Tag Archives: Clyattstone Road

COVID-19, Ballyntyne Subdivision, County expenses for Hightower Road, Sewer, Moody AFB, Fire Pumper @ LCC 2021-01-11

The agenda sheet for rezoning REZ-2020-20 Ballyntyne (back again from last month) claims no budget impact, but that ignores the many thousands of county tax dollars already spent on Clyattstone Road, as well as followup maintenance of roads, sewer, and water, not to mention School Board expenses for sending buses, as well as Fire Department and Sheriff Department expenses whenever called.

WRPDO Site Map

This is what I’ve found the Lowndes County Commission has already spent on Clyattstone Road, and I may have missed some.

Cost	What	When
$1,681,770.84	Grading, Drainage, Base, and Paving of Clyattstone Road and Simpson Lane.	2020-09-21
$1,417,333.98	Clyattstone Water Main Extension	2020-09-21
$43,245.50	The stated ROW cost in the agenda	2020-02-24
$23,590.50	Approval of Clyattstone Rd.-Simpson Ln. ROW and Easement Purchases (Parcels 26 and 34)	2020-07-14
$20,000.00	For wetland credits acquisition	2020-04-28.
$11,535.00	and the other stated ROW cost in the agenda
$2,916.00	Up to that amount for an acre of drainage for Simpson Lane	2020-04-16.
$1,085.00	Approve Purchasing ROW and Drainage Easement for Clyattstone Rd.-Simpson Ln. TSPLOST Paving Project	2020-05-27
$3,201,476.82	County tax dollars so far spent on Clyattstone Road

So that’s more than $3 million tax dollars the county has already spent subsidizing subdivision developers on Clyattstone Road, before getting into maintenance and later School Board and Fire and Sheriff Department expenses. Remember that when somebody says public transportation has to be subsidized.

Here are the expenses acknowledged in agenda sheets for this coming week’s Commission meetings:

Cost	What
$351,115.00	Bid for a Pumper for the Fire Department
$315,557.58	Approval of Railroad Agreement for Hightower Road Project
$96,556.75	Low Pressure Sewer Force Main Upgrade on Old Bemiss and Bemiss Knights Academy Road
$28,000.75	Approval of Hightower Road and Cooper Road NE, Right of Way Purchases
$2,500.00	Moody Water Treatment Plant Emergency Repair
$793,730.08	Total

The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website:
http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2021-01-11–lcc-packet

Here is the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2021, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2021, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

FFA, Appointments, Liquor, Rezonings, Roads, Forestry, DUI, Holidays, Insurance, Calendar, Trucks @ LCC 2020-12-07

Update 2020-12-15: Board packet is on the LAKE website.

A million and a half dollars, mostly for insurance, on the agenda for the final Lowndes County Commission session of 2020, and that’s not counting the many-years-long ramifications of rezoning for new subdivisions and acquiring right of way for a new road.

Rezonings: REZ-2020-17 3833 Inner Perimeter Road; REZ-2020-19 3435 Bemiss Knights Academy; REZ-2020-20 6712 Clyattstone Road

Cost	What
$1,240,297.00	2021 Stop Loss Insurance Coverage Renewal Through Symetra Life Ins. Company
$174,759.00	2021 ACCG Workers’ Compensation Insurance Renewal
$60,862.00	Bid for 2 – Three Quarter Ton Trucks for the Engineering Department
$27,367.00	Bid for a Sport Utility Vehicle for the 911 Center
$920.50	Georgia Forestry Commission Services [LAS prescribed burns] Agreement
$381.00	Office of the Governor Criminal Justice Coordinating Council Accountability Court Lowndes County DUI Court- State Court
$1,504,586.50	Total

Lowndes County Development Authority Terms are up for Brooks Akins, Gary Cannon, and Jerome Tucker. Cannon and Tucker want reappointment, and the Commission almost always reappoints.

Resolution Rejection Quitclaim Deed; Affidavit Regarding Title- Branch Point. The County has laid out the right-of-way for a county road known as Fender Road between Williams School… Trading a parcel to William Q. Touchton, Jr. for another parcel for the road.

REZ-2020-20 Ballyntyne 6712 Clyattstone Road (0071 008) R-1 to R-10, Water & Sewer, ~40.3 acres . For 105+ house lots. In 2006, for a more complicated plan on the same site, GLPC recommended denial 7:0, County Commission denied 2:0. What did GLPC vote this time? And how about factoring in all the costs of paving Clyattstone Road over many previous Commission meetings? Continue reading →

Appoint Tax Assessors, 3 water, 3 road, 1 pandemic, 1 software @ LCC 2020-09-21

Applying this morning for Board of Tax Assessors are Mr. Gene Felts and Mrs. Gretchen Quarterman. The Lowndes County Commission will vote tomorrow (Tuesday) at 5:30 PM. That and almost $4 million in water, road, software, and fire items.

Cost	What
$1,681,770.84	Grading, Drainage, Base, and Paving of Clyattstone Road and Simpson Lane.
$1,417,333.98	Clyattstone Water Main Extension
$489,310.00	Motorola SUAII (Evergreen)
$128,075.58	Firefighter Personnel Request
$41,217.6.00	Foxborough Lift Station Pump
$34,169.28	Drainage Improvements to Brinson Lane and Oak Hill Drive
$22,500.00	FY2021 Joint Funding Agreement with USGS
$19,800.00	Land Application System (LAS) Expansion Agreement
$3,834,177.28	Total

Apparently paving does not solve all problems, because one of the four water items is Drainage Improvements to Brinson Lane and Oak Hill Drive to “eliminate flooding issues as a result of the paving of Oak Hill Drive.”. The other three water items are FY2021 Joint Funding Agreement with USGS for the Folsom Bridge (GA 122 Little River & Skipper Bridge (Withlacoochee River) USGS gauges, Foxborough Lift Station Pump, and Land Application System (LAS) Expansion Agreement.

In addition to Brinson Lane, there are two more road items: Grading, Drainage, Base, and Paving of Clyattstone Road and Simpson Lane (how much have they spent on that project combined so far?) and Acceptance of Infrastructure for Val Del Villas. The latter is listed as no cost, despite the Brinson Lane episode.

Survey Plat

Also on the agenda: Grant Submission Request – COVID-19 Response Grant Application, partly to “Recruit and hire a sufficient number of poll workers and inspectors to ensure polling places are properly staffed,” , a Firefighter Personnel Request, and Motorola SUAll (Evergreen) software.

Received in response to a LAKE open records request, the board packet is on the LAKE website. Here is the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2020, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2020, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Packet: 2 Appointments, 2 Rezonings, Lift Station, Drainage, Facilities @ LCC 2020-06-08

Thanks to Sabrina Denson for sending the board packet Friday. It is on the LAKE website.

The Work Session is this Monday at 8:30 AM, and they vote at the Regular Session 5:30 PM Tuesday.

Cost	What
$71,789.00	Blue Lake Lift Station Emergency Repair
$1,208.80	Approve Condemning ROW and Drainage Easement for Clyattstone Rd.-Simpson Ln. TSPLOST Paving Project
$72,997.8	Total

Zoning Location Map

2 Appointments, 2 Rezonings, Lift Station, Drainage, Facilities @ LCC 2020-06-09

Tuesday at 5:30 PM the Lowndes County Commission proposes to spend about $73,000 on water projects, which is a good thing. Monday at 8:30 AM they also do have a Work Session scheduled.

Cost	What
$71,789.00	Blue Lake Lift Station Emergency Repair Work Session/Regular Session DATE OF MEETING: June 9, 2020
$1,208.80	Approve Condemning ROW and Drainage Easement for Clyattstone Rd.-Simpson Ln. TSPLOST Paving Project
$72,997.8	Total

I commend the county for proactively preventing major sewer system leaks. Hm, only one bid?

“HISTORY, FACTS AND ISSUES: The discharge pipes at Blue Lake lift station are leaking due to corrosion. Staff has deemed this an emergency due to the condition of the pipes and the pumps not operating at capacity. A bid was received from RPI Underground Inc. for $71,789.00 to make the necessary repairs to bring the station back to designed capacity and operation. Staff recommends approval of Blue Lake lift station emergency repairs and authorize RPI Underground Inc to make the repairs for $71,789.00.”

The two rezonings that were not previously heard by the Planning Commission (which did not meet last month due to pandemic) are not listed as having any “BUDGET IMPACT”.

4055 Knights Academy Road location map for Rezoning Case REZ-2020-05 (Districts 1 & 4) Jose Lage, 4055 Knights Academy Rd. R-A to P-D, Well/Septic, ~36.926 acres
Image: Lowndes County Tax Assessors Map.

Also they will (almost certainly) reappoint Andrea Schruijer and Clay Griner to the South Regional Joint Development Authority. And almost certainly they will reappoint Victoria Copeland to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBOA), plus someone else, with no candidates listed. Interestingly, the agenda sheet for ZBOA says “DEPARTMENT: Zoning DEPARTMENT HEAD: JD Dillard” even though the county’s website still says Continue reading →

Video: New County Planner, Juvenile Justice, TIA Old US 41, Two Oaks at Bemiss, Hazard Mitigation @ LCC 2020-05-12

Video has appeared on lowndescounty.com of the May 12, 2020 Regular Session, and the minutes. It is 11:48 long, of which 10:48 was actual business. The video reveals there is a new County Planner, J.D. Dillard. We also learn from the video (but not from the minutes) the extent of the Old US 41 widening.

Below are a few notes with timestamp links into the county’s video. See also the agenda and the board packet. Here again is what they said they spent:

Cost		What
$330,854	CJCC Funding	FY 2021 Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant Application Regular Session DATE OF MEETING: May 12, 2020
$20,000.00	FEMA	Lowndes County Hazard Mitigation Request for Proposal Regular Session DATE OF MEETING: May 12, 2020
$350,854	Total

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, May 12, 2020, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
*To comply with the guidelines of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in regard to the Coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic and social distancing, face coverings (masks) are required for all meeting participants.

Call to Order
At 0 minutes. Chairman and all five Commissioners were present and sitting up front. Staff, including the County Manager, were sitting in the audience, where they could hardly be heard when they spoke. Portable microphones would be useful for this arrangement. Continue reading →

Agenda: Jails, grants, hazards, roads, and Clyattville Park Community Center @ LCC 2020-05-26

No Lowndes County Commission agenda would be complete without another of these, in the agenda for zero dollars, but will cost taxpayers much more in subdivisions in the future: Approve Purchasing ROW and Drainage Easement for Clyattstone Rd.-Simpson Ln. TSPLOST Paving Project.

Clyattstone Road in Lowndes County Tax Assessors map, connecting Old US 41 N and Val Del Road, where REZ-2020-03 Wetherington Property, Val Del Road RA to PD was already approved for another subdivision, across from Nelson Hill.

They vote tonight at 5:30 PM.

Three years ago they chose among bids for the Naylor Community Center, but for the Architectural Services for A New Community Center for Clyattville Park they’re using the same architect with no bids.

The Lowndes County Commission will be spending the least taxpayer dollars tonight of any recent session.

Cost	What
$62,045.00	Motorola Maintenance and Support Agreement for Jail Software
$28,000.00 (Estimated)	Architectural Services for A New Community Center for Clyattville Park
$20,000	Service Agreement with SGRC for Hazard Mitigation Plan Update
$1085.00	Approve Purchasing ROW and Drainage Easement for Clyattstone Rd.-Simpson Ln. TSPLOST Paving Project
$ 0	Adopt Resolution Accepting Infrastructure for SetterPointe Subdivision, Phase II
$111,130	Total

What’s this? Adopt The Language Access Plan and Resolution for Federal Funded Grants? Continue reading →

Videos: Val Del rezoning, Appointments 3 Boards, Road abandonment, additions, and paving, fire dept. bids @ LCC 2020-03-09

Eighteen minutes for the whole meeting, mostly consisting of reading out the agenda sheet text for each item. The longest item was 7b. Accept Gaines Lane Quit-Claim Deeds, apparently because of a need for a title search and to prepare a plat, and who would pay for it, the county or other.

Here are the costs found in the agenda sheets for each item, most expensive first:

Cost	What
$399,414.00	Bid for a 3,000 Gallon Tanker for the Fire Department
$28,327.04	Request to Purchase New Firefighter Turnout Gear
$19,167	Solicitor-General’s Office 2020 VAWA Grant Award Activation
$4,836.00	Approval of Clyattstone Rd.-Simpson Ln. ROW Purchases
$451,744.04	Total

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a very few comments, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also: Continue reading →

Packet: Val Del rezoning, Appointments 3 Boards, Road abandonment, additions, and paving, fire dept. bids @ LCC 2020-03-09

The board packet for the March 9 and 10 Work and Regular Sessions of the Lowndes County Commission is on the LAKE website, received 3:00 PM Tuesday, March 10, 2020, in response to a LAKE open records request. I did not have time to process it before the Regular Session 2.5 hours later.

Here are the costs found in the agenda sheets for each item, most expensive first:

Cost	What
$399,414.00	Bid for a 3,000 Gallon Tanker for the Fire Department d
$28,327.04	Request to Purchase New Firefighter Turnout Gear d
$19,167	Solicitor-General’s Office 2020 VAWA Grant Award Activation d
$4,836.00	Approval of Clyattstone Rd.-Simpson Ln. ROW Purchases d
$0	Abandonment of Unopened Right of Way – Hart Road d
$451,744.04	Total

Zoning Location Map
PDF

Of course, all those dollar figures are immediate costs. They do not include future costs such as road paving related to new subdivisions.

And see also Continue reading →

Videos: Oak St. Pregnancy Clinic, Val Del Wetherington, Baytree Nijem @ GLPC 2020-02-24

The longest time, almost 16 minutes, was for Pregnancy Support Clinic of Valdosta at 2203 N. Oak St., followed at 14 minutes by REZ-2020-03 Wetherington Property, Val Del Road RA to PD, with 12 minutes for the Jon Nijem rezoning and Planned Development at 406 & 410 Baytree Road, in a relatively short February meeting of the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes. See also Continue reading →

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange