Tag Archives: Georgia

Videos: Water, water, water, waste! and planning? @ LCC 2012-10-08

The big news was the waste disposal railroad, but the Lowndes County Commission also heard about three water issues (one a rezoning), plus a beer license, revenue bonds, community planning month, and a health fair at its Work Session this morning.

Here’s the agenda, with links to the videos and a few notes, or links to separate posts.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2012, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
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Lowndes County Solid Waste RFP Summary Sheet @ LCC 2012-10-08

This is the summary sheet Kevin Beals presented at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session this morning.

Assuming the dollar figures in the table are monthly charges to the end user, note that the only one that comes out less than the current $100/year is the $8.33 in the lower right corner: $8.33 * 12 = $99.96. Presumably plus tax, since this would be a private service. So if the Commission chooses any of these options, we the current waste disposal customers will have to pay more.

The upper end of $19.95 (upper right corner) comes to $239.40 per year. Or 140% more than the current price. A bit more to a lot more: that’s what we’ll have to pay. Plus the socialized costs of privatizing waste disposal, such as code enforcement to pick up trash dumped on rights of way, private fences and gates built to keep trash out, and other costs.

Average is somewhere around $13/month, for $156/year. If they simply charged that for the current service, the already rapidly decreasing budget deficit for waste disposal would vanish, and there would be no need to change to something else.

If you want to see the actual proposals summarized in this table, you can file an open records request. According to the County Clerk’s web page:

Once a request is received, Lowndes County will notify the requesting party within 3 days regarding the availability of information.

So if you file it today, you’ll get a response of some sort within two days after they vote on waste management tomorrow.

Does this seem right to you?

-jsq

Waste disposal railroad by County Commission @ LCC 2012-10-08

The Lowndes County Commission plans to vote tomorrow evening to privatize waste disposal in the unincorporated areas of the county, after numerous discussions at meetings the public were unaware of, without any public hearings, and regardless of whether the people want it.

County Manager Joe Pritchard talked about “a long, long process” they’d been through, including at the Commissioners’ retreat.

You remember,

Although I don’t recall it being there last night when I picked up the agenda, the RFP is now linked into the county’s front web page (copy on the LAKE website).

At this morning’s meeting, Kevin Beals, Lowndes County Development Reviewer, addressed the Commissioners and said,

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Ethics Matter —David Staples for GA PSC

Received 2 October 2012 from David Staples. -jsq

One of the most frequent topics that comes up in political conversation these days is ethics. On July 31st, Georgians overwhelmingly voted that there needs to be a cap on the amount of gifts our elected officials are allowed to accept. However, there are many of us who believe that even a $100 per day cap is still too much—that perhaps $0 is a better cap. After all, looking at the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission website, one can see that while the $150 rounds of golf and several hundred dollar dinners for the official and their spouse may be eliminated, there are many more of the smaller lunches, dinners, and various other goodies that would still be allowed. Would you be surprised to hear that some Public Service Commissioners walk out of their office or a hearing at lunch time and say “I’m hungry, where’s a lobbyist”?

However, there is one completely legal process by which we can eliminate all gifts

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What Georgia Power is afraid of: GaSU and Dr. Smith; and you

So what is Georgia Power afraid of that made their CEO Paul Bowers double down on old-style baseload? Competition, that’s what! What could be more scary in the power-monopoly state of the 1973 Territorial Electric Service Act?

GaSU sun On one side, Georgia Power faces GaSU and its 80 or 90 MW solar plant proposal. Walter C. Jones wrote for OnlineAthens 24 September 2012, Proposed solar company could stir up Georgia’s utility structure,

A proposal from a start-up business promises to lower electricity rates by rebating profits to customers if given a chance to compete as Georgia Power Co.’s “mirror image.”

GaSU fb profile image To proceed with its long-range plan of developing 2 gigawatts of solar power, the start-up, Georgia Solar Utilities Inc., wants to start by building an 80-megawatt “solar farm” near Milledgeville as soon as it gets a green light from the Georgia Public Service Commission. GaSU filed its request last week, and as of Monday, it’s still too fresh for public evaluation.

So radical is the proposal that spokespersons for Georgia Power and the Georgia Solar Energy Association said they still were evaluating it and could not comment.

Groups that normally advocate for customers also are staying quiet.

GaSU executives recognize such a big change won’t come easily.

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Video Playlist @ LCC 2012-09-25

Fewer speakers at the Regular Session than at the previous morning’s Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission. The longest item was a citizen wishing to be heard, who only spoke for 3 and a half minutes. Up until then, the meeting took five minutes, as the Chairman noted. And everything was adopted unanimously, with little or no discussion.

Here’s the agenda, annotated below with links to the videos and a few notes, and followed by a video playlist.

  1. Call to Order
  2. Invocation
  3. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
  4. Minutes for Approval
    First the Chairman welcomed Leadership Lowndes.
    Then both sets of minutes were unanimously approved with no changes.
    1. Work Session — September 10, 2012
    2. Regular Session — September 11, 2012
  5. For Consideration
    1. Bevel Creek Lift Station Repair —Mike Allen
      The total for the wastewater lift station was still $38,969 with the budget impact being the insurance deductible. Unanimously approved.
    2. Dell Lease Agreement for Sheriff’s Office Laptops —Aaron Kostyu
      Six years ago the Sheriff’s Dept. leased some laptops; plan was always to roll new laptops into the lease; that will be done using drug seizure funds. Unanimously approved.
    3. Contract with Corporate Health Partners
      County Manager Joe Pritchard said they had started looking into wellness plans several years ago, $260,000 in savings in health care expenses so far; partnership with SGMC and YMCA. Commissioner Joyce Evans wanted to know how regularly it would be monitoried. Answer: quarterly. Commissioner Richard Raines moved to approve Corporate Health Partners, except instead of a three year contract, an initial one year with two one-year extensions. Unanimously approved.
    4. Agreement with Basic Life
      Joe Pritchard alluded to yesterday’s presentation from Chris Park(? Clark?) recommending a change to basic life coverage, with an approximate annual savings of slightly over $10,000. Unanimously approved.
  6. Reports-County Manager
    Joe Pritchard had no report.
  7. Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address
    Chairman Ashley Paulk noted it was 5:35, and then Ken Klanicki spoke for 3 and a half minutes, the longest item in the meeting, after which they adjourned.

Video Playlist
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 25 September 2012.

-jsq

A rezoning, wastewater pump repair, solid waste RFP, and community planning month @ LCC 2012-10-08

2974 Pecan Plantation Road A rezoning for well and septic, Bevel Creek is back with a lift station pump repair, and something about an Alapaha waterline: water, water, water. Plus a beer license, refunding revenue bonds, and the long-awaited waste management RFP. And an employee health fair, whatever that is, and apparently this is community planning month. All that at the Lowndes County Commission, Monday morning and Tuesday evening.

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2012, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
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Hahira Senior Walk 2012-10-02

Gretchen attended the annual Hahira Honeybee Festival Senior Walk Tuesday. Today’s the parade, with candidates.

Ready to go Sunny day

Sunny day
Pictures by gretchen for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 2 October 2012.

Here’s a slideshow.

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New Library —Kay Harris @ LCDP 2012-10-01

At Monday’s Lowndes County Democratic Party meeting, LCDP Chair Gretchen Quarterman introduced Kay Harris as chairman of the Library Board. You can see that board in action a few weeks ago in these previous videos.

Kay Harris said she was not there as editor of the newspaper, since as such she wouldn’t be allowed (presumably by the newspaper) at a partisan meeting. She was there as chair of the library board. She said this is her fifth year on that board, and her second year as chairman.

Here’s a video playlist.

She said the county put her on that board to move along the library project, which had been in process for some time. She said she had led negotiations with the City of Valdosta for the Five Points process. She mentioned the Five Points Steering Committee, of which she is also a member.

About the current library building and how the new one would be better, she said,

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Hahira Honeybee Parade Saturday noon, with candidates

Missed the candidates at VSU Tuesday? You can watch them on video (now with a third viewpoint). And you can come to Hahira tomorrow to see them in the 31st Annual Hahira Honey Bee Festival, Inc. Parade.

Here are some pictures and videos from last year. The food and festivities start early in the morning and continue all day, with the parade in the middle. They had about 35,000 people last year, more than a dozen times the usual population of Hahira.

-jsq