Tag Archives: Economy

Budget Public Hearing @ LCC Budget 2019-06-11

If the Commissioners are so proud of their proposed budget,
why do they make it so hard for the taxpayers and voters to see?

All we have on lowndescounty.com is

Public Hearing on the Proposed FY 2020 Budget,

Date:
June 11, 2019

Time:
5:00 PM

Location:
Board of Commissioners
Administration Building

Address:
327 N. Ashley Street

2nd Floor

Valdosta, GA 31601




A slide from a 2011 Lowndes County budget presentation.

Maybe the proportions are the same this year; maybe they’re not; who can say?

See also
the announcement of this June meeting
in an unannounced May meeting.
Back then Commissioners said the $108 million proposed budget
includes a new litter collection division
which they’re considering using to replace Keep Lowndes-Valdosta Beautiful (KLVB).

Which is more than we know from the agenda of today’s budget meeting,
because no agenda is posted.

The proposed budget is not on Continue reading →

Two sewer projects, personal care home, street name change @ VCC 2019-06-06

This agenda brought to you by Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
because mighty Valdosta’s new website forgot all its agendas and minutes
since last October.
No doubt they will get that fixed soon.




Still from LAKE video of CUP-2019-03 at the preceding Planning Commission meeting.

Here’s the

agenda.
See also

the LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission meeting
about the

Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to establish a Family Personal Care Home facility in a Residential-Professional (R-P) Zoning District as requested by Chad Bailey (File No. CU-2019-23 at 4019 Forrest Run Circle.

AMENDED AGENDA

REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL

5:30 PM Thursday, June 6, 2019

COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL

Continue reading →

Lowndes County Budget Meetings 2019-05-07-09 @ LCC 2017-05-07

Lowndes County is holding its Budget Meetings this week.
Typically Commissioners and staff hear from all departments,
agencies, and Authorities that get tax funds collected by the county.

When:
8:30 AM – 4:15 PM

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

8:30 AM – 2:15 PM

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

8:30 AM – 2:45 PM

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Where:
Commission Chambers,

327 N. Ashley Street 2nd Floor,

Valdosta, GA 31601

All three Lowndes County calendar posts
note:

Meetings could potentially run longer than the scheduled times.

I would guess one topic that will come up will be the remaining
projects in

SPLOST VII.


SPLOST VII pie chart

As usual, Continue reading →

Videos: Annual Planning @ LCC Plan 2019-02-07

Here are the LAKE videos of the first day of the two day Annual Planning Meeting
of
Lowndes County Commissioners and staff.
Gretchen is back down there today, videoing the rest.


Below are links to each LAKE video of each item,
with a very few notes,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.
See also
previous post
for the agenda (which was not posted publicly)
and a few previous comments.

Annual Planning @ LCC Plan 2019-02-07

Lowndes County Commissioners and staff are meeting for two days
to discuss strategy, as they do every year.


Commissioners and senior staff, Participants

They didn’t post an agenda on
lowndescounty.com,
but Gretchen photographed the one they had at Chairman Bill Slaughter’s pond house,
so here it is:

Lowndes County

Georgia

lowndescounty.com

Annual Planning Meeting

6926 Simpson Road ~ Hahira

February 7-8

8:30 a.m.


Agenda


Audit Continue reading →

Annual Retreat, Valdosta Mayor and Council @ VCCSummit 2019-03-15

Not on Valdosta’s online calendar yet,
but we got this email notice from City Council Tim Carroll,
indicating Valdosta wastewater is first on his list to discuss.
His number 4 about Internet speed and access is also of interest
throughout the county and beyond.
As are his other items.

All,

I hope each and everyone of you are having a great start to 2019. As
we kick the year off, it is time to begin preparing for the cities
annual Mayor and Council retreat.

It will be held March 15 & 16 at the Women’s Building.

When:
All day, Friday-Saturday, March 15-16, 2019

Where:

The Woman’s Building,

1409 N. Patterson St.,
Valdosta, GA 31602

What:
Annual Retreat, Valdosta Mayor and City Council





The Woman’s Bulding

My current list includes: Continue reading →

Videos: Wastewater at Valdosta City Council @ VCC 2019-01-24

A brief agenda was handled quickly by Mayor Pro Tem Sandra Tooley
last night at the Valdosta City Council,
even with two Citizens to Be Heard and a bunch of Council Comments.

7. Thanks, Florida speaker --Tim Carroll

The longest item, at almost six minutes, was

4.b-i) Bids for vehicles,
because it was eight items rolled into one.

Second longest, at almost four minutes,
was
Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, who came from Florida to speak in
CBTH about

Florida effects of Valdosta Sewage.
Ms. Tooley stopped her precisely at three minutes, but
City Manager Mark Barber took most of a minute thanking her
for coming to speak.
Council Tim Carroll
and

Ms. Tooley
also thanked the Florida speaker in Council Comments.

Third longest was probably me (jsq) inviting
them to paddle and discussing sewage.
City Manager Barber before the meeting said he would be sure
he would get to Council the information I presented about
Valdosta spills over time.

Council Vivian Miller-Cody spoke about a Continue reading →

Videos: SCADA and Generators for sewer system lift stations @ VCC 2018-12-06

The longest single item in the one January Valdosta City Council meeting was unscheduled:
the

surprise statewide Georgia Parks and Rec Volunteer Award
and

Council Andy Gibbs responding with thanks.


The
most contentious rezoning was

4.b. CU-2018-13 Scintilla Charter Academy Conditional Use Permit,
to add a Middle School to an Elementary School.

The most-discussed general topic on the agenda was water, with
Utility Director Darryl Muse speaking about

5.b. Bids for 10 emergency standby generators for Utilities,

5.c. Bids for water treatment chemicals for Utilities,
and

6.b. Purchase SCADA system for Lift Stations and Water Treatment Plants,
with frequent questions from Council members.
They did bring up the
recent major spill at the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant.

In Citizens to Be Heard,
I

told them what Valdosta Utilities hadn’t.

Also in CTBH,
John Robinson spoke about how

small businesses need to thrive
and another speaker said

he had been attacked physically by a local business man.
Renaming Forrest Street was discussed by Continue reading →

Police and Utilities vehicles and other bids @ VCC 2019-01-24

A brief agenda for the Valdosta City Council,
mostly consisting of bids for equipment,
mostly for the Police Department,
plus some for Utilities, Engineering, Fire, and Public Works.


AGENDA

REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL

5:30 PM Thursday, January 24, 2019

COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL

Continue reading →

Videos: Val Del subdivision tabled second time @ LCC 2018-11-13

The same Val Del Road subdivision

on today’s agenda for the third time
was

tabled at the applicant’s request the second time it came up,
a month ago.

The longest item was

6 h/i/j Tyler Technology Repository/Processing/E-filing,
in which Georgia is catching up to Florida.

Below are links to each LAKE video of the 13 November 2018 Regular Session,
with a few comments.
See also

the agenda, the
LAKE videos of the 12 November 2018 Work Session,
and the
LAKE blog of the county’s own videos of its 9 October 2018 Regular Session.