Tag Archives: Georgia

Alapaha Boat Ramp progress @ LCC 2015-02-05

They’ve been working with Dr. Acree on land aquisition, and with GA-DNR 300x225 Beach at site of planned Naylor Park, in Alapaha River Outing, by John S. Quarterman, for WWALS.net, 24 August 2014 on flow levels and ramp placement, as well as anticipation of survey and final designs, they said during the SPLOST agenda item, reports Gretchen from the Lowndes County Commission retreat. No word of when they anticipate completing the boat ramp, and it sounds like they haven’t actually purchased the land yet.

-jsq

Finance report @ LCC 2015-02-05

300x225 Around the table, in Finance, by Gretchen Quarterman, 5 February 2015 Your elected Commissioners and top county staff listening to Finance Director Stephanie Black’s report, around 9:30 AM on the all-day retreat agenda. The seemingly most boring subject, but the key to all the others. Gretchen is there videoing, but apparently nobody else other than the VDT reporter. Continue reading

Pipelines are bad economics: invest in renewable energy instead –Harvard

Let’s stop wasting money on the slide-rule technology of Keystone XL or Sabal Trail: they’re both bad investments, either short-term or long-term.

Andrew Winston wrote for Harvard Business Review 30 January 2015, Why the Keystone Pipeline Is the Wrong U.S. Energy Debate,

In the short run, with oil at $50 per barrel, Keystone will connect refineries to oil that may be unprofitable to extract. In the long run, as the world turns away from fossil fuels aggressively, the pipeline will be moot — a relic of the past.

Either way it’s a poor investment.

What, then? Continue reading

County Commission retreats to Lake Park Thursday and Friday @ LCC 2015-02-05

Everything from Animals to ZBOA agenda for the annual Lowndes County Commission retreat, now billed as 2015 Annual Planning Meeting. Unlike the Valdosta City Council, this retreat is in Lowndes County, at the same location as the recent Lake Park Chamber of Commerce annual dinner. Gretchen will be there with the LAKE camera. You can go, too: it’s an open meeting.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
2015 Annual Planning Meeting
Quail Branch Lodge
7601 Zeigler Road, Lake Park, Georgia

Thursday, February 5- Continue reading

One variance at Lake Alapaha @ ZBOA 2015-02-03

One variance at Lake Alapaha, about not connecting to county water. Since the county has had to spend a lot of money recently on upgrading the Lake Alapaha water treatment plant, digging individual wells down into groundwater containing Alapaha River water seems dubious to me. With no County Director of Utilities since Mike Allen moved on, I wonder who will represent the county?

Here’s the agenda, which oddly is not yet on the City of Valdosta website. Thanks to Alexandra for sending it.

Valdosta-Lowndes County Zoning Board of Appeals

Matt Martin, Valdosta Planning and Zoning Administrator Carmella Braswell, Lowndes County Zoning Administrator
300 North Lee Street, Valdosta, Georgia 327 North Ashley Street, Valdosta, Georgia
(229) 259-3563 (229) 671-2430

AGENDA
February 3, 2015
2:30 p.m.

  1. Call to Order

LOWNDES COUNTY CASES:

  1. VAR-2015-01 — Robert Dinkins (Lake Alapaha Boulevard, Naylor)
    Variance to ULDC Chapters 4.04.02 (F2) and 6.03.03 (D) as they pertain to water connection requirements

OTHER BUSINESS:

  1. Approval of Minutes: January 6, 2014
  2. Adjournment

-jsq

Videos: One variance in Naylor @ ZBOA 2015-01-06

They approved the one variance in Naylor, listened to a presentation, gave a plaque to former Vice-Chair Scott Orrenstein, and met Valdosta’s Media Coordinator. They meet again today.

Here’s the agenda for the January 2015 meeting, which is still not on the City of Valdosta website. I added a few notes and some links into the one big video.

Valdosta -Lowndes County Zoning Board of Appeals

Matt Martin, Valdosta Planning and Zoning Administrator Carmella Braswell, Lowndes County Zoning Administrator
300 North Lee Street, Valdosta, Georgia 327 North Ashley Street, Valdosta, Georgia
(229) 259-3563 (229) 671-2430

AGENDA

January 6, 2015
2:30 p.m.
Continue reading

Fixing climate change is profitable

Batteries are just one of many reasons, including electric vehicles, smart grid, solar and wind power (including pass HB 57 and you can profit by getting financing for your own solar panels), plus massive savings on health care and electricity bills; batteries are one of many reasons that fixing climate change will save us all money, clean up our air and water, expand our forests, preserve property rights, and make some people rich:

In fact, a recent report suggests that revenue from the distributed energy storage market — meaning battery packs and other storage devices located directly at homes and businesses (many of which now generate electricity through solar) — could exceed $16.5 billion by 2024. Another report predicts $68 billion in revenue in the same time frame from the grid-scale storage market. This includes large-scale battery packs, hydro-storage systems that use cheap abundant electricity to pump water uphill to drive turbines later on, or even solar thermal systems that store energy as heat in molten salt.

And it’s all happening fast, so fast your jaw will drop if you’re not paying attention. So let’s stop talking about the costs of fixing climate change. It’s not just no-cost and free, not just in the future but right now; we’re all actually going to be better off through fixing climate change: healthier and more prosperous.

Sami Grover wrote Continue reading

Anti-tethering ordinance proposal by Dr. Amanda Hall and others @ LCC 2015-01-27

All the anti-tethering videos from the Monday morning 26 January 2015 Work Session (presentation by Dr. Amanda Hall) and the Tuesday evening 27 January 2015 Regular Session (four citizens and the Chairman) of the Lowndes County Commission. More details from the VDT 24 January 2015 and 28 January 2015, and see the Break the Chains facebook page. Continue reading

Videos: Mike Allen, Anti-Tethering, Budget, Surplus, Abandonment, Evidence, Workers Comp, Manhole @ LCC 2015-01-27

The room was packed as the Chairman commented on Dr. Amanda Hall’s proposal for an anti-tethering ordinance, as did four citizens (realtor Alan Canup, veterinarian Jeff Creamer, LCDP Chairman Tom Hochschild, and Carol Kellerman), plus Chairman Slaughter again. Citizen Frenchie DePasture commented on trash, at Tuesday evening’s Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission. Mike Allen, Utilities Director until last Friday, got an offer he couldn’t refuse from Hilton Head, South Carolina and a presentation from County Manager Joe Pritchard. Finance Director Stephanie Black read from the agenda about a budget award (or passing grade) received by Lowndes County for the ninth year in a row, as one of 1400 awardees this year.

No rezonings, but Continue reading

Videos: 1 church, 2 small, 1 subdivision @ GLPC 2015-01-26

Videos of the Planning Commission recommending Monday 26 January 2015. The Central Avenue Church of Christ wants to rezone 5.6 acres to Downtown Commercial, while the two small rezonings are on Old Pine Road and Skipper Bridge Road, plus Devine Subdivision on Tillman Crossing.

See the agenda.