Tag Archives: Gretchen Quarterman

Videos: airport appointment, water, sewer, alcohol, and surplus right of way @ LCC 2014-05-12

They vote tomorrow evening on paying for an emergency road fix and several discrepencies. James Road dropped 10 inches in 48 hours in front of Westside Elementary School, due to faulty road construction in 2008. Also due to that same hasty 2008 James Road widening and realignment for the James Road second mall and massive subdivision mega-project that never happened, there is Excess Right of Way on James Rd & Riverside Dr. that the County Engineer wants to quit claim and give back to the neighboring landowners. In other discrepencies, MIDS, Inc. found three in its contract of last year and wants a Transportation Service Contract Addendum to fix the work the county didn’t check. A Commissioner wanted to know why the three bids for a lift station pump varied so much.

Airport Authority Chairman Steve Everett wants to be reappointed for another four-year term. The 911 center has surplus items out back it wants to sell off. County staff want to abandon Old Statenville Road SE because they say only seven cars a day use it and there are no houses on it. Nobody had any questions about the a beer license.

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MAY 12, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 13, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
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Airport Authority appointment, water, sewer, alcohol, and surplus right of way @ LCC 2014-05-12

If anybody knew about upcoming appointments, like this one to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Airport Authority, they might want to apply, or suggest a likely applicant. Which surplus items? Which Transportation Service needs a Contract Addendum? Why is the Commission considering abandoning Old Statenville Road SE and Excess Right of Way on James Rd & Riverside Dr.? Does this mean the infamous 2007 James Road second mall and massive subdivision mega-project is finally really dead and gone? Or something else? Is it comforting to know the only thing that is clear on your Lowndes County Commission’s agenda for tomorrow morning is a beer license?

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
    PROPOSED AGENDA
    WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MAY 12, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
    REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 13, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
    327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

One ULDC variance @ ZBOA 2014-05-06 @ ZBOA 2014-05-06

You can see in this video that ZBOA granted the one Lowndes County ULDC variance, for lot access and road frontage.

Even though according to the Lowndes County Tax Assessors’ maps, 3041 Touchton Road doesn’t actually touch Touchton Road, or any other road, it does have a 25 foot easement through adjoining property. The owner wants to record a survey for the property, and perhaps to sell it. The question was whether that existing easement could be used instead of the usual 60 foot easement.

This was one of the briefest ZBOA meetings (14 minutes, of which two and a half were introductory material, since there was only one case, and it was quick to decide. And ZBOA does actually decide, unlike the Planning Commission, which only recommends.

Here’s the agenda. The City of Valdosta puts ZBOA agendas and minutes online in real PDFs. Continue reading →

Videos: Valdosta City Council Work Session @ VCC 2014-05-06

Here’s the Call to Order. See separate post for details of the Army Corps of Engineers flooding study. The Work Session continued after that, but Gretchena and I both had to go to other events, so there’s no video of the rest.

If Valdosta videoed its own meetings, Continue reading →

Videos: Flooding study by Army Corps of Engineers @ VCC 2014-05-06

In these videos of the initial flooding study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Valdosta City Council Work Session, you can see they’re the Corps, all right: they want to build a levee. They did emphasize that this was just an initial study on what could be done inside Valdosta, and their main conclusion was that there was enough need to indicate federal interest, as in possibilities of getting federal funding for solutions. City Manager Larry Hanson got the Corps to confirm (several times) that Valdosta alone couldn’t stop the flooding, since the vast majority of floodwaters comes from upstream on the Withlacoochee and Little Rivers.

Later that same evening in response to citizen questions at the Valdosta City Hall Annex, the Corps clarified more that they did understand there were issues of impervious surfaces and development and loss of wetlands and they wanted to do a much larger study of the entire watershed, which could take several years to accomplish. They kept emphasizing that the Suwannee River watershed is one of the largest in the country, and there are also flooding problems on the Suwannee River, which could be important for obtaining federal dollars.

As we already knew, Valdosta has funded projects already started to move the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) uphill and to add a force main to prevent manhole overflows. People downstream in Florida may be relieved to hear something is being done.

Here’s a video playlist, followed by images of the Corp’s slides and of the City Council, and some notes.

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Follow the law and be aware what the citizens want –Judge Ellerbee @ Lake Park 2014-04-28

Apartments are expensive to local governments, developers don’t sue unless there is actual discrimination (which there isn’t in this case), water use is a big issue, and the primary responsibility of elected officials is to the citizens who elect them: Judge Wayne Ellerbee made these and other points relevant to many rezoning requests as he spoke for some of the opponents at the Lake Park Brookhaven rezoning.

He pointing out that the question before the Lake Park City Council was the rezoning, but the developers needed to take into account the effects on the entire city of Lake Park. He mentioned studies from the University of Georgia saying that the most expensive zoning Continue reading →

Citizens, lawyers, and developers @ Lake Park 2014-04-28

“A molehill to cover up an eyesore” pretty much summed up the neighbors’ opinions. Some of the usual local lawyers seemed surprised at the number and sophistication of the rezoning opponents, as you can see in these videos of the public hearing for the Brookhaven apartment building proposed rezoning. The Lake Park City Council took its duties to its citizens seriously, holding a separate zoning meeting just for this one subject.

Here’s a video playlist:


Citizens, lawyers, and developers
Rezoning Public Hearing, Lake Park City Council (Lake Park),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Lake Park, Lowndes County, Georgia, 28 April 2014.

Attorney Tom Kurrie’s apparent suggestion that the neighbors wanted to discriminate against the elderly and children Continue reading →

One ULDC variance @ ZBOA 2014-05-06

One Lowndes County ULDC variance, for lot access and road frontage. The could be interesting, since, according to the Lowndes County Tax Assessors’ maps, 3041 Touchton Road doesn’t actually touch Touchton Road, or any other road, for that matter.

Here’s the agenda. The City of Valdosta puts ZBOA agendas and minutes online in real PDFs. Continue reading →

Videos: church parking withdrawn @ ZBOA 2014-04-01

North Valdosta Church of God came to a decision. Plus a house variance in Lowndes County was approved unanimously, and a gas station variance got its building variance approved, but its other variance requests denided, all on a split vote. in Valdosta. See the Meeting Results Summary, which also lists all of ZBOA members as present.

Here’s the agenda, with links to the videos and a few notes. The City of Valdosta puts ZBOA agendas and minutes online in real PDFs. Continue reading →

Valdosta Farm Days starts today

9AM to 1PM Valdosta Farm Days at the old Lowndes County Courthouse, first and third Saturdays, starting today.

City of Valdosta Pr 24 April 2014, Downtown Valdosta Welcomes Back Farm Days,

On market Saturdays, vendors offer a variety of goods for sale such as locally-grown, locally-raised, locally-produced fruits and vegetables, plants, herbs, meats, farm-fresh eggs and dairy products, organic produce, baked and prepared foods, snacks and coffee. Patrons will also find a variety of artisan and natural products including products made from recycled goods, birdhouses, handmade soaps and body products, candles, and honey products. Those who arrive early to shop have the advantage of beating the heat and getting the best picks of the season.

The market also serves as a venue to educate the community on healthy local options. Cooking demonstrations and Continue reading →