Tag Archives: Folsom Bridge

Videos: FY24 5311, USGS, Code Red, Disaster, Hazard, Facilities, TIA, FY23 Law, SDS, Exit 13 @ LCC 2022-10-25

Everything passed unanimously at the Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission on Tuesday, October 27, 2022. There were a few questions, but nothing contentious.

[Collage @ LCC 2022-10-25]
Collage @ LCC 2022-10-25

Chairman Bill Slaughter said Valdosta had supplied all the needed signatures from the City of Valdosta for the Service Delivery Agreement, although two of the smaller cities (unnamed) still needed to sign. City Manager Paige Dukes whispered to the Chairman that Valdosta City Council Andy Gibbs was in the room, and the Chairman thanked him.

The County Manager in her Report said Finance Director Stephanie Black had finished the “budget report” and it is on the county’s website for use by Commission, staff, and citizens. She didn’t say where, but I’m guessing she meant the Operating Budget, Fiscal Year 2023. She also said the county is going to update its noise ordinance to “get in line with citizens’ expectations”. On November 7th at 4-7 PM there wil be an Internet session with Windstream.

Rachel Thrasher said the county’s new videos have gotten 6,000 views in six weeks. She didn’t say where. But here’s one, on facebook, about golf cart accidents.

Robert Tracy proposed a special session of the Commission that citizens could attend, about property taxes. Apparently as the Tax Assessors catch up with a many-year backlog of appraisals, there have been some sudden rises in appraisals.

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

See also the LAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session and agenda and board packet.

Continue reading →

Videos: River Gauges, Lift Station, Disaster Relief, Hazards, Facilities, TIA, Service Delivery @ LCC 2022-10-24

Most items sailed through this morning’s Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission. They vote tomorrow, Tuesday evening, at 5:30 PM.

The county continues to be unhappy with the City of Valdosta about the Service Delivery Agreement.

Chairman Bill Slaughter asked to have the Patrol Car Laptop Lease tabled for further clarification.


[River Gauges, Hazard Mitigation, Facilities, Service Delivery, Lift Station, Reports @ LCC 2022-09-24]
River Gauges, Hazard Mitigation, Facilities, Service Delivery, Lift Station, Reports @ LCC 2022-09-24

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes by Gretchen, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the agenda and board packet. Continue reading →

Packet: Lift Station & Force Main, River Gauge, Transit, Code Red, Facilities, TIA, SDS, etc. @ LCC 2022-10-24

Update 2022-10-24: Videos: River Gauges, Lift Station, Disaster Relief, Hazards, Facilities, TIA, Service Delivery @ LCC 2022-10-24.

It’s a long agenda even with no rezonings, at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session this morning.

They vote Tuesday evening at 5:30 PM on $3 million in expenditures. The agenda says that $1,839,820 for Hazard Mitigation will be “Fully reimbursed to Lowndes County (90% from FEMA 10% from Pruitt Health Corporation)”.

Cost What
$1,839,820.00 Approval of Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) Applications
$1,084,938.91Exit 13 Lift Station and Force Main Project
$50,300.00Patrol Car Laptop Lease
$31,500.00Code Red Service Renewal
$23,850.00Joint Funding Agreement with USGS for Stream Gauge Maintenance
$3,030,408.91Total

[Agenda @ LCC 2022-10-24]
Agenda @ LCC 2022-10-24

The Stream Gauge item is for the river gauges on the Withlacoochee River at Skipper Road [sic] (Hagan Bridge) and the Little River near Hahira (Folsom Bridge).

Here is the agenda.

The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website. Continue reading →

Videos: Valwood award, river gauges, Comprehensive Plan, Alcohol @ LCC Regular 2021-10-25

Update 2021-11-08: Videos: Comprehensive Plan Update Public Hearing 2 @ LCC 2021-10-26.

The County Manager said the Character Area Maps were not changing in the Comprehensive Plan Update, so she expected the Public Hearing Tuesday to be brief, but a quorum would be required. At the end, I thanked the Commissioners for not changing the character area maps and asked them to follow them in future rezonings.

[County Manager, PIO, Valwood Valiants, Character Area Maps]
County Manager, PIO, Valwood Valiants, Character Area Maps

The river gauge funding and the beer and wine license sailed through unanimously. The longest items were the two part Proclamation Presentation to Valwood Valiants Volleyball Team and the County Manager’s Report.

Here are links to each LAKE video of each agenda (and non-agenda) item, with a few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the LAKE videos of the same morning’s Work Session, the agenda, and the board packet which we received in response to a LAKE open records request and put on the LAKE website. Some day the county will put its own board packets on its own website. Continue reading →

Videos: River gauges, Lowndes County Extension Office @ LCC Work 2021-10-25

By far the longest item was the informative 7.a. Lowndes County Extension Office Presentation, at the Lownndes County Commission Work Session yesterday morning.

[River Gauges, Beer and Wine, Reports, Extension Agent]
River Gauges, Beer and Wine, Reports, Extension Agent

The river gauges and the beer and wine license took not much longer than to read the agenda items.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the agenda and board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request and on the LAKE website. Continue reading →

Folsom Bridge and Skipper Bridge USGS gauge funding, beer and wine, Extension Office Presentation @ LCC 2021-10-25

Continued funding for two river gauges is the only significant decision on a very brief agenda for the Lowndes County Commission 8:30 AM tomorrow morning, and voting 5:30 PM Tuesday Monday, that same evening. One of them used to be funded by Valdosta, which it primarily benefits, but Lowndes County picked up that one back in 2019. The other the county has been funding since 2009; it’s at the same Little River location that at its last meeting the Commission fortunately decided not to close to the public.

There’s a Monday morning Work Session presentation from the Lowndes County Extension Service Office.

The only actual decisions are on yet another beer and wine license, and on funding two USGS gauges, at Folsom Bridge on GA 122 on the Little River west of Hahira, and at Skipper Bridge on the Withlacoochee River north of Valdosta.

[Gauge cost, Little River, Withlacoochee River]
Gauge cost, Little River, Withlacoochee River

Lowndes County has been funding $14,200 for the Folsom Bridge gauge since shortly after the big flood of 2009. Note that this the same Little River site that the Commssion in its last meeting decided not to close to the public by not closing Wells Road.

Here are LAKE videos of their October 2012 Continue reading →

Appoint Tax Assessors, 3 water, 3 road, 1 pandemic, 1 software @ LCC 2020-09-21

Applying this morning for Board of Tax Assessors are Mr. Gene Felts and Mrs. Gretchen Quarterman. The Lowndes County Commission will vote tomorrow (Tuesday) at 5:30 PM. That and almost $4 million in water, road, software, and fire items.

Cost What
$1,681,770.84Grading, Drainage, Base, and Paving of Clyattstone Road and Simpson Lane.
$1,417,333.98Clyattstone Water Main Extension
$489,310.00Motorola SUAII (Evergreen)
$128,075.58Firefighter Personnel Request
$41,217.6.00Foxborough Lift Station Pump
$34,169.28Drainage Improvements to Brinson Lane and Oak Hill Drive
$22,500.00FY2021 Joint Funding Agreement with USGS
$19,800.00Land Application System (LAS) Expansion Agreement
$3,834,177.28Total

Apparently paving does not solve all problems, because one of the four water items is Drainage Improvements to Brinson Lane and Oak Hill Drive to “eliminate flooding issues as a result of the paving of Oak Hill Drive.”. The other three water items are FY2021 Joint Funding Agreement with USGS for the Folsom Bridge (GA 122 Little River & Skipper Bridge (Withlacoochee River) USGS gauges, Foxborough Lift Station Pump, and Land Application System (LAS) Expansion Agreement.

In addition to Brinson Lane, there are two more road items: Grading, Drainage, Base, and Paving of Clyattstone Road and Simpson Lane (how much have they spent on that project combined so far?) and Acceptance of Infrastructure for Val Del Villas. The latter is listed as no cost, despite the Brinson Lane episode.

[Survey Plat]
Survey Plat

Also on the agenda: Grant Submission Request – COVID-19 Response Grant Application, partly to “Recruit and hire a sufficient number of poll workers and inspectors to ensure polling places are properly staffed,” , a Firefighter Personnel Request, and Motorola SUAll (Evergreen) software.

Received in response to a LAKE open records request, the board packet is on the LAKE website. Here is the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2020, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2020, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Videos: River Gauges, Roads, Alcohol, and Fire @ LCC 2019-10-22

The longest items at last month’s voting Regular Session were 3 minutes on 5.b. 2020 Census Resolution (due to discussion about the new initially online methods), two minutes on 5.l. Tax Assessment for the Lowndes County School District Bonds (it’s about debt service on ESPLOST), and 1:44 on 5.k. Industrial Authority Bond Issue and Funding (it’s complicated).

The 5.a. FY2020 USGS Joint Funding Agreement, which adds county funding for the Skipper Bridge Withlacoochee River USGS Gauge to the Hahira Little River Gauge the county has been funding since 2009, breezed through.

Below are Continue reading →

Videos: River Gauges, Roads, Alcohol, and Fire @ LCC 2019-10-21

Surprise bonds for the Development Authority and Lowndes County Schools, and a turn lane for Wiregrass Tech, plus a new Forestry Ranger about fire, in these LAKE videos of yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session.

The longest item was five minutes about funding the Skipper Bridge Withlacoochee River USGS Gauge in addition to the Folsom Bridge Little River Gauge, by EMA Director Ashley Tye. Valdosta apparently discovered that Skipper Bridge is not in the city limits, so Valdosta will no longer fund that gauge. But the former funding from the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) plus more from Lowndes County will cover it, if the Lowndes County Commissioners vote for it at 5:30 PM Tonight, after their discussion yesterday morning.

Georgia Forestry Ranger Randy Spell talked about the use of a vehicle in the Rural Fire Defense Cooperative Lease Agreement And MOU.

Second longest was the extremely vague Continue reading →

Packet: River Gauges, Roads, Alcohol, and Fire @ LCC 2019-10-21

Lowndes County is adding funding for the Skipper Bridge Road Withlacoochee River gauge to its traditional since 2009 funding of the Folsom Bridge GA 122 Little River gauge. That’s $8,300 and $14,200, respectively, with another $5,900 for the Skipper Bridge Gauge from the Suwannee River Water Management District. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) puts in $900 towards each gauge, or $1800 total. Valdosta still funds the North Valdosta Road US 41 Withlacoochee River Valdosta gauge, and USGS completely funds the US 84 Quitman Withlacoochee River gauge.

[OPTIONS: 1. Approve the FY 2020 Funding Agreement]
OPTIONS: 1. Approve the FY 2020 Funding Agreement
PDF

Details are in the Board Packet now on the LAKE website, received Friday, October 18, 2019, in response to an open records request.

The rest of the Lowndes County Commission agenda for Monday and Tuesday is dominated by roads: a resolution on criteria for taking private roads into the county public road system, and resolutions taking in roads within several subdivisions: Continue reading →