Tag Archives: Economy

Nelson Hill waivers by staff @ LCC 2013-08-13

Before

tonight’s vote on Moody Housing on Val Del Road,


maybe somebody should review
these administrative waivers from county staff for Nelson Hill,
one for the minimum lot size, and the other for setbacks for the lots along the “lake”.
I haven’t yet found who waived

the requirement for condominiums,
or for their fronts to be staggered,
or for them to be at least 1800 square feet,
or the traffic calming measures,
or how all this fits the submitted site plans,
nor for that matter what happened to
the gate or guards or the road connecting to Grove Point.
Maybe you can find those things in

the materials about Nelson Hill received in response to
an Open Records Request.
If staff can waive all these things without any of them coming up
again for a vote before the elected Commission in a public hearing,
why do we have the elected Commissioners vote in the first place?



Here’s a waiver for lot setbacks next to the pond

by Joe Pritchard “In my official capacity as County Manager”,
22 September 2009, for AAW-2009-06.

Here’s a waiver for minimum lot sizes

by Jason Davenport, County Planner, 18 July 2011, for AAW-2011-16:

Good afternoon. Based on recent questions from multiple parties
regarding Nelson Hill we thought it best to respond in writing to all.
For us the question is “Will the County require a minimum lot size in
Nelson Hill?” and our answer is Continue reading →

What happened at Nelson Hill on Val Del Road? @ LCC 2013-08-12

Staff promises evaporated, many of 13 conditions voted by elected Commissioners
didn’t get implemented: what happened at
Nelson Hill, the subdivision

County Planner Jason Davenport referred to
as the neighborhood on Val Del Road for
REZ-2013-09 Moody Housing?
Well, it has a reputation, as

someone nearby said in
opposing another development:

And we’re certainly not interested in what they built out on Val Del Road.

What happened at Nelson Hill?



As

Gretchen Quarterman mentioned to the Planning Commission,
there were supposed to be condominiums and a gated community there, but:

if you go out to Nelson Hill now you don’t find anything resembling a gated condominium community; you find ticky-tacky houses where they cut down the swamp.

So what was supposed to be there?
In the
Minutes for the Work Session of 12 February 2007 condominiums are mentioned: Continue reading →

Dump CCA and other private prison stocks now –smart analysts

If business is so good,
why did CCA

lose two contracts for new prisons in Georgia last year


when neither the state nor the feds had enough prisoners to fill them?
And why was

the private prison in Ocilla nearly sold at auction?
Why this year was
Gladiator School closed and two other CCA prisons cancelled?
And all that was before

U.S. DoJ announced today it will “avoid charging certain low-level and nonviolent drug offenders with crimes that carry mandatory minimums”.

Ed Arnold wrote for Memphis Business Journal 23 July 2013,

Corrections Corp. of America debunks Anonymous report,



As reported on Monday, the computer hacking collective known as
Anonymous Analytics published a blog warning investors that a
declining prison population and reforms designed to reduce
incarceration rates in the U.S. point to shrinking revenue for
Corrections Corporation of America (NYSE: CXW) going forward.

CCA flatly denied the Anonymous Analytics conclusions in a
statement.

CCA apparently didn’t dare link to the actual report.
Anonymous Analytics wrote 9 July 2013,

Corrections Corporation of America: The Dismantling of a National Disgrace, Continue reading →

Avoid charging low-level and nonviolent drug offenders –U.S. DoJ

It’s about time!
The War on Drugs has failed, admits the U.S. Department of Justice,
by saying it will “avoid charging certain low-level and nonviolent drug offenders with crimes that carry mandatory minimums”.

Ryan J. Reilly wrote for Huffpo today,

Eric Holder Outlining New Justice Department Drug Sentencing Reforms,



The Justice Department will avoid charging certain low-level and
nonviolent drug offenders with crimes that carry mandatory minimums,
Attorney General Eric Holder will announce Monday. The policy shift
will allow certain defendants — those without ties to
large-scale organizations, gangs or cartels — to avoid what
Holder called “draconian mandatory minimum sentences.”

Holder, in a speech before the American Bar Association in San
Francisco on Monday, Continue reading →

No mold or unpaid contractors this time for Moody Housing @ GLPC 2013-07-29

Unlike Moody AFB’s last go at privatizing housing,
no mold or unpaid contractors this time,
or so we’re told.
But not so solid assurances that local contractors will be used.
And what if this new thing turns into something radically different
like Nelson Hill did only a short way up Val Del?

GLPC Voting

Speaking for

that proposed privatized Moody housing on Val Del Road,
Lawyer Tom Kurrie said this was “an opportunity for our community”.
He spelled out that the proposal was “90 homes for off-base houses,
for enlisted personnel, non-commissioned officers, and officers”,
with gates.
He went on about

Balfour Beatty‘s experience in building such housing,
and their option to build Phase II, although at the moment
they’re only requesting Phase I.
He said “the unfortunate issue that took place with the
prior development” would not occur with this one.



I can guess he’s referring to the mold issue,

Beth Mahoney detailed in Little Rock Military Families Examiner 6 April 2009.



Or since he lauded Balfour Beatty’s credit rating, maybe
he was referring to the
nonpayment of subcontractors,
as Kari L. Sands wrote for VDT, 4 March 2007,

Military housing woes:
Non-payment forces work on military housing project to stop.

Preferred Builders and Renovators, LLC., the Home Builders
Association of South Georgia and CMS/ Dumpster Co. are among those
affected. Subcontractors are alleging that Continue reading →

Gated Moody housing on Val Del Road, REZ-2013-09 @ GLPC 2013-07-29

Only 81 of 396 proposed units have been built at current Moody Family


Housing on Roberts Road.
Why should we build more on Val Del Road?

At the 29 July 2013 Greater Lowndes Planning Commission meeting,
County Planner Jason Davenport said that in addition
to the

initial materials for GLPC,
he’d provided an update
about Magnolia Grove, which was Phase I of

Moody Family Housing.
The real reason for the rezoning wasn’t stated in the initial materials given
to GLPC.
In

the materials obtained through open records request,
we can see that
the

GLPC agenda item
contained the boilerplate
“The general motivation in this case appears to be so that the subject property
can be developed at a greater residential density.”
In the update
it’s assumed that the real reason is housing for Moody personnel,
since Magnolia Grove is the existing Moody housing off of Roberts Road.
Which isn’t even built out yet, as you can see in

this map from the county Tax Commissioners,
so why does Moody need more housing?


Lots of interesting back history in that

July 29th GLPC Lowndes County Rezoning Update – 2,
to which
I’ve added Continue reading →

TRC and GLPC recommended subdivision that doesn’t improve traffic or safety, REZ-2013-09

What is so important about yet another subdivision
of
360,910 square feet in 173 houses


when we have

a glut of houses that the TRC unanimously
recommended it despite significant defects and omissions?
According to

Technical Review Committee (TRC) analysis,
REZ-2013-09 Moody Family will not lessen congestion in the streets
or secure safety from fire, panic, and other dangers.
TRC also said the application didn’t meet ULDC standards and

in somewhat tortured language:
“although not a proposed condition, it should be
noted on this request that a future traffic study will be required.”
Why not require these things before even sending the application
to the Planning Commission?


In email to the Greater Lowndes Planning Commissioners of 23 July 2013,
forwarded to the applicants 29 July 2013,

July 29th GLPC Lowndes County Rezoning Materials,



2) REZ-2013-09 Moody Family, 0072 191, Val Del Rd, 64.92 ac., 2
lots, R-1 to Residential PD, County Utilities

a) The TRC recommended approval of the request unanimously.

b) Additionally, although not a proposed condition, it should be
noted on this request that a future traffic study will be required.
Acceleration lanes/Deceleration lanes and/or a dedicated left turn lane
may be required.

Rumor has it that this development is being pushed not by Moody AFB,
rather by Continue reading →

AT&T says it invested $675 million in networks in Georgia first half 2013

Let’s compare T’s recent investments in various states.
The telco and cableco incumbents played this game back in 2004,
too, going on about how much they were investing, so the
Valdosta City Council wouldn’t vote to do its own municipal network.
What’s the plan to get fast (100Mbps+) affordable (less than $30/month)
Internet access everywhere in Georgia?

Christopher Seward wrote for AJC 8 August 2013,

AT&T: $675M invested in Georgia networks,


T 4G (not LTE) Coverage in Georgia
AT&T said Thursday it invested more than $675 million to upgrade
its wireless and wired networks in Georgia in the first half of the
year.

The investments include new cell towers—base stations used to
send signals to mobile phones—more antenna reach, improvements
to its 4G LTE network for quicker data downloads and more Wi-Fi
hotspots, the company said.

Here’s the actual T PR of
9 August 2013,

AT&T Invests More Than $675 Million in Georgia Wireless and Wireline Networks,
which has some details about cable, 4G LTE, etc., including this: Continue reading →

VDT links Plant Vogtle nuke cost overruns to Kemper Coal

Even the VDT has caught on to cost overruns for Kemper Coal and the
new nukes at Plant Vogtle.

VDT posted an AP article 29 July 2013,

Miss. deal may figure into Georgia nuclear plant,
and
Charlotte Observer posted it the day before, including

Ray Henry
as the author,



In Mississippi, the Southern Co. utility took financial losses when
the cost of building a new power plant went over budget. In Georgia,
another of the company’s projects is going over budget, but it has
not yet taken a financial hit.

Southern Company subsidiary Mississippi Power promised utility
regulators that it would charge its customers only for $2.4 billion
in costs for building a coal-fired power plant in Kemper Country.
Those customers will also have to pay off another $1 billion in
bonds for the project, though the utility cannot make a profit off
that borrowed money.

The utility’s deal in Mississippi has become a point of debate as
Georgia regulators consider who should pay for the increased cost of
building two more nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle (VOH’-gohl),
southeast of Augusta. Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols said he
wants Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power to consider a
Mississippi-style deal here, and Georgia regulators are carefully
tracking financial developments in Mississippi.



Echols said he was interested in the idea of a project spending cap.

“I’m sure when they made that deal they didn’t think they were going
to over the cap, but they did,” Echols said.

Oh, come now,

they went 26 times over budget last time.
Why would anyone believe Continue reading →

Planning Commission on subdivision next to Moody AFB, REZ-2013-08 MFH Tract A @ GLPC 2013-07-29

Now you can see what they were looking at:

those documents are on the LAKE website
for

REZ-2013-08 MFH, for a subdivision on Roberts Road immediately next to Moody AFB.



First

County Planner Jason Davenport said a few words about

the TRC recommendation.



Commissioner Ted Raker (Hahira) wanted clarification about



this application would require additional changes to meet
the requirements of the Unified Land Development Code (ULDC),
specifically that it would not help with safety, fire, health, general welfare,
etc.
“In fact seven out of the eleven were negative.”


Davenport confirmed that that was correct, and that was

staff’s analysis.
Staff paid by your tax dollars, so you shouldn’t have to file an open
records request and pay ten dollars when staff could just put it on
the web with the

GLPC agenda, which they also don’t now but could easily put on the web.

Nobody spoke for the request.
Numerous people spoke in opposition.


Tom Kurrie said in 38 years of practicing law Continue reading →