Tag Archives: 26 August 2013

Dollar General (Teramore Development) @ GLPC 2013-08-26



Commissioner Franklin Bailey summed up the Dollar General proposal for Hahira:

There’s just a lot here we don’t have.

Hahira City Council
votes tonight
on the Teramore Development items, which are for a Dollar General
(like

the one in Naylor),
as we discovered
at the

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission Regular Session 26 August 2013,
even though the agenda doesn’t say.
GLPC recommended for it, even though engineering details hadn’t been done
for water management, the site plan wasn’t finalized, and no solution
was proposed for Dollar General’s corporate habit of using sidewalks
for cart storage, among many other issues.


309 W Main, Hahira, Tax Assessors map



Planning Commission Agenda for 2013-08-26,
with links to the videos: Continue reading →

Medical development to span One Two Mile Branch in downtown Valdosta? @ GLPC 2013-08-26



That looks like a creek running through 1501 North Lee Street,
as Valdosta City Council Sonny Vickers asked Tuesday and
is on the Valdosta City Council agenda for a vote tonight,
after being considered for a recommendation
at the

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission Regular Session 26 August 2013.



Matthew Woody wrote for the VDT yesterday,

City discusses zoning request,

Councilman Sonny Vickers expressed concern about the facility being
too close to the stream. He asked if the City approved this and
there was a flood, would the City be liable. He asked if any of the
surrounding areas have been flooded in the past, and Martin said
that in the past 43 years, there has never been an issue.

And what about waste flowing downstream or into the aquifer?

Extract from the

Planning Commission agenda
with links to the videos:

CITY OF VALDOSTA CASES:

FINAL ACTION by the City of Valdosta Mayor-Council

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Valdosta City Hall, 216 E. Central Avenue, Valdosta, Georgia

Council Chambers, 2nd Floor

5:30 p.m.


  1. VA-2013-12 UHS Pruitt Corporation

    Property Location: 1501 North Lee Street (Parkwood Development Center)


    VA-2013-12: Adjacent

    Continue reading →

New judge, river gauge, park deed, personnel costs, and pest control @ LCC 2013-08-26



The
request for a new State Court Judge
by Judge John Kent Edwards Jr. took 27 and a half minutes,
plus his

eight minute explanation of fines moving from Sheriff to State Court.
More people might have showed up to hear if anybody had known about
these items.
Commissioners asked a surprising number of questions about them
and about
the
Little River stream gauge
and the
opaque pest control bids.
Of course, then people might have seen

the proposed third no-bid contract to the same firm this month.
They vote tonight.

Here’s

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

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor


  1. Call to Order

  2. Invocation

  3. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag



  4. Special Presentation

    See

    separate post    .

  5. Minutes for Approval

    As is his custom, Chairman Bill Slaughter directed Commissioners
    to tell the Clerk of any changes, so we don’t know what they are.
    Then he introduced the special presentation
    out of agenda order.

    1. Work Session — August 12, 2013

    2. Regular Session — August 13, 2013
  6. For Consideration



    1. Environmental Engineering Services for GDOT Land Deed for Parks and Recreation

      Invisible Engineer proposed a third no-bid contract for same firm proposed this month;
      see

      separate post      .




    2. USGS Funding Agreement for Hwy 122 Stream Gauge

      This time Emergency Director Ashley Tye said it’s on the Little River,
      why it’s there, how it’s maintained, etc.
      See

      separate post      .




    3. Budget Adjustment — Personnel Costs

      Judge John Kent Edwards Jr. explained that many of the people
      going through his court or paying fines in Lowndes County
      don’t live here; they come off of I-75,
      and now the fine-collecting needs to move from the Sheriff’s office
      to the Clerk of Court;
      see

      separate post      .



  7. Bid-Pest Control Service

    Pest control for an unannounced amount with no bond from one of two
    unannounced bids.
    See

    separate post    .


  8. Reports-County Manager

    County Manager Joe Pritchard requested an Executive Session
    for pending litigation and they adjourned into that.

  9. Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address

Here’s

a video playlist:



Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC)

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 26 August 2013.

Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

-jsq

Confused bids for pest control @ LCC 2013-08-26



We get to pay some unknown amount chosen from bids we didn’t get to see
for pest control with no bond.
They vote tonight about what was proposed
at the

26 August 2013 Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

7. Bid-Pest Control Service

Purchasing Director Kari L. Sands said this was a renewal
for rodent and insect control for all county buildings including
the fire department, beginning September 1st 2013 with
first and second year renewal options. Staff recommendation.
is
to approve the bid (for unannounced amount)
from

Baird’s Pest Control and Termite Services
(she didn’t mention any other bids).


Commissioner Crawford Powell wanted to know if there was a bonding requirement.

Answer: No.

Powell then wanted to know “do we need a bonding requirement for this?”

Answer from County Manager Joe Pritchard: Continue reading →

Fine collection moving from Sheriff to State Court @ LCC 2013-08-26



Could you have guessed what this was about from the agenda item?
Why do we the taxpayers of this $130,000 or $173,000 have to guess?
They vote tonight about what was proposed
at the

26 August 2013 Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

6.c. Budget Adjustment — Personnel Costs

Judge John Kent Edwards Jr. explained that many of the people
going through his court or paying fines in Lowndes County
don’t live here; they come off of I-75.
The Sheriff’s office, in attempting to comply with state law,
decided it didn’t want to continuing handling fines.
There’s a piece of new legislation proposing to
have the Clerk of Court process and retain all the relevant information;
Judge Edwards thinks it will pass next year.
This requires shifting funding from the Sheriff’s office
to the Courts.
But it will simplify processing (and presumably costs)
by not having it go through both Sheriff and State Court.
Meanwhile, Judge Edwards is not aware of any other county
that still does this processing through the Sheriff’s department.

Here’s

Part 1 of 2: Continue reading →

Gauging the Little River west of Hahira @ LCC 2013-08-26



After the 2009 floods, Lowndes County agreed to help USGS fund a stream
gauge on the Little River west of Hahira.
It’s time to renew that.
They vote tonight about what was proposed
at the

26 August 2013 Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

6.b. USGS Funding Agreement for Hwy 122 Stream Gauge

This time Emergency Director Ashley Tye said it’s on the Little River.



He said during ihe 2009 floods the county only had a gauges on the
Withlacoochee River at Skipper Bridge and US 84, and no way to
monitor the level of the Little River,
so he contacted USGS, who supplied and installed the equipment.
The county since then pays for the maintenance.
If something breaks, USGS comes and fixes it.
He’s also worked with the National Weather Service to establish flood stages
for better warning for residents.
It’s time to renew the funding.

Commissioner Demarcus Marshall wanted to know how many inspections
were carried out by USGS.



Answer: Continue reading →

Third no-bid contract for same firm proposed this month @ LCC 2013-08-26

This time
the County Engineer said Lovell was the only qualified


consultant for an ecological and environmental study
(because of what requirement we don’t know),
for a land swap (for what we don’t know),
not funded by the county (funded by whom we don’t know).
You the taxpayers and people potentially affected by any
ecological and environmental problems: do you think you might
want to know?
They vote tonight about what was proposed
at the

26 August 2013 Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

6.a.

Environmental Engineering Services for GDOT Land Deed for Parks and Recreation

Invisible County Engineer Mike Fletcher said he had received a proposal
from Lovell Engineering Services for the
62.49 acre tract
just north of the existing skate park Parks and Rec owns
and just north of the old rest area.


The county Tax Assessors maps don’t show any tract of that size
near that location, but they Continue reading →

Special Presentation by State Court Judge John Edwards @ LCC 2013-08-26



State Court Judge John Edwards came before the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners

to ask them to begin the process of asking for an additional State
Court Judge for Lowndes County. An additional State Court Judge
would have to be authorized by the Georgia Legislature, then filled
initially by an appointee by the Georgia Governor.

At this morning’s Work Session,
the Judge noted that with the

recent reforms enacted by the Georgia Legislature,
many crimes previously classified as felonies are now
classified as misdemeanors. This has reduced the burden on the
Superior Courts and on the prison populations (a good thing)
however, it has raised the load on the State Court without an
increase in resources.

Here’s

Part 1 of 2:

Continue reading →

UHS Pruitt * 2 and Teramore * 2 @ GLPC 2013-08-26

Two Valdosta cases, both for health care company

UHS Pruitt,
and two Hahira cases, both for
real estate developer

Teramore Development,
at the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission tonight.

Here’s the
agenda.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission

Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park

REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING

AGENDA

Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office

325 West Savannah Avenue

Monday, August 26, 2013* 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing

Continue reading →

River gauge, park deed, personnel costs, pest control, and a special presentation @ LCC 2013-08-26

Five minutes for tomorrow morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session?
The mysterious “Special Presentation” might take longer Tuesday.



The last time the river stream gauge funding came up was I think
10 September 2012.
At that time I thought Emergency Director Ashley Tye was referring
to the Withlacoochee River, but he actually didn’t say which river,
and USGS only lists a gauge on the Little River at GA 122,
not on the Withlacoochee.
If the county put agenda packet information online with the agenda,
that sort of confusion wouldn’t be so easy.

Here’s

the agenda:

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →