Category Archives: Water

Solar-powered wastewater treatment plants in the southeast

Georgia Power is still digging in its heels about solar power even for cities. Georgia Power CEO Paul Bowers and Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning: it’s time for you to lead the southeast into the sun, not, like King Canute, to try to hold back the sea-change to solar power.

A closer view of the solar panel array at Mud Creek Wastewater Teratment Plant
A closer view of the solar panel array at Mud Creek Wastewater Teratment Plant.
Photo: submitted to VDT, apparently by City of Valdosta.

Terry Dickson, Florida Times Union, 4 July 2017, Southeast Georgia cities turning to solar power to save money on wastewater treatment, Continue reading →

Videos: Appointments to Hospital Authority and Parks and Rec + well pump @ LCC 2017-07-10

Nope, there are no LAKE videos of yesterday morning’s Work Session, because, remember, they moved the meeting half an hour earlier so when Gretchen showed up it was already over. The county does not video its Work Sessions, so there is no county video, either. Since the Valdosta Daily Times apparently did not run a story (I don’t even know if they had a reporter there), this means you won’t know what the Commissioners discussed nor who else was there Monday morning before they vote this evening at 5:30 PM.

Valdosta City Manager Larry Hanson welcomes new 23d Wing Commander Col. Jennifer Short at the July 10 Change of Command ceremony.
City of Valdosta PR 2017-07-10: Valdosta City Manager Larry Hanson welcomes new 23d Wing Commander Col. Jennifer Short at the July 10 Change of Command ceremony.

Commissioner Scottie Orenstein asked, on facebook, in response to yesterday’s LAKE blog post about the moved meeting: Continue reading →

You missed it: Appointments to Hospital Authority and Parks and Rec + well pump @ LCC 2017-07-10

They moved the meeting half an hour earlier, to 8AM. Gretchen, who is signed up to the county’s alert system yet never got any alert about this time change, got there at the usual time and it was over already. It’s listed in their calendar as “8:00 AM – 8:35 AM” but she got there with the LAKE camera before 8:30 and it was already over.

Look closely: 8:00 AM, not 8:30 AM

And on the agenda: two county appointments for the same Hospital Authority that hired a CEO for five years, fired him without cause after two years, and now: Continue reading →

Video: Solar panels, heck yeah! –Tom Fanning, CEO, at SO stockholder meeting 2017-05-24

Tom Fanning, our genial CEO host, said some things I’ve never heard him say before like Southern Company is “pivoting towards wind” and SO’s board soon has to decide whether to go forward with Plant Vogtle “or not” probably by August. Fanning gets the first and last word in this blog post, plus a complete transcript of what I asked and Tom Fanning’s response, along with summaries of the other questions and answers.

Well see how it develops --Tom Fanning
Please hear me! I think renewables are exceedingly important in the future.
— Tom Fanning, CEO, Southern Company

In SO’s own meeting video of the 25 May 2017 Stockholder Meeting, you can see much praise about solar power and wind and R&D and a smart grid, along with stockholders wondering: Continue reading →

Videos: Budget, Tax, Sewage Pump Station, Road Abandonment, Zika @ LCC 2017-06-26

Tonight at 5:30 PM they vote on what they discussed yesterday morning at the Lowndes County Commission. But you won’t hear the Zika Presentation by Ken Lowery; that was only in the Work Session. It was by far the longest item, at seven minutes, longer than all the rest of the meeting, which took less than six minutes. The second longest item at almost a minute and a half was abandonment of a portion of Ponce de Leon Trail (CR 374).

You will see them adopt the Fiscal Year 2018 budget. See the previous post for more background about the budget requests that the county almost all denied.

Below are Continue reading →

Budget, Tax, Sewage Pump Station, Road Abandonment, Zika @ LCC 2017-06-26

They’re going to adopt the county budget Tuesday, after talking about it this morning at 8:30 AM, after complaining that nobody showed up at a budget hearing they didn’t announce. Also after refusing budget requests due to revenue continuing down for several years, and not being willing to adjust taxes.

The VDT summarized, Thomas Lynn, VDT, 23 May 2017, County Manager: Proposed budget austere; Most new funding requests denied. And Thomas Lynn, 22 June 2017, Public absent from county budget hearing. No wonder, since the county didn’t even post the meeting online until that same morning, with no agenda. The VDT wasn’t there most of the time, but Gretchen was, with the LAKE video camera.

LAKE video by Gretchen Quarterman of Harrison Tillman and Stephanie Black about Budget at the Lowndes County Annual Planning Meeting Day 1 @ LCC 2017-02-16
Photo: Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE of Harrison Tillman and Stephanie Black about Budget at the Lowndes County Annual Planning Meeting Day 1 @ LCC 2017-02-16

Gretchen also videoed Continue reading →

Videos: Paving, animals, speed zones, prison work details, fees @ LCC 2017-06-13

They welcomed Ross Berry, the new CEO of South Georgia Medical Center, and he spoke briefly. Last minute agenda addition: 6.f. Lowndes County Accountability Court Grant and Match Citzen Judy Havercamp spoke about the animal shelter. Citizen Shirley Garlan spoke for her neighborhood, asking to connect to county water.

They spent by far the longest time (almost 20 minutes including public participation) on the New Statenville Highway rezoning for a Dollar General, which they finally approved with conditions, including what County Planner Jason Davenport said was an unprecedented condition on lighting. For this item, see also the the LAKE videos of the preceding Greater Lowndes Planning Commission meeting.

Second longest at more than five minutes was Continue reading →

Videos: Reappointment to Airport Authority, raise convenience fees, Moody AFB swimming pool @ LCC 2017-05-22

Six minutes and ten seconds yesterday morning to breeze through the agenda for the Work Session; the Lowndes County Commission votes tonight at 5:30 PM. Also, the Chairman announced the Budget Work Session to start at 9AM, which didn’t match the posting about that time put on the county’s website.

Tonight they will very likely reappoint Jeff Sikes to the Airport Authority, increase “convenience fees for online and telephone payments to $2.50 per transaction”, some I-75 exit work, and a swimming pool at Moody Air Force Base. Plus a beer and wine license due to the usual change of ownership, and an HVAC maintenance contract.

Videos: Peace Officers, Public Works GA-EPD request, Regional T-SPLOST, 2 ZBOA appointments, 2 rezonings, surplus, quit claim, lift station pump, and Naylor Community Center bids @ LCC 2017-05-09

The T-SPLOST motion passed, but as a very unusual split vote, two weeks ago in the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, 9 May 2017.

4. Peace Officers Memorial Week Proclamation Presentation,

Vice-Chair Joyce Evans presiding, they spent about five minutes on this item, including a speech by Sheriff Ashley Paulk, in which he said his department would be having a bigger presence. Chairman Bill Slaughter returned from his “good little trip” some time in there and took up the gavel after the minutes to be approved.

6. ZBOA appointments,

They reappointed Continue reading →

Reappointment to Airport Authority, raise convenience fees, Moody AFB swimming pool @ LCC 2017-05-22

It probably won’t take them 15 minutes after 8 AM to breeze through this light agenda, including reappoinging Jeff Sikes to the Airport Authority, increasing “convenience fees for online and telephone payments to $2.50 per transaction”, some I-75 exit work, and a swimming pool at Moody Air Force Base. Plus a beer and wine license due to the usual change of ownership, and an HVAC maintenance contract.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MAY 22, 2017, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2017, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →