Valdosta Wastewater presentation to Greenlaw, Save Our Suwannee, SRWMD, Hamilton Co., and WWALS 2015-03-17

Due to requests from Greenlaw in Atlanta and Save Our Suwannee in Florida, WWALS Watershed Coalition asked the City of Valdosta for a presentation on their wastewater situation. Valdosta presented less than two weeks later, and brought their entire hierarchy related to this issue, from the mayor on down. Plus Lowndes County, which isn’t even responsible for Valdosta’s wastewater, was represented by their Chairman and a Commissioner. Not all questions could be answered that quickly, but many were.

The slides are on the LAKE website and the videos are on the LAKE YouTube channel; see below. See also Valdosta’s Sanitary Sewer System Improvements web page.

At the meeting, clockwise from Tim Carroll (introducing), were: Continue reading →

Solar growth like compound interest has turned Al Gore into an optimist

Not even Al Gore saw that the continually decreasing price of solar power was causing exponential deployment growth that will win within a decade. But now he does. Since solar is going to win, building destructive and hazardous petroleum pipelines for short-term profit for a few executives and investors would be short-sighted at best. Let’s stop those pipelines, LNG export, and fracking, and plug in to sun, wind, and water power for a clean and prosperous future.

Experts predicted in 2000 that wind generated power worldwide would reach 30 gigawatts; by 2010, it was 200 gigawatts, and by last year it reached nearly 370, or more than 12 times higher. Installations of solar power would add one new gigawatt per year by 2010, predictions in 2002 stated. It turned out to be 17 times that by 2010 and 48 times that amount last year.

And you ain’t seen nothing yet: Continue reading →

Nydia Tisdale settles city council video case for $200,000

Perhaps elected and appointed officials will take note: you are public servants, and the public can record what you do. Which, if you treat the public as your allies and not your enemies, can be greatly to your advantage.

Nydia Tisdale wrote for AboutForsyth.com 17 March 2015, Nydia Tisdale settles lawsuit against Cumming Mayor Gravitt,

On the eve of trial, Citizen journalist Nydia Tisdale settled her longstanding federal lawsuit asserting the right to film public meetings for $200,000 along with a new policy that ensures future filming of Cumming City Council meetings.

And that ain’t all. Steve Visser, AJC, 17 March 2015, Steve Visser Cumming must pay blogger $200,000 for blocking filming of council, Continue reading →

ESPLOST yes way ahead

ESPLOST will win by 4 to 1. Going not very far out on a limb, with only 3 of 9 precincts reporting, but with 79+ yes to 20% no at 8:30 PM, I predict ESPLOST will win. Oops, make that 7 of 9 precincts; changed while I was writing this.

-jsq

Solarize Tybee expands to all of Chatham County

Some local communities are not waiting on Georgia Power or the Georgia legislature.

Mary Landers, Savannahnow, 4 December 2014, Tybee Island’s solar interest spreads to county,

Solarize Tybee aims to allow more home and business owners than initially anticipated to tap into its collective buying power to reduce the cost of rooftop solar installations.

A Thursday meeting about the project attracted more Continue reading →

Sugar Creek sewer main, permit, WWTP –VDT @ VCC 2015-03-19

The VDT has some information apparently from the agenda packet the city didn’t publish with its agenda for Thursday. Joe Adgie, VDT, 17 March 2015, City Council to consider revisions to radar ordinance,

Bids will be considered for the sewer main at Sugar Creek near Gornto Road and near the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks.
The sewer main has become exposed due to ongoing steam bank erosion, and the sewer main has started to sag. The city said this exposure needs to be repaired sooner rather than later, as the exposure could lead to a failure, and could allow raw sewage to directly leak into Sugar Creek.
This would be a violation of the city’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit with the state.
The recommended bid comes from Garney Companies, Inc., for $286,000.
Other bids come from Continue reading →

Sewer Main bids and Wastewater Plant contract @ VCC 2015-03-19

Fixing wastewater problems requires bids and contracts, some of which are on the Valdosta City Council agenda for Thursday.

AGENDA
REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL
5:30 PM Thursday, March 19, 2015
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL
Continue reading →

Going to Georgia Logistics Summit and retreating @ VLCIA 2015-03-17

They’re going to retreat April 10th after going to the Georgia Logistics Summit March 31st – April 1st. The Summit is in Atlanta, according to its own website. VLDA’s agenda doesn’t say where their retreat will be. Maybe they’ll say at their usual meeting this evening at their usual location. Here’s their agenda.

Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority
Tuesday, March 17, 2015 5:30 p.m.
Development Authority Conference Room
103 Roosevelt Drive
Monthly Meeting Agenda

Continue reading →

Hasty waste meeting this afternoon @ LCC Waste 2015-03-16

On their calendar, but no agenda, it’s another Special Called Meeting-Solid Waste Management. Will they talk about illegal trash dumping? Why can’t they wait until their regular meetings next week? Equally mysterious is why it took almost two months to get back to this after the two meetings in January.

Here’s their announcement of the meeting this afternoon: Continue reading →

Videos: Leadership Lowndes, rezonings approved, one citizen about a Water Trail @ LCC 2015-03-10

Leadership Lowndes Class of 2015 was there, and Gretchen Quarterman spoke about the WWALS Alapaha River Water Trail Conference. Everything else went as predicted with the rezonings and pretty much everything else unanimously approved, at the Tuesday 10 October 2015 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.