Tag Archives: Deep South Sanitation

VDT Open Government Symposium: in Macon?

Yay open government symposium!
But why in Macon, why not in Valdosta,


if it’s organized by the new VDT editor?
Sure, Macon is the geographic center of the state, but it’s only
about an hour from Atlanta, and one thing most people in Atlanta don’t
understand is how big Georgia is, so asking them to drive four hours
to Valdosta would be educational for them.
And if the VDT is so interested in government transparency,
why doesn’t it investigate the county’s lawsuit against local business Deep South Sanitation
at the expense of the local taxpayers that benefits nobody but
“exclusive franchise” ADS and its investors in New York City?
Why is the VDT’s front page story that gave a platform for
Spectra’s Andrea Grover no longer online, especially now that
the Sabal Trail deadline she announced has been busted?
Let’s see the VDT lead the way.
Here’s a first test:
Gretchen is going to Macon with the LAKE video camera.
Will the VDT let her video?

Unsigned article, VDT, 11 October 2014,

VDT leading way in open government, Continue reading →

Open meetings needed for county attorney selection?



Could there be any problem with selecting a county attorney without
any open process?

CNHI in VDT today,

Officials violate Iowa’s open meeting law,

CENTERVILLE, Iowa. — The Appanoose County Board of Supervisors
and County Auditor Linda Demry violated the state open meeting law
three times in less than three weeks recently when they interviewed
candidates for the vacant county attorney’s position, a state agency
has determined.



Well, apparently we don’t have that problem here Continue reading →

Unnecessary lawsuit against local business in GA Supreme Court today

Why is the Lowndes County Commission spending our tax dollars to sue
a local company for collecting trash, in appeal at the Georgia Supreme Court this morning?
Why not just let Deep South Sanitation compete with

Advanced Disposal Services?
Perhaps we should “stop wasting taxpayer money”,
as

Gretchen said to the Commission a year ago.

From
DSS’s facebook page 5 May 2014,

LOWNDES CO & ADVANCED DISPOSAL VS DEEP SOUTH UPDATE:



Dear Friends of Deep South, we have been notified that a date for
the “APPEAL” has been set for Monday, May 19, 2014 @ 10am to be held
in Atlanta, Ga. before the Supreme Court. The Lowndes County
Attorney along with Advanced Disposal’s Attorney’s will have the
opportunity to argue their case. Our Attorney, Rob Plumb will speak
on behalf of Deep South and for the people. There will not be a
ruling on this day. We will post the results of the Court’s ruling
on our FB page as soon as we receive word.—As always, we thank
all of you for your prayers and support. God Bless America!

And from
DSS’s facebook page yesterday:

Appeals Court Tomorrow Morning @ 10am.



“Thank you” to every one for your thoughts and prayers. Cary and
Trevor just left headed to Atlanta. The appeal will be heard by the
Supreme Court and a ruling should come at a later date. Hopefully,
this will be the end of the lawsuit filed by the County and Advanced
Disposal. We will post any news on our FB page as soon as we get
word from our Attorney. Thanks again, your support means the world
to us.

As Gretchen said

a year ago to the Commissioners who voted for that unnecessary
lawsuit,



I wonder which one of you said “This will really attract
people to start or relocate business in our county when we sue one
of our local business owners.”

If I were considering a business move, I wouldn’t move to a county
that eats its own.

I ask that you drop the lawsuit and stop wasting taxpayer money.
Thank you.

We don’t have to be a county like that.
Let’s change some Commissioners and stop this waste of taxpayer money.

LAKE supports

Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes County Commission District 5.
Please vote tomorrow, Tuesday May 20th.
It’s not a primary: that’s Election Day for this Special Election
for District 5.
Your vote matters.

-jsq

ADS included household trash in their recyclded items –Tim Carroll

Personal recollection from Valdosta City Council Tim Carroll received today on

ADS fails to recycle, appeals DSS ruling anyway,
adding detail that wasn’t in the VDT article.



The main problem the City was having with ADS was they included
household trash in their recycled items. Used diapers and other
household products mixed in with recycle materials is not allowed.
The City advised ADS back to this past October of the issue and no
improvements were made. Eventually the city had no choice but to cut
them off. The City is a regional hub for recycle material and proud
to offer the service.



OK, so is that a violation of the county’s

“exclusive franchise”
with ADS?

-jsq

ADS fails to recycle, appeals DSS ruling anyway

Why is Lowndes County leaving the City of

Valdosta to subsidize the county’s
failed
“exclusive franchise”?
And is ADS’ failure to recycle recyling a breach of its contract with the county?


Adam Floyd wrote on the front page of the VDT today,

Advanced Disposal appeals Deep South decision,



Requests made to Advanced Disposal Service’s corporate office and
Robert Norman, the lawyer who filed the appeal, to learn the
company’s reasoning behind the appeal were not returned by press
time.


Meanwhile, the City of Valdosta’s recycling center has denied
Advanced Disposal further access to its facilities, citing concerns
about volume.




John Whitehead III, deputy city manager for operations, said that
the center could not process the company’s deliveries fast enough,
and material was beginning to pile up. The suspension is temporary,
Whitehead said, and was done to ensure that the city could process
its recycling which increases during the holidays.


“We had been taking our recycling to the City of Valdosta, and
Monday they cut us off without any notice,” said Greg Walk,
local general manager for Advanced Disposal. “We’ve
constructed a bunker at the landfill, and the material that is being
collected in that bunker will be taken to a processing plant in
Milledgeville.”

The company had to dispose of recycled materials collected Monday
and Tuesday but continued recycling service Wednesday.

“It was the last thing we wanted to do to our recyclables, but
we responded as quickly as possible,” said Walk.

Does that mean the city of Valdosta sent the recycling to the landfill?
And is that a violation of the county’s contract with ADS?

-jsq

Lowndes County can’t make a monopoly –Judge Harry J. Altman on DSS in VDT

Maybe filing the lawsuit in the first place was “premature”,
to use Chairman Bill Slaughter’s word in the VDT yesterday
about a possible appeal.
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall
had the common courtesy on WCTV to

apologize to DSS for the

unnecessary lawsuit.
How much did the Commission spend on that waste of time and effort?

Editor Kay Harris wrote on the front page of the Valdosta Daily Times yesterday,

Company wins fight to stay in business:
Deep South wins case brought by County,



Southern Circuit Judge Harry J. Altman issued a ruling Monday in the
civil action filed by Lowndes County against Deep South Sanitation,
LLC to enjoin Deep South from continuing its garbage business.
Advanced Disposal Services was later added as an intervenor
plaintiff in the case against Deep South as well.

In the ruling, Altman denied the County’s request for an injunction
to put Deep South out of business. The order addresses the County’s
ordinance passed in 2012, saying that to “simultaneously
invoke an exclusive franchise agreement with one company would, in
effect … permit Lowndes County to construct a monopoly while
simultaneously putting pre-existing companies out of
business.”

Well, it appears the judge thought it was

about right or wrong.

The county Chairman’s view now? Continue reading →

DSS on WCTV

The WCTV reporter interviewed Lowndes County Commissioner
Demarcus Marshall at yesterday’s

Chamber of Commerce Legislative Lunch
because Chairman Bill Slaughter was not there.

Winnie Anne Wright wrote yesterday for WCTV,

Deep South Sanitation Will Continue Work In Lowndes County,
quoted Cary Scarborough about winning
the lawsuit the Lowndes County Commission brought against his
company,
and then:



He has invested quite a bit of money in his only truck that you can
see here. Despite all of the litigation, he is proud to be born and
raised in Lowndes County.

One of the Commision’s newest representatives, Demarcus Marshall,
says he hopes the County and private businesses will be able to
negotiate out of court, if an issue like this comes about again.

“I commend him for his efforts. Commend his family. And I just
really apologize to them that they had to undergo this. And I hope
that in the future, don’t be afraid to do any business here in
Lowndes County”, says Marshall.

Residents of Lowndes County will now be able to choose between Deep
South Sanitation and Advanced Disposal, as well as any other
sanitation service for their trash collection.

-jsq

Local company trashed County Commission lawsuit



According to

Deep South Sanitation’s facebook page today,
DSS won

the court case brought against them by the Lowndes County Commission.

So how much money did the

alleged County Attorney
spend sueing a local company to benefit ADS investors in New York City?
The County Commission was very concerned recently about

how much the Sheriff and the Coroner spent
(which
the Sheriff
and

the Coroner
ably rebutted).
Why isn’t the Commission as concerned about spending money on a
completely unnecessary lawsuit that they started?
Why do they let that same attorney

set prices for purchase orders?



That

exclusive franchise with ADS: not so exclusive anymore, is it?

Will ADS sue the county, as many people rumored was the Commission’s
greatest fear?

Will the county now have to pay DSS’s attorney fees?
As a taxpayer I don’t like the idea of wasting more of my tax dollars
on that lawsuit, so maybe they could take it out of the fees or
salaries of whoever recommended and approved that lawsuit.



Maybe somebody down at the county should

“check our work”.

-jsq

Next Deep South Sanitation court date: 25 Nov 2013



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

No contracts for tenants of Leila Ellis Building @ LCC 2013-10-07



Two, four, six, many:
that’s how Lowndes County counts tenants.
It’s great the county is providing space for organizations
that help the needy,
but it’s kind of curious that the county didn’t seem to know
who or how many organizations were using the Leila Ellis building,
and had no lease agreement with them.
Not to mention it took twenty questions from Commissioners to get
staff to admit that lack of contracts,
at Monday morning’s

Lowndes County Commission Work Session.

6.b. Leila Ellis Building-Available Space

Kind of like they have

no contract with the alleged county attorney.

Chad McCleod at one point said
two organizations are currently in the building,
LAMP and Cash Prosperity.
He said the County let LAMP use it, and LAMP let Cash Prosperity use it.

In response to a question from Commissioner DeMarcus Marshall,
County Manager Joe Pritchard said under normal circumstances
any organization would need to come to the Commission to ask for space.
They currently have more applicants than space.

Commissioner Crawford Powell wanted to know if the county was going
to set up guidelines for who could lease.
Pritchard said they could, and they couldn’t lease to a private business.

Commissioner Richard Raines wanted to know if annual leases were the practice
of this board.
Pritchard, not actually answering the question asked,
said “That would be my suggestion.”




JoTaryla Thomas
came up to speak for Continue reading →