreement Amendment is a water item, because it’s about the county’s spray field, also known as its Land Application Site (LAS). And the Bevel Creek Lift Station Pump that feeds it. Final water item: dates of completion for the GEFA Loan Agreement; they did provide a clue what that loan was for.
Here are links to Continue reading
Opioid litigation will be added to the agenda
for this evening, although not for voting, as
8.i, Selection of Legal Firm for Opioid Litigation:
Select legal firm,
The Studstill Law Firm and the Blasingame, Burch, Garrard & Ashley Law Firm have both submitted proposals to represent Lowndes County in the opioid litigation.
That was the longest agenda item at the Monday morning Work Session. The Probation Resolution and Services Agreement, which had been tabled two weeks before, got almost two minutes, including questions about cost. Add the minute and a half for the Electronic Monitoring Contract and those two items with the same presenter got the longest total.
The two North Lowndes Park Soccer Complex items, Wetland Credits and Bids, that will massively change Hahira, did not get a total of two minutes. The Hay Lease Agreement Amendment is another water item, because it’s about the county’s spray field, also known as its Land Application Site (LAS). And the Bevel Creek Lift Station Pump that feeds it. Final water item: dates of completion for the GEFA Loan Agreement, whatever it’s for.
The mysterious Wisconsin Public Finance Authority Bond Issue is to finance a project on Old Statenville Road in the Valdosta City Limits.
They’re going to reappoint Steve Everett to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Airport Authority; he did not speak. And George Page would also like to be considered.
Here are links to Continue reading
What was on the agenda for yesterday morning at 8:30 AM and for voting this evening at 5:30 PM.
They’re going to reappoint Steve Everett to the
Valdosta-Lowndes County Airport Authority.
At the end, the thing that will massively change Hahira:
4.c. North Lowndes Park Soccer Complex – Bids: five of them, ranging from $6.5 to $8.3 million dollars.
From the Invitation to Bid:
The bid package is for construction of North Lowndes Park Soccer Complex including all work shown on the Bid Set of Plans, issue date February 1, 2018, and Specifications, issue date February 1, 2018, to include but not be limited to the following items: Site clearing and other items as noted on the plans in order to construct and install a new 8 soccer field complex with concession and restroom pavilion, and maintenance building. Additional items to be constructed include, entrance road extension from the existing park, parking lot, signage, concrete pavement, fencing, site and field lighting, utilities, storm drainage structures and basins, irrigation, landscaping, and furnishings.
Map: Lowndes County Tax Assessors, of
Parcel 0024-003, Lowndes County Parks & Recreation Authority.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Continue reading
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MAY 7, 2018, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2018, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
The added agenda item
6e. Emergency Repairs to Rocky Ford Road
got a couple of bids (unusual procedure; different from their
usual no-bid emergencies) passed.
The Chamber sent
Gary Wisenbaker to speak in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard
to ask for (after a very long preamble by John Page)
apparently money from GDOT for a long list (in a letter the taxpayers
did not get to see) of
transportation projects to help “the business community”,
apparently including the truck bypass.
They only appointed six of the seven members of the Development Authority of Lowndes County, although a Commissioner did ask about that. It’s also curious they said all the terms expired right then, since the Wayback machine has a snapshot of 4 April 2017, which shows three expiring in June 2017 and four already expired in December 2016. Apparently they just didn’t bother to appoint anybody to the four slots that expired in December 2016 until eight months later, and then they didn’t appoint anybody to one of the 2017 slots.
Below are links to Continue reading
Next to ERCO Worldwide, one of the few tenants in VLCIA’s “eight industrial parks”, SolAmerica is buying land for a solar farm that will take up most of the rest of the Perimeter East Business Park.
Site Layout submitted by SolAmerica to VLCIA in 14 November 2017 meeting.
Jason A. Smith, VDT, 15 November 2017, Solar arrays planned for land,
The Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority voted Tuesday to approve the sale of 27.42 acres for $137,100 to be used for solar arrays.
Continue reading