Most attending ever seen at the Lowndes County, Georgia, Board of Elections! Potential closure of the Clyattville voting precinct was the issue. That won’t happen because of the strength of the Clyattville community in organizing and working with the union hall.
The union hall, at 5421 Madison Highway, is Continue reading
Thank you Commissioner Demarcus Marshall
for voting no.
Calling it
“a good business decision”, the CEO of Waller Heating and Air
lauded the others for voting to sell county land for a pittance to a company from Houston, Texas, nevermind their resolution of a year ago.
We thought we elected them to represent the people of Lowndes County,
and we thought they did
back in December 2014 when they unanimously voted
“the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners opposes the construction of the Sabal Trail pipeline in any portion of Lowndes County.”
But at least one of them (“Wisenbaker) didn’t even remember that the county voted to oppose Sabal Trail.
Apparently most of them concur with what the County Engineer said about landowners who have not taken
Sabal Trail’s money, “I don’t know who they are.”
Update 2016-01-28: WCTV report, plus Gret chen’s question: “Is less than 50 cents per person in Lowndes County enough to risk drinking water for all?”
Landowners who did take the money mostly did not have Continue reading
There is no reason our only county-wide elected government should rush to take a pittance from a company from Houston, Texas for an easement through the closed landfill toxic waste site that would risk our drinking water and enable more easement takings from local landowners. On the front page of today’s VDT the County Clerk contradicted what Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter has written repeatedly to FERC, that he and the Commission represent “Citizens of Lowndes County”. She also didn’t mention the GA-EPD permit for any work within that landfill that the Chairman previously demanded from Sabal Trail, nor the multiple state other and federal permits Sabal Trail does not have. Although it’s still not on the published agenda, the Commissioners have an opportunity tonight to vote to support their own unanimous resolution of December 2014 against Sabal Trail.
The County Clerk tried to roll back the clock to Continue reading
ADS trash collection price and performance
wasn’t on the agenda, but even
former Commissioner Richard Lee
stood up to speak about it two weeks ago at the April 14th 2015 Regular Session, along with two other citizens
David Eaton
and
me.
See also
VDT trash story.
The VDT didn’t pick up on
Ann Swayze’s smoot and soot concerns
also being related, because nobody stood up to complain about burning in
Foxborough before the collection centers closed.
Commissioners did the right thing and unanimously rezoned Vallotton Farms back to Estate Agriculture, like it was before county-wide rezoning happened. It wasn’t like the County Planner said, “it has developed around it in an urban way”. The subject land and landowners didn’t do that: other people have built subdivisions around it the the county’s active promotion. And for once agriculture won, after landowner attorney Bill Langdale, Commissioner Demarcus Marshall, and I spoke up for it.
They’re even going to preserve the canopy on Boring Pond Road and I thanked the County Engineer for that.
The two Sheriff’s requests for Continue reading
The County Planner said “I can’t tell you anything beyond that”
about why
Vallotton Farms
is requesting rezoning to Estate Agriculture,
which is mysterious, since he (and the County Chairman)
sat through the entire Planning Commission explanation
by attorney Bill Langdale, several Planning Commissioners,
and me: see the LAKE video
of that GLPC item.
The County Planner did say “we expect development” in that area.
They vote on their expectations tonight at 5:30 PM,
although they have to listen to citizens for and against first.
I’d like to commend County Engineer Mike Fletcher for preserving the canopy
in the plans for
Boring Pond Road Phase III.
The
Vickers rezoning item
was withdrawn by applicant,
and the County Planner yesterday morning
explained that was because they’d worked out a way for the property
to count as five acres so no rezoning was necessary.
The
Vickers Jennings rezoning to commercial is still being considered.
Also discussed yesterday morning and to be voted on tonight at 5:30 PM are
three
water-related
items,
a
Georgia Department of Agriculture Spay/Neuter Grant Request,
two Sheriff’s requests (
body armor,
and
High Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic (HEAT) Team grant),
another paving items (Resurfacing of 3 County Roads (Howell Road, Whitewater Road and Ousley))
a
Fuel Island Upgrade.
The
Execution of the Resolution for the Hazardous Waste Trust Fund
is about reimbursement for
monitoring of the closed Clyattville landfill
about which
the county chooses to reveal very little.
Last I heard, the Sabal Trail methane pipeline was still proposed to go through
there with its hundred-foot right of way and 36-inch pipe.
I wonder how that would affect monitoring?
Here’s the agenda and below are links to the videos, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading
Update 2015-04-13: videos.
The three rezonings from the Planning Commission are on the agenda for this morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session. One has been withdrawn by applicant, Vallotton Farms still wants to rezone to Estate Agriculture, and another wants to rezone to commercial. Also to be considered this morning and voted on tomorrow evening are three water-related items, a Georgia Department of Agriculture Spay/Neuter Grant Request, two Sheriff’s requests ( body armor, and High Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic (HEAT) Team grant), two paving items (Boring Pond Road Phase III and Resurfacing of 3 County Roads (Howell Road, Whitewater Road and Ousley)) a Fuel Island Upgrade, and what’s this about Execution of the Resolution for the Hazardous Waste Trust Fund? Ah, that’s about reimbursement for monitoring of the closed Clyattville landfill about which the county chooses to reveal very little. Last I heard, the Sabal Trail methane pipeline was still proposed to go through there with its hundred-foot right of way and 36-inch pipe. I wonder how that would affect monitoring?
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Continue reading
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2015, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
It’s time to vote,
today and tomorrow in early voting at
the Board of Elections, 2808 North Oak Street, Valdosta, or
Tuesday May 20th at
your polling place.
Turnout is very low for elections that will affect everyone in Lowndes
County and beyond.
Two of the Lowndes County Commission districts will be decided May 20th (District 5 is a Special Election and District 2 has only candidates in one party): they will affect your water, sewer, trash, rezoning, road building, and taxes. All the Lowndes County School Board elections Continue reading
According to Deep South Sanitation, their next court date is
Monday 25 November 2013 at 9:30 AM, presumably at the
Lowndes County Judicial Complex, 327 N. Ashley Street, Valdosta, GA 31601.
The longer you drag this out, Lowndes County, the more
good press DSS gets out of it.
DSS reports 25 new customers for the fourth quarter,
providing $125 to Lake Park Elementary School.
Oh yes, the alleged county attorney spending our tax dollars to sue Deep South Sanitation was the attorney for many of the cities that sued about LOST and just lost before the Georgia Supreme Court, resulting in many cities and counties scurrying around to make rapid agreements, including Lowndes County and Valdosta.
-jsq
Sabal Trail had an interactive GIS map of the entire pipeline route in Moultrie last night, with zoom and pan detail as good as the tax assessor maps for Brooks and Lowndes Counties. The Sabal Trail reps declined to provide a copy of the whole GIS, but they obligingly panned down the pipeline and waited while I took pictures with my smartphone.
Here’s GIS of the pipeline route through Brooks and Lowndes Counties:
This is zoomed in where the route crosses US 84 and then the Withlacoochee River, which is the county line:
Continue readingUpdate 2017-08-27: Fix some links that have changed and one broken one. See also GDOT construction on I-75 Exit 29 2017-08-28.
You can comment on
road improvements at I-75 and
exit 11 onto GA 31
Madison Highway towards Clyattville,
exit 22 onto
US 41 North Valdosta Road, and
Exit 29 onto GA 122 at Hahira,
at the
Valdosta-Lowndes Metropolitan Planning Organization (VLMPO),
the one board around here that goes out of its way to ask for
public input, with
information in many public offices,
with an open house at their office,
and with details of their
projects on
VALOR GIS
(select interactive map, then More in the upper right Layers, then MPO Transportation Improvements),
including links to project sheets/ GDOT Project Search (GeoPI) is similarly useless for finding the project sheets
(which I’ve linked into the public notice below; well one of them is correct).
Public Notice of a Public Comment Period and Public Open House,
In accordance with requirements set forth in the adopted FY2014-2017 Transportation Improvement Program and in 23 CFR 450 and other laws and regulations; the Valdosta-Lowndes Metropolitan Planning Organization (VLMPO) proposes to amend its Transportation Improvement Program for Fiscal Years 2014-2017 (TIP) for the Valdosta Metropolitan Planning Area which includes all of Lowndes County and portions of Berrien, Brooks and Lanier Counties.
The proposed projects in the amendment are as follows: Continue reading