Tag Archives: Health Care

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 One has been withdrawn by the applicant: VAR-2016-03 Southers (1290 Southers Lane).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: 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 →

Videos: CAC on Skipper Bridge, 3 board appointments, lots of alcohol @ LCC 2016-03-07

See also the previous post for LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission Work Session and Regular Session. County Manager Joe Pritchard brought up in his Report yesterday morning the annexation request that is part of the Valdosta proposed rezoning for a development on Bemiss Road; see the packet materials for that item obtained by LAKE through open records request. They heard the long-awaited animal tethering ordinance, and will vote on it this evening, as part of an Animal Welfare Ordinance. See agenda posting 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 the previous post for LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission Work Session and Regular Session including the CAC item on Skipper Bridge Road, with a link to the board packet materials for that item that LAKE obtained by open records request.

Below are Continue reading →

CAC on Skipper Bridge, 3 board appointments, lots of alcohol @ LCC 2016-03-07

The long-awaited animal tethering ordinance will be heard Monday morning and voted on Tuesday evening, as part of an Animal Welfare Ordinance. They’re going to reappoint Joyce Evans and Frank Morman to the Landbank Authority. They last reappointed those two 27 March 2012, so apparently they serve four-year terms.

Despite the public not knowing there was an opening on the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Board, they’ve already picked who they’re going to appoint: Chris Yarbrough. What he sent in his application, we don’t know, but his LinkedIn profile says he’s a “Community Supervision Officer III Mental Health Specialist, Georgia Department of Community Supervision, May 1996 – Present (19 years 11 months) Valdosta, Ga.”

Per LAKE open record request, here are the packet items for the Children’s Activity Center (CAC) rezoning on Skipper Bridge Road, REZ-2016-06, as sent to the Continue reading →

APP-2016-01, Crunk Engineering for Greenleaf Hospital, Valdosta, GA @ ZBOA 2016-03-01

One case at ZBOA today at 2:30 PM, a variance on parking spaces for Greenleaf Hospital so it can add a new wing. Tax Parcels Aerial A ZBOA member (Gretchen) provided the packet materials, which are all on the LAKE website.

Here’s the agenda, followed by the summary by city staff.

Valdosta-Lowndes County Zoning Board of Appeals

Carmella Braswell,
Lowndes County Zoning Administrator
327 North Ashley Street, Valdosta, Georgia
(229) 671-2430

Matt Martin,
Valdosta Planning and Zoning Administrator
300 North Lee Street, Valdosta, Georgia
(229) 259-3563

AGENDA
March 1, 2016
2:30 p.m.

  1. Call to Order

    CITY OF VALDOSTA CASE:

  2. APP-2016-01 Crunk Engineering (2209 Pineview Drive)
    Variance to LDR Section 222-2(A)     as it pertains to the minimum required number of parking spaces for a hospital use
  3. OTHER BUSINESS:
  4. Approval of Minutes: January 5, 2016 & February 2, 2016
  5. Adjournment

Here’s the staff summary:

ZBOA Agenda Item #2
MARCH 1, 2016

Variance Request by Crunk Engineering
File #: APP-2016411

Crunk Engineering, on behalf of Greenleaf Hospital, is requesting a variance to LDFl Section 222-2 as it pertains to the number of spaces for a hospital. The subject property is zoned Residential Professional (RP) and consists of 6.35 acres located at 2209 Pineview Drive. The subject property contains a 36,968 psychiatric/substance abuse hospital.

Continue reading →

Natural gas leak so bad VDT notices it

Sempra Energy’s California leak stinks so bad the VDT smelled it from 3,000 miles away. But GA Gov. Nathan Deal still can’t smell Sabal Trail over campaign contributions from Sempra and from Spectra Energy.

Brian Melley, AP, 25 November 2015, Utility plans to mask awful odor from uncontrolled gas leak,

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A utility trying to stop a monthlong leak at a massive natural gas storage facility near a Los Angeles neighborhood said it planned to use a mist to mask the sickening stench as work continues — possibly for three more months — to plug the well.

Even the 9-inch pipeline to Berrien County Continue reading →

Videos: Moody MAZ text amendments to ULDC back again @ LCC 2015-10-26

After the County Commission Work Session shown in these LAKE videos, the Planning Commission met Monday evening, and this evening (Tuesday 5:30PM) the County Commission votes, but will table the ULDC amendments.

In addition to all the other items on the agenda and mentioned in the previous post, they went into an Executive Session about Pending Litigation. Who are they suing now? Or who’s still suing them about for example James Road?

Here are links to the LAKE videos of yesterday morning’s meeting, followed by a video playlist.

Moody MAZ text amendments to ULDC back again @ LCC Regular 2015-10-26

The Planning Commission meets Monday evening to consider those ULDC amendments, MAZ-ULDC-text-amendments-001 so county staff will recommend to the County Commission at their Monday 8:30 AM Work Session that they table the MAZ text changes at their Regular Session Tuesday 5:30 PM evening. Meanwhile, the Air Force wants to maintain the road rights of way for Davidson Road and along Grassy Pond. And the Land Bank Authority wants to appoint some more members, acording to “the attached resolution” which of course we the taxpayers aren’t allowed to see without an open records request.

Elected Probate Judge McDowell can appoint a part-time associate judge, but she needs the county commission to approve funding the salary. The DA wants to continue a Victims of Crime Act Victims Service grant.

Annual renewal of health care service provider and Section 125 Plan Document.

Two more Lift Station (sewage) pumps, at Val-Tech new for $20,076.42 and at Whitewater repairs for $13,353.65.

Finally, bids for Disaster Related Debris Removal Proposals required by FEMA, plus the usual beer, wine, and liquor licenses.

All that in Continue reading →

100% renewable energy for U.S. by 2050

Here’s how to convert everything from air conditioners to trucks 300x170 End-Use U.S. Power Change over Time, in 100% clean and renewable wind, water, and sunlight (WWS) all-sector energy roadmaps for the 50 United States, by Mark Z. Jacobson et al., 27 May 2015 from fossil fuels to 100% renewable sun, wind, and water power by 2050, generating more jobs than would be lost from dirty energy, stopping tens of thousands of premature deaths from pollution, saving about 4% of U.S. GDP, plus saving $3.3 trillion worldwide climate change costs.

That’s 100% as in no coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, or biomass, just clean solar, wind, and water power: 90% by 2035, 80% by 2030, and 25% by 2025. No new technology required: just existing solar, wind, and water power production with batteries and hydrogen fuel cells for transportation, plus huge efficiency savings both from using electricity directly and through other well-known techniques.

A cleaner, healthier world is within our reach. And when even the country’s most corrupt legislature can unanimously pass and the Georgia governor who took campaign funds from six pipeline companies can sign a solar financing law, while Georgia has already become the fastest-growing solar market in the country, renewable energy is producing the political will to get this done.

Stanford Report, 8 June 2015, Continue reading →

Hospitals most likely to deploy microgrids: SGMC next to VSU?

According to a thesis at Georgia Southern, hospitals are the most likely 300x143 States, in A Technical and Economic Feasibility Study of Implementing a Microgrid at Georgia Southern University, by Matthew S. Purser, 1 March 2014 industry to form microgrids, and it’s not just New York State doing microgrids; even Alabama has one. South Georgia Medical Center plus VSU seems like a good microgrid opportunity. Put solar panels on the roofs, buy some Tesla Powerwalls for backup, experiment with some wind…. Maybe the Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority could help. And use the electricity bill money saved to fund public transportation!

Matthew S. Purser, Georgia Southern, Spring 2014, A Technical and Economic Feasibility Study of Implementing a Microgrid at Georgia Southern University. Continue reading →