Category Archives: Web/Tech

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

Housing, paving, appointments, solar, packets, wells, pipeline, and trash! @ Town Hall Meeting 2014-12-15



Very respectable turnout and impressive interaction
at the first-ever Town Hall by an individual Lowndes County Commissioner:

Demarcus Marshall, Super District 4, 15 December 2014
.
See and read his

State of District 4 address
.
You can read his

summary of issues and concerns
,
and you can watch citizens express those concerns in
the

LAKE video playlist:
Continue reading

Lowndes County’s own videos @ LCC 2014-12-09

Paige Dukes told us about this Monday, but why steal her thunder
about

the county’s new website
and the videos on it?

Joe Adgie, VDT, 17 December 2014,

Lowndes County website goes live
,



County residents can pay bills, read county ordinances, search for
real estate and read meeting agendas on the new site.

In addition, a first for the county government, videos of the
Lowndes County Commission meetings are also available through the
site and on YouTube.

“Due to schedules, Continue reading

New loco web site


300x162 Just one more step., in New Lowndes County Website, by Gretchen Quarterman, 12 December 2014

As

announced at the Lowndes County Commission meeting on Tuesday
,
the new county website was available this morning. I took a little
self tour and then started sending in comments to County Clerk Paige
Dukes. Paige has been responsive in answering my questions and
comments and I heartily suggest to everyone that you take a look
around and then send in your comments.

A few things I’ve noticed so far. Continue reading

Videos: Lost Maps, New Vice, Lake Park R-P, Lowndes County C-G, Valdosta R-M @ GLPC 2014-11-24

Complete agenda? Maps? Election process? Calendar? But few people were there to notice these things missing.



At the Work Session we had all maps and things to show you,
but between then and now the digital copies have vanished
off of both laptops.
And we are sort of
at a loss as to where they went but they’re gone.
So if you’ll use the
maps that are in your packet and perhaps some memory from the Work Session discussion….

That’s right, staff lost the digital copies of an agenda item,

CU-2014-11 Normal Life of Georgia
.
Board packets on the county’s website would serve as a backup
for copies on planners’ laptops.

Gretchen, who was there, reports further below, including
a note about that charming young white man recently appointed
to the Planning Commission. -jsq

At a brief and poorly attended GLPC meeting, Continue reading

Videos: fire chief, teachers, web site, and chairs @ Hahira 2014-05-15



They talked about a new website; is it up yet?
Nope, according to
http://www.hahira.ga.us/cityofficials.html

Wayne Bullard is still Mayor, Rose Adams is still on the Council, and new
Council members Kenneth Davis and Mason Barfield are nowhere to be seen.
However, former Council member Bruce Cain has vanished,
even though he’s

the actual Mayor
per last November’s election.
Here are some videos from the May 15th special called meeting
of the Hahira City Council
where they talk about that proposed new website.

Here’s

a video playlist:



Videos: fire chief, teachers, web site, and chairs

Special Called Meeting, Hahira City Council (Hahira),

Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),

Hahira, Lowndes County, Georgia, 15 May 2014.

-jsq

Lee County has its agenda packets online





Lee County has

28,575
people; Lowndes has

111,885
(July 2011).
Yet tiny Lee does what mighty Lowndes doesn’t:

it puts its agenda packets online
.
I’d bet it doesn’t even waste county resources putting them
into a fancy printed binder.
When will Lowndes County move into the 21st century?

-jsq

Videos: SPLOST VII Resolution, child proclamation, and appointment @ LCC 2013-09-10



They voted to put the

SPLOST VII Resolution
on the ballot in November,

“to reimpose the tax”
, with not even a hint of those

town halls that never happened
.
They reappointed

Mac McCall to ZBOA
.
The Proclamation
was for a boy who called 911 to help an old neighbor
who was trapped under a refrigerator
(nope, not for

South Georgia Pride
).
And we learned that nobody has to fear arrest or threat
and everybody can speak their mind

in the Commission chambers; nevermind recent history to the contrary.

Here’s

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

videos of the previous morning’s Work Session
.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading

Visible Option 3 for sewer for middle school @ LCC 2013-09-10



In a surprise move, Commissioner Crawford Powell insisted
on showing the audience what the Commission was voting on
regarding extending sewer service for the Lowndes County Board of Education,
at

the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session 10 September 2013
.

8.b. Sewer Service Requested for Lowndes County Board of Education

Utilities Manager Mike Allen said LCBOE wants sewer service for
Lake Park Elementary to help out their failing septic tank;
he recommended Option 3.

Commissioner Crawford Powell asked for Option 3 to be displayed
or read.
IT Director
Aaron Kostyu noted that if there was a copy it could be projected.
Allen moseyed over to the table by the podium with a copy, pictured here,
with transcript below.


Option 3) Direct county attorney to draft two documents: Continue reading

Videos: SPLOST VII Resolution and mystery proclamation and appointment @ LCC 2013-09-09


Charlie Clark

The big surprise in the eleven-minute meeting
was they called up former
County Engineer Charlie Clark
to explain the Utility Director’s
comment about making a profit on wastewater to Lake Park Elementary School.
Yes,

the SPLOST VII Resolution is to put it on the ballot in November
,
“to reimpose the tax”.
So much for those

town halls that never happened
.
Yep, it’s Mac McCall for

reappointment to ZBOA
.

No Proclamation this morning, so
it could still be for

South Georgia Pride

like

Valdosta Mayor John Gayle refused to proclaim last year
.
And they vote tomorrow night at 5:30 PM.

Here’s

the agenda
, with links to the videos and a few notes.



LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading