Tag Archives: Gretchen Quarterman

PUD setback, road access, and building variances @ ZBOA 2016-04-05

2:30 PM today, four Lowndes County cases. Objections are expected to VAR-2016-04 Joshua Restoration Ranch (5808 McDonald Road), which is about road access for a group/family personal care home. One has been withdrawn by the applicant: VAR-2016-03 Southers (1290 Southers Lane). The other two are about minimum building setbacks and road access. Thanks to ZBOA member Gretchen Quarterman, the entire board packet is on the LAKE website.

ZBOA makes actual decisions, unlike the Planning Commission, which only recommends. Here’s the agenda. Continue reading →

Videos: Community Wellness and Housing, Comprehensive Plan Workshop #3 @ SGRC 2016-03-21

Here are LAKE videos of the third Workshop of 21 March 2016 about the Lowndes County Comprehensive Plan Update.

The fourth Workshop is tonight, 5-7PM, at SGRC, 327 W. Savannah Avenue Valdosta, Georgia. Here’s the current draft of March 30, 2016, which resulted from that third workshop. Come help us update it!

Videos: Comprehensive Plan Update Workshop #2 @ SGRC 2016-03-07

Very interesting input on the second Workshop on updating the Lowndes County Comprehensive Plan, including quite a bit about agriculture, rivers, and roads. Educational issues are in the Update, including the underlying issue: poverty.

See also the invitation with a link to the Workbook draft used at that meeting.

Here are links to the LAKE videos of the two main topics, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading →

Lowndes Comprehensive Plan Workshop @ SGRC 2016-04-04

The current draft is dated March 30, 2016. Come Monday and help update it further!

Economic Development, II. Issues and Opportunities The next workshop for the Joint 2016 Lowndes County and Cities of Dasher, Hahira, Lake Park, Remerton, and Valdosta Comprehensive Plan Update will be on:

Monday, April 4, 2016
5:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m.
Southern Georgia Regional Commission
327 W. Savannah Avenue
Valdosta, Georgia

We will continue reviewing the Issues and Opportunities.

The current draft of the plan is available at: Continue reading →

Videos: Animals, CAC on Skipper Bridge, 3 board appointments, alcohol @ LCC 2016-03-08

The reading of the Animal Welfare Ordinance drew two citizen speakers: Jim Sharpe and Dr. Amanda Hall.

Chairman Bill Slaughter remarked on the 5 March 2016 death of former Lowndes County Coroner Charles Exum.

See also the LAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session and the agenda for that meeting and this Regular Session for the three board appointments, the two Copeland Road items related to water, sewer, pavement, and Lowndes Middle School students, the two Tax Assessor items, others, and, last but not least, the four alcohol items. See also Continue reading →

Four board appointments, animal tethering, bus, trash, homeland security, mutual aid, and housing @ LCC 2016-03-21

Work Session 8:30 AM this morning, and Tuesday evening finally voting on the Animal Services Ordinance including tethering, and (who knew about this?) appointing Christina Bennett to the Animal Control Board.

Renewing the annual Section 5311 Rural Transportation Program Capital Contract for the MIDS bus service is on the agenda, as is appointing three people to the Valdosta Lowndes County Metropolitan Planning Organization (VLMPO) out of these four: Ronald Skrine, Tammy Greenway, Floyd Rose, Bob Wilburs. As usual, how were people supposed to know? And where are the applications of those named? Continue reading →

South Georgia Growing Local Community Planning and Strategy 2016-03-31

Please join us for an informational, strategy, and planning session around how we can improve access to fresh, local affordable foods. Healthier4Uvending facebook event

When: 5-7PM Thursday 31 March 2016

Where: City Hall Annex, 300 N Lee St, Valdosta, GA 31601

This is a follow-on from the South Georgia Growing Local 2016 conference with next steps and some planning as a community. We will likely focus around growing, community gardens, urban gardens, permaculture, food preparation, cooking and eating, but other topics may come up. Be sure to bring your best ideas about how to grow our local food movement in South Georgia.

-gretchen

Issues and Opportunities in Comprehensive Plan Workshop @ SGRC 2016-03-21

This Reminder came in today, refreshingly explicitly mentioning agriculture. Note the different location, this time at the Health Dept. office after the Planning Commission meeting.

The next workshop for the 2016 Greater Lowndes Comprehensive Plan Update will be:

Monday, March 21, 2016
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 W. Savannah Avenue
Valdosta, Georgia

At this workshop we will Continue reading →

Videos: Project Max and more at Development Authority @ VLCIA 2016-02-16

They said almost nothing last month about Project Max, so we don’t know for sure if for example it is really a glass container company. They meet again tonight. Actually, that one is cancelled; they meet next April 19th.

At the end, Gretchen spoke about:

  1. Ham and Eggs Show 2016-02-17
  2. the WWALS Withlacoochee and Little River Workshop at VSU 2016-02-27
  3. the South Georgia Growing Local food conference went well, and led to a planning session led by Charlie Barnes about local food planning 2016-03-31.

Dr. Noll of WACE said he was there to “harrass” Continue reading →

Help fix land revaluation: come to Farm Bureau –Board of Equalization

Come to the Farm Bureau in two weeks to hear Tax Assessor staff present their updates and provide your input Contents for changes to the rural land revaluation, this time taking into account rivers, aquifer recharge zones, and uniformity. Maybe the Tax Assessors actually don’t want more flooding in Valdosta; both the City of Valdosta and GA-EDP have already shown interest in attending about that point.

At an appeal on my property valuation, the Board of Equalization stopped short of actually ordering the Tax Assessors to redo last year’s rural land revaluation, because staff volunteered Continue reading →