Power generation for both traditional electricity uses and transportation
is changing.
Michael Liedtke and Jonathan Fahey wrote for AP and Inc. 1 May 2015,
Elon Musk Unveils Tesla’s Ambitious New Home Battery System:
“Our goal here is to fundamentally change the way the world uses energy,” Musk told reporters gathered in Hawthorne, California.
The batteries are likely to become more useful if, as expected, more
utilities and regulators allow Continue reading
One case on
St. Augustine Road
and the other
on Slater Street
due east of VSU and a block north of Drexel Park and One Mile Creek.
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, April 27, 2015 * 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing
CALL TO ORDER, INVOCATION, PLEDGE
Continue reading
CITY OF VALDOSTA CASE:
FINAL ACTION by the City of Valdosta Mayor-Council
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Valdosta City Hall, 216 E. Central Street, Valdosta, Georgia
Council Chambers, 2nd Floor
5:30 p.m.
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
CJB and Hunt Industries
received plaques with copies of Valdosta Daily Times articles about them.
Their meeting tonight is cancelled; their next meeting is 19 May 2015,
according to their
website.
Their retreat was April 10th after the Georgia Logistics Summit March 31st – April 1st.
The Summit is in Atlanta, according to its own website.
If they said during their regular March meeting where their retreat was to be,
I didn’t catch it.
Here’s the
agenda with links to the LAKE videos and a couple of still pictures.
Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority
Tuesday, March 17, 2015 5:30 p.m.
Development Authority Conference Room
103 Roosevelt Drive
Monthly Meeting Agenda
Solar power made much of SO’s increased energy revenues for 2013 and 2014.
What else will we learn at the Southern Company 2015 Annual Meeting of Shareholders,
Wednesday, May 27, 2015?
Has Southern Company finally looked up, and will it say, like
Thomas Alva Edison in 1931,
“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy”?
To attend the SO shareholder meeting you have to have owned stock by
Monday, March 30, 2015, or you’ll need to get somebody to appoint you their proxy.
Since I’m an SO stockholder, I got the
216-page Southern Company Notice of 2015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, Proxy Statement and 2014 Annual Report, page D-8:
In 2014, wholesale revenues increased $329 million, or 17.7%, as
compared to the prior year due to a $326 million increase in energy
revenues and a $3 million increase in capacity revenues. The
increase in energy revenues was primarily related to increased
revenue under existing contracts as well as new solar PPAs and
requirements contracts primarily at Southern Power, 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
Yesterday morning the County Planner seemed perplexed about
the Vallotton family request to go back to the most agricultural
zoning, E-A.
Yet he was there when Bill Langdale explained
that at the
Planning Commission 30 March 2015, aided by multiple Planning Commissioners,
plus a few words from me.
He didn’t bring agriculture to the city; the city come to him….
I think it’s going to be real hard one day trying to eat this concrete.
–Tommy Willis
See for yourself. And remember the County Commission votes on this case this evening at 5:30 PM; maybe you’d like to come speak for.
Continue reading
They took the
Lake Park personal services case
first and recommended it 8:0.
REZ-2015-06 Vickers was withdrawn by applicant.
Vallotton Farms‘ reversion to Estate Agricultural was recommended 8:0
after an explanation by attorney Bill Langdale (and yours truly chimed in).
Denser zoning for
Edward Jennings LLC
was recommended 5:4 with a rare example of the Chairman voting, this time in favor.
And the Valdosta historic preservation
LDR changes were recommended 8:0.
Those two Lowndes County cases have already been heard at the
Lowndes County Commission
Work Session yesterday morning
and will be voted on tonight at the Regular Session.
The Vallotton case greatly puzzled the County Planner and at least one of the Commissioners.
Here’s
the agenda, reordered according to how they actually considered the cases,
with links to the videos, results of the votes, and a few notes. 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
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
A local citizen got cut off just as he said the county attorney’s
opinion was he could interpret state law about property taxes however he wished,
in the
24 March 2015 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.
9. Citizens Wishing to be Heard-Please State Your Name and Address
Video.
Craig Cardella’s concern was that the County Commission does not have enough money
to do things that are important to the community.
He said he had given a similar talk to Valdosta Mayor and Council recently.
He said he had been a city manager in the past, and had worked in and around
local government nearly all his career.
In 2009 GA State Senate authorized Continue reading