Tag Archives: Georgia Environmental Finance Authority

Videos: Development Authority appointment, VOCA grants, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC Regular 2025-01-15

Ms. Terri Lupo was reappointed to the 5.a. Valdosta Lowndes
Development Authority.

The Lowndes County Commission at their Regular Session of January 14, 2025, also passed everything else unanimously, with little or no
discussion.

Collage @ LCC 14 January 2025

Commissioner Demarcus Marshall did have a question about
7.k.
GEFA Loan DWLSL2023097 for Lead Service Line Inventory. He also
had a special thanks for Samaritan’s Purse in Commission Comments.

Former Valdosta City Council Alvin Payton, Jr., sat front and
center the entire meeting.

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

Packet: Development Authority appointment, VOCA grants, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC 2025-01-13

Update 2025-01-16:
Videos: Development Authority appointment, VOCA grants, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC Regular 2025-01-14

Yesterday morning
Commissioner Mark Wisenbarker wanted to know whether the staff had a list of roads needing striping for

7.g. 2025 Georgia DoT Local Maintenance – Improvement Grant (LMIG) Application.
Here’s the project list:

Road paving list and Broadband map @ LCC Packet 2025-01-13

The map appears to be where Windstream thinks Lowndes County already had broadband in 2021. Continue reading →

Videos: Development Authority appointment, VOCA grants, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC Work Session 2025-10-13

The Lowndes County Commission started the Work Session yesterday morning by

welcoming new Commissioner Michael Smith.
He will vote for the first time at the Regular Session this evening at 5:30 PM.

Collage @ LCC 13 January 2025

Chairman Bill Slaughter praised Terri Lupo, long-time baord member of the

5.a. Valdosta Lowndes Development Authority,
although he noted there were two other applicants for her expired term.

There was some discussion on

7.f. Emergency Repair – Lowndes County Fire Station #5.
Fire Station #5 is the one on Bemiss Road. Apparently after the November rain, there was a sewage back up in the fire station that was 3″ deep and everything from the floor to 2′ up the wall had to be replaced, including furniture. Insurance covered some of the cost.

Commissioner Mark Wisenbarker wanted to know whether the staff had a list of roads needing striping for

7.g. 2025 Georgia DoT Local Maintenance – Improvement Grant (LMIG) Application.
Answer: yes.

They do not yet have a design for the

7.h. Local Bridge Replacement at Jumping Gully Road at Bevel Creek (0019937).

There was Commissioner discussion about the prices for the Continue reading →

Agenda: Development Authority appointment, VOCA grants, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC 2025-01-13

It’s a busy first agenda of the year for the Lowndes County Commission,
Work Session Monday morning, voting Regular Session Tuesday evening.

Agenda: VLDA appointment, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, VOCA grants, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC 2025-01-13

Terri Lupo’s term has expired for the Development Authority.
Robert Green and Brice Evans also want to be appointed.
Usually the Commission reappoints the incumbent.

Cost	What
$1,300,000.00	Coleman Road NW Paving and Drainage Improvements, P.1.0016279 Supplemental Agreement No. 1
$635,000.00	GEFA Loan DWLSL2023097 for Lead Service Line Inventory
$160,122.00	Bid for Six Compact SUV Vehicles for Multiple Departments
$79,380.00	Emergency Repair – Lowndes County Fire Station #5
$50,000.00	Lowndes County Local Bridge Replacement at Jumping Gully Road at Bevel Creek (0019937)
$45,761.60	Union Road Lift Station Pump Replacement
$33,232.00	Approval of the Solicitor General’s FY25 VOCA Grant Award
$2,303,495.60	Total

The above table, generated by LAKE from the agenda items, is hard to add up because
of items where the BUDGET IMPACT is actually incoming funds from a new source, such as this one: Continue reading →

Packet: Proposed Annual Budget, City of Valdosta, FY 2025, for Budget Meeting 2024-05-22

In this Proposed Annual Budget for the City of Valdosta Budget Meeting Wednesday afternoon, 3-8 PM,
there are two bond series, one refinancing, the other new, both for water and sewer improvements.

Apparently the city has previously financed more than $32 million in loans
from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA),
and last year floated a bond at a lower interest rate
for about $22 million still to be paid.

Even more interesting, if I am reading it correctly, this budget proposes a new bond for
$67 million.

Maybe the Valdosta City government is getting more serious about fixing their sewer system problems.

This is all in addition to the water and sewer improvements paid for by
Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) line items,
by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds,
or from other revenue; see below.

Extracts, Proposed FY 2025 City of Valdosta Budget

W&S 2020 Bond Series

Purpose: Refinance GEFA notes at a lower interest rate

Maturity Date: 2033

Original Principal Amount: $32,134,000; July 1, 2023, Principal Outstanding $22,264,065

Interest Rate: 2.29%

Funding Source: Water and Sewer Revenue Fund

Pending for FY 25 – estimate

W&S 2024 Bond Series

Purpose: Upgrades Water and Sewer

Maturity Date: 2054

Original Principal Amount: $67,000,000; July 1, 2023, Principal Outstanding $67,000,000

Interest Rate: 4.5%

Funding Source: Water and Sewer Revenue Fund

See

page 49, Debt Service, FY 2025, City of Valdosta. Continue reading →

Packet: Lead Service Line Inventory and MCWTP Micro Screen, Lakeland Ave. Stormwater, New water wells @ VCC 2024-01-25

The board packet for tonight’s Valdosta City Council meeting, full of wastewater, stormwater, and trash items, is

on the LAKE website, all 137 pages of it.

The packet includes some details about the proposed Lakeland Avenue Regional Stormwater Facility,
which is item 5.c)
on the

agenda.

Collage, Valdosta City Council Packet 2024-01-25

If you can’t attend in person, you can watch it on facebook live on
Valdosta, A City Without Limits.

https://www.facebook.com/CityofValdosta

-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

Agenda: Lead Service Line Inventory and MCWTP Micro Screen, Lakeland Ave. Stormwater, New water wells @ VCC 2024-01-25

Update 2024-01-25:

Packet: Lead Service Line Inventory and MCWTP Micro Screen, Lakeland Ave. Stormwater, New water wells @ VCC 2024-01-25.

Tonight’s Valdosta City Council agenda is full of wastewater, stormwater, and trash items.

Agenda, Valdosta City Council, 2024-01-25 and Lakeland Avenue map

If you can’t attend in person, you can watch it on facebook live on
Valdosta, A City Without Limits.

https://www.facebook.com/CityofValdosta

Here is the
agenda.

Agenda, Valdosta City Council, 2024-01-25

PDF

AGENDA

REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL

5:30 PM Thursday, January 25, 2024

CITY HALL, COUNCIL CHAMBERS

Continue reading →

Roads, Water, and Taxes @ LCC 2021-02-22

Four million dollars in tax money discussed this morning,
to be voted on at 5:30 PM tomorrow (Tuesday) by the Lowndes County Commission.

Table: Four Million Dollars

Yet their video cameras seem to be broken and I haven’t seen anything
about paying to fix them or buy new ones.
Meanwhile, Valdosta City Council started online through an iphone,
and numerous other counties in Georgia and Florida have made their meetings
accessible online.

Cost	What
$1,974,139.00	Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) Loan Application for the Lake Park Bellville Road Widening Project
$1,875,000.00	Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) Loan Application for Lift Station & Manhole Rehab Project
$219,000.00	Approve Purchase of West Savannah Avenue and Briggs Street Properties
$168,880.00	Purchase of Wetland and Stream Credits for Old US 41 North Widening Project
$59,500.00	Contract with Condrey and Associates, Inc.
$34,024.64	Request for the Purchase of Motorola Radios for Public Works
$19,167.00	Approval of the Solicitor General’s VAWA Competitive Grant Award
$10,195.00	Approval of Hightower Road and Cooper Road Right of Way Purchases
$6,000.00	GMASS Rural Land Maintenance Contract
$339.00	Just Compensation – Right of Way Parcel 10 Hightower Road and Cooper Road, TSPLOST Project
$4,366,244.64	Total

We don’t know where are the lift stations or manholes to be
financed through a GEFA loan for $1,875,000,
but I’d say that’s a good use of funds.
Not so sure about the

$1,974,139 for relocating utilities for widening
Lake Park Bellville Road,
because I’m not clear on why that road needs widening.
I do wonder why sewer and drinking water improvements have to be funded through loans
while road building gets tax funds.

Here is
the agenda.
The board packet is
on the LAKE website,
received Friday in response to a LAKE Open Records request.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2021, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2021, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Videos: Jury, Paving, and GEFA in Work Session @ LCC 2019-09-23

The Lowndes County Commission spent nine minutes yesterday morning discussing spending $124,454 and borrowing $1,734,000.
They vote this evening at 5:30 PM.

The county has now gotten up to not just demanding landowners give road right of way to the county, but also

condemning property if they don’t get it donated.

The longest item at less than two minutes was

6.d. Request for Professional Engineering Services Proposals – CDBG.
As Gretchen remarks in the notes, apparently this is in support of Arglas,
the Japanese glass products manufacturer locating on Rocky Ford Road.

Second longest was

7.b. Bid for a Breathing Air System for the Fire Department,
due to a question by a Commissioner.

Below are Continue reading →

Jury, Paving, and GEFA in LCC Packet @ LCC 2019-09-23

Lowndes County staff are proposing to spend
$124,454,
according to all the “BUDGET IMPACT”s board packet:
$48,500 for a

Jury Management System,
$1,469.00 for

Condemning ROW for Howell Lane Paving Project,
$3,500.00 (approx.) for

Second Modification of GEFA Loan Agreement,
and for the Fire Department
$29,195.00 for

a 1/2 Ton Truck and
$41,790.00 for

a Breathing Air System.

Survey plat: Revised County RoW for Howell Lane

They propose

to borrow $1,734,000 from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA).

The Lowndes County Commission discusses Monday morning at 8:30 AM. They vote 5:30 PM Tuesday.

GEFA Loan Agreement Project Budget

For the first time ever! Lowndes County has returned the board packet before the Work Session.

LAKE sent an open records request Tuesday, and the county actually supplied the packet Friday, with this note: Continue reading →

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange