Tag Archives: Economy

Notice: Lowndes County Budget Public Hearing 2023-06-20

This morning at 9 AM, Tuesday, June 20, 2023,
the Lowndes County Commission will hold a Budget Public Hearing
at the Commission Chambers, 327 North Ashley Street, Second Floor, Valdosta, GA 31601.

Calendar and Staff

Here’s what they discussed in their
Work Session on May 31st.

Here are

the slides presented at that meeting.

Gretchen Quarterman is at this morning’s meeting videoing for LAKE.

-jsq

Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!

http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/donate

Slides: Lowndes County Budget Presentation 2023-05-31

Here are the slides presented at the Lowndes County Budget Work Session, May 31, 2023,

received in response to a LAKE open records request.

Taxes and Expenditures

You’ll probably see them again at this morning’s
Budget Public Hearing.

Property taxes account for 61.26% of General Fund revenues,
followed by LOST (Local Option Sales Tax) at 28.07%.
SPLOST VIII and TSPLOST are Capital Projects Funds which are expected to get $26 million and $3.5 million in FY 2023.
There are other Capital Projects Funds, Enterprise Funds, Internal Service Funds, and Special Revenue Funds.
Adding them all up with the General Fund gets a total budget of $136,569,685 for FY 2023 and $148,189,088 for FY 2024.

Of General Fund Expenditures, 38.34% goes to Public Safety, i.e., Sheriff,
11.52 to the courts, for 49.86% or almost half.

The slides are

on the LAKE website in XML and PDF form.
Below they are in JPG form.

-jsq

Continue reading →

Videos: Budget Work Session @ LCC 2023-05-31

I saw no agenda posted beforehand for the
Budget Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission,
9 AM, Wednesday, May 31, 2021.

Collage @ LCC 31 May 2023

Below are LAKE videos by Gretchen Quarterman, with a few notes by her,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.

There was no audio feed back to the video ghetto in the rear of the room,
so you’ll have to crank up the volume and see what you can hear. Continue reading →

Firefighters grant, Madison Highway rezoning, Webster Street purchase, Wild Adventures expansion, Peterson Road Sewer Main Open Cut @ LCC Regular 2023-02-14

Nobody spoke for or against the one rezoning,

6.a. REZ-2023-02 Thomas Property, Madison Hwy, R-1 to R-A, ~10 acres,
which passed unanimously.
Everything else also passed unanimously.

Collage @ LCC 14 February 2023

There was one

Citizen Wishing To Be Heard,
but it never became clear what
Karen Carlisle was talking about, nor who “we” was on behalf of which she was asking.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item,
with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.

Videos: Wild Adventures and Weather Report @ LCC Work 2023-02-13

Update 2023-03-13:
Firefighters grant, Madison Highway rezoning, Webster Street purchase, Wild Adventures expansion, Peterson Road Sewer Main Open Cut @ LCC Regular 2023-02-14.

Wild Adventures

wants to make a 50 space short term RV park on their property.
Their General Manager Jon Vigue gave a slide presentation.

Collage @ LCC 13 February 2023

Commissioner Scottie Orenstien wanted to know did they own the land: yes.
Would they connect to county water and sewer? yes.
Lowndes County Utilities Director affirmed that the county
already has the necessary infrastructure for them to connect to.

Commissioner Demarcus Marshall wanted to be sure Continue reading →

Packet: Agricultural rezoning, Tourism, lot purchase, Firefighters, Sewer Main Open Cut @ LCC 2023-02-13

The highest-dollar item is a sewer main remodel,
on a relatively light agenda for the Lowndes County Commission Work Session
this morning and voting Regular Session tomorrow evening.

Cost	What
$40,237.50	Peterson Road Sewer Main Open Cut
$25,000.00	Purchase of 215 Webster Street Property
$4,509.09	Assistance to Firefighters Grant Micro Grant for SCBA Air Cylinders
$69,746.59	Total

Here is the agenda.

The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request,
is

on the LAKE website.

For the rezoning, see also the preceding Planning Commission meeting.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2023, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Videos: Dollar General Defeated, VLDA appointment, subdivision infrastructure, VOCA, server blades @ LCC Regular 2023-01-24

Update 2023-05-06:
Dollar General developer and property owner sue Lowndes County about rezoning denial –VDT 2023-05-03.

Update 2023-01-29:
Lowndes County nixes planned Dollar General –VDT 2023-01-26.

Much to the surprise of the several dozen opponents of the Dollar General rezoning,
and even after the DG developer attorney attempted to tell his version of the Lowndes County Commission’s legal responsibilities,
all the Commissioners voted to deny the rezoning.

Collage @ LCC 24 January 2023

The audience laughed at the Dollar General’s offer of an “enhanced facade,”
as conveyed by County Planner JD Dillard.
Even after Chairman Bill Slaughter limited each side to ten minutes,
the opposition gave excellent summaries.

Heath Dawson, who is the nearest neighbor to the north and a commercial banker,
attested Continue reading →

Videos: new attorney, VLDA appointment, Dollar General rezoning, 2 infrastructure, special assessment rate, VOCA @ LCC Work 2023-01-23

Update 2023-01-28:
Videos: Dollar General Defeated, VLDA appointment, subdivision infrastructure, VOCA, server blades @ LCC Regular 2023-01-24.

The second-longest item at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session this morning
was the proposed rezoning for a Dollar General at GA 122 and Skipper Bridge Road,
slightly uphill from the Withlacoochee River.
They vote tonight at 5:30 PM.
You can still call your Commissioner or send email,
or speak in the Public Hearing this evening.

The

two

subdivision infrastructure acceptances
on or near Val Del Road remind us all of what happens when the county
pushes development onto a road, as they did back in 2007 by running water and sewer to Nelson Hill on Val Del Road.

The longest item at almost three minutes was

7.c. Special Assessment Rate for 2023,
which has to be set every year, even though it hasn’t been used in decades.

Collage @ LCC 23 January 2023

About the rezoning, County Planner JD Dillard said another letter opposing the rezoning had been received,
from someone about three quarters of a mile north on Skipper Bridge,
but he did not say who it was nor what they wrote.

For no apparent reason, he put up a map showing nearest distances to residences. Continue reading →

Packet: Dollar General rezoning again, VLDA appointment, 2 subdivision infrastructure, special assessment rate, DA VOCA, server blades @ LCC 2023-01-23

Update 2023-01-24:
Videos: new attorney, VLDA appointment, Dollar General rezoning, 2 infrastructure, special assessment rate, VOCA @ LCC Work 2023-01-23.

Update 2023-01-23:

Please deny Dollar General rezoning, GA 122 @ Skipper Bridge Road –WWALS to Lowndes County 2023-01-23.

The rezoning for a Dollar General is back on the agenda for the
Lowndes County Commission to review Monday morning and to decide Tuesday evening.

Agenda, Dollar General rezoning

They will also decide on
reappointing Brad Folsom to the
Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority.
interest rate for paving and utility assessments,
authorization for D.A. to accept federal VOCA grant funds.
and the only thing listed as costing money: server blades replacing those at end of life.

Reminding us
what happens when the development camel gets its head under the agriculture and forestry tent,
there are two acceptances of subdivision infrastructure over on and near Val Del Road,
some of the numerous developments since the county ran water and sewer to Nelson Hill on Val Del.

Meanwhile, Dollar General does not seem to know where its stores are,
and the lot layout it submitted is not binding,
yet we should trust them to handle wetlands appropriately, just uphill of Poley Creek and the Withlacoochee River? Continue reading →

Survey, petition, letters, speak against conmmercial development on GA 122 at Skipper Bridge Road

Update 2023-01-21:
Packet: Dollar General rezoning again, VLDA appointment, 2 subdivision infrastructure, special assessment rate, DA VOCA, server blades @ LCC 2023-01-23.

If you do not think “commercial and shopping options in Lowndes County”
should include a development foothold in an agricultural and forestry area,
here are ways you can oppose it: a survey, a petition, letters, call your Commissioner, and speak in the Public Hearing.

Trash bags across GA 122 from the rezoning notice sign

Somebody identified only as “Joe w/ WG Research”
is sending text messages with

a survey that includes this question:

4. Would you be in favor of a new and architecturally enhanced Dollar General in North Lowndes County located on GA Hwy 122?

No doubt they want to hear from everybody.
So please answer

the survey and get friends and relatives who oppose that rezoning to answer it.

https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7170646/Lowndes-County?x=2DCD7BDE9 Continue reading →

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange