Apparently not, since Sabal Trail wants to drill through a cemetery, McIntyre Family Cemetery, aka Old Redland Cemetery, on Knights Ferry Road. See below.
What “new high-volume customers” can you think of that would be enough to cause a whole new pipeline?
I can’t think of any except hyper-scale AI datacenters.
A lobbyist for Sabal Trail met with Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter about “potential expansion of Sabal Trail” on Tuesday, July 21, 2026,
This apparently irritated Lowndes County Manager Paige Dukes,
because the lobbyist’s firm apologized to her the next day for “confusion on Monday around our meeting request.”
EXTERNAL EMAIL: Do not click any links or open any attachments unless you trust the sender and know the content
is safe.
Good Morning Paige,
I apologize for the confusion on Monday around our meeting request.
Dante on my team is a former ACCG employee and reached out directly
to Chairman Slaughter due to his personal relationship. Typically, I
would reach out to you directly and I apologize for any confusion.
We were able to meet with the Chairman yesterday and update him on
our potential expansion along the Sabal Trail. We are in the early
stages of a proposed expansion and are meeting with local leaders in
all counties. We anticipate that any improvements would take place
within the ROW of the existing pipeline, but we wanted to touch base
before landowner notices go out on 8/1.
Anyway, this easement has a couple of interesting clauses.
On page 2, “4.a. Single Pipeline; Pipeline Depth. This Easement allows a single underground Pipeline with a maximum pipe outer diameter of thirty-six (36) inches, and with the
maximum allowable operating pressure” of natural gas
transported within the pipeline as permitted by applicable law, rule
or regulation.”
Now that
Sabal Trail wants a second pipeline,
it will have to negotiate with landowners again, including the Lowndes County government.
And it is already doing so; see a following post.
Another interesting clause is on page 5, “13. Taxes. Grantee shall assume and pay the amount of any taxes lawfully assessed and applicable to Grantee and due and owing on the Pipeline, Pipeline Facilities or Easement Area.”
Evidently if you have enough leverage, you can get Sabal Trail to agree to things
they never would have offered.
The property is between Railroad Avenue and Madison Highway, south of Clyattville.
It is near Clyatt Mill Creek, and uphill from the Withlacoochee River.
It has an old landfill on one of the parcels; thus the monitoring wells in the easement.
PDF of the easement, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is
on the LAKE website.
Notice several more citizens spoke than the VDT recorded.
CITIZENS WISHING TO BE HEARD
Chairman Paulk spoke to the audience regarding paving, for those attending and
speaking regarding Coppage Road.
Vicki Taunton, 5112 Coppage Road, stated she thought notification was to be sent to
the property owners when the road was to be paved. She’d like Coppage Road to
remain unpaved. She has a list of 22 parcel holders which are against the paving of the
road. Commissioner Lee stated that he was the Commissioner that asked for the road
to be on the paving list. Commissioner Lee stated the right of way acquisitions are the
first step in the paving process of a dirt road, then a neighborhood meeting would be
called and notifications would be sent to them regarding the process for paving. Continue reading →
The first dirt road in Lowndes County, Georgia, to get curb and gutters
to save tree canopies when paved, was Quarterman Road, back in 2009.
Here are videos of what its two tree canopies look like today.
How did that happen?
According to the Matt Flumerfelt, Valdosta Daily Times, November 12, 2008,
Quarterman Road set to be paved,
The County overcame some objections to the project by agreeing to
install curbs and gutters along the canopy sections of the road
instead of the original plan that would have required clearing a
wider area prior to paving. County Commissioner Richard Lee said the
Quarterman Road paving project had “garnered more
communication than any other project I can remember except maybe
one.” Continue reading →
Did the Lowndes County Commission spend nothing or half a million dollars to buy
an old bar in Lake Park?
And why did they vote to buy it after an Executive Session,
with no item entered on a public meeting agenda?
Where did the money come from?
Apparently, it did not come from SPLOST.
Since the property is to be repurposed for a fire station,
did it come from the special fire tax?
The only times I see Rascal’s appearing in Lowndes County Commission meetings of the past five years is in this week’s meetings of June 9 and 10, 2025, in April 2023, and in March 2025.
April 2023 Liquor license for Rascal’s become Twin Lake Club and Grill
The Lowndes County Commissioners did not repeat
4. Georgia 811 Safe Digging Month Proclamation.
For that, you’ll need to see the
LAKE videos of the preceding Work Session.
There was some Commissioner discussion of the first of the three rezonings,
but all three breezed through unanimously,
as did everything else.
Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item of the Regular Session,
with a few comments by Gretchen Quarterman,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.
Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!
http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/donate
Several minutes of that were for
4. Georgia 811 Safe Digging Month Proclamation.
Turns out you can call 811 and they will come locate your water, sewer, and electrical lines, even if you put them in.
The county’s visual system was not working for the first two rezonings,
but you can see many of the visuals in the
board packet as provided by LAKE through open records request.
The longest item at almost 3 minutes was for
8.b. Alapaha Plantation Water Treatment Plant New Wells – Water Main Extension.
As Gretchen noted, “To be paid out of SPLOST funds. No guarantee that this will work.
Wells are to be 600 feet deep and further away from the river.
There could still be river water infiltration.”
The Lowndes County Commission voted this evening at 5:30 PM; videos to come.
Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item of the Work Session,
with a few comments by Gretchen Quarterman,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.
This week’s agenda for the Lowndes County Commission looks long
(and the board packet is 90 pages),
but I predict everything will get approved unanimously in little time.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2025, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2025, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
As Gretchen noted, “There was no work session for this meeting. Shockingly there was discussion.”
The Commissioners and even the County Attorney and County Manager were quite chatty in the
Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, Tuesday, October 22, 2024,
about hurricane debris, and especially about their upcoming $2 million purchase.
They also heard from two citizens.
In
5.b. Purchase of VSU South Campus Property
they revealed that the likely future occupant is
is the Board of Elections.
They discussed this one item for ten minutes! Unheard of.
Good, though.
In
6. Reports – County Manager
Paige Dukes estimated about $1.5 million in property damage to Lowndes County assets.
Not counting VLPRA, Hospital, and other authorities with their own budgets.
7. CWTBH: John S. Quarterman, speaking for WWALS Watershed Coalition as Suwannee Riverkeeper,
talked about the Georgia House Study Committee on Navigability
and recommended Commissioners contact statehouse members.
See separate post.
Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item,
with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.
Despite the longest Millage Public Hearing ever,
people are still very confused by why, how, and how much taxes are going up.
This may be partly because most Lowndes County officials (elected, appointed, or employee) are not willing to say in public how we got here.
Lowndes County Chief Appraiser Lisa Bryant did make a long presentation at the Historic Courthouse about that, but many people did not attend.
Plus there are a few further wrinkles.
For many years, the Tax Appraisers were not keeping up with valuations as they changed due to increased sale prices of comparable properties.
When the appointed Tax Assessors first came in, many of their staff (the Appraisers) left,
and the remaining staff are busily catching up.
The appointed Tax Assessors spent a great deal of time at the office
for the first year, getting this changeover started.
So valuations are going up.
This pass they got to commercial valuations, which went up.
Also, they’re applying the law about what is a business, which includes
for example that some church properties being used for non-church purposes are not exempt.
Property owners do get a letter from the Tax Assessors saying what the new valuation is and saying how the owner can appeal.
Many appeals are successful.
Some the Tax Assessors appeal to court, and some of those they win.
But remember, taxes are actually valuation (adjusted by homestead exemptions, conservation easements, LOST, etc.) times millage.
Commissioner Clay Griner tried to explain that.
Finance Director Stephanie Black showed where the money goes:
mostly to schools, Sheriff’s Department, and courts.
After her presentation, Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter said that the Lowndes County Commissioners had no intent to raise the millage.
Instead, they intended to roll back the millage to a lower number.
This was already hinted
in the agenda for the Lowndes County Commission meetings:
The Board of Commissioners is required to set the millage rate for 2024. The county-wide millage for 2024 was advertised at 7.804 mills, requiring advertisement of a tax increase of 6.09% and three public hearings. The rollback millage for 2024 is 7.356 mills. The 2023 millage rate was 8.778.
So that’s a 16.2% decrease in the millage rate since last year.
Which means very few people are going to see the 20% tax increase they fear.
Really, more like 3 or 4%.
Or, as Clay Griner said about the Unincorporated tax example, 5% over two years.
In many cases, the increase is due to no valuation change in many years.
[The Georgia Department of Revenue]
is ordering McIntosh to make equitable and uniform assessments or face a $63,070 penalty.
The county must provide its Board of Assessors with the equipment, personnel, supplies, transportation and software necessary to ensure that 2025 assessments can pass the state’s review, according to one of the top points in a consent order signed by the county and the state last month.
The order refers back to the 2022 tax year, when the state found deficiencies in McIntosh’s treatment of homes and public utilities and noted that the county had failed to correct prior problems.
I can’t say that the county is supplying the Lowndes County Tax Assessors all the
“equipment, personnel, supplies, transportation and software necessary”
to do their job.
The Lowndes County Commissioners, the Chamber, the Development Authority, etc., keep pushing development northwards, into agricultural and forestry areas.
I wish I could say the Tax Appraisers were no longer helping with that, but I cannot.
Also, the county could put the presentation slides on their own website.
Along with the board packets.
Finally, people are rightly distressed over having to work two jobs to make ends meet.
But the source of that problem lies way higher up, in price gouging by big corporations disguised as inflation.
Below are LAKE videos of each agenda item,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.
Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!
http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/donate
![[Lowndes County has been talking to Sabal Trail since July, about a second pipeline through McIntyre Cemetery on Knights Ferry Road, and the landfill on Madison Highway]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2026-08-10--stt-loco/many.jpg)
![[Sabal Trail pipeline Easement with Lowndes County 2016-01-26, Between Railroad Ave. and Madison Highway]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2026-01-26--sabal-trail-easement-lcc/igmany.jpg)
![[Origins of Curb and Gutter, Coppage Road Tree Canopy, between Griffin Drive, and Skipper Bridge Road]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2026-08-08--coppage-road-canopy/igmany.jpg)
![[Quarterman Road Tree Canopy 2026-08-08, The first with curb & gutter in Lowndes County, GA]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2026-08-08--quarterman-road-canopy/igmany.jpg)
![[Half a million or zero for the bar Lowndes County bought with no agenda item?, Rascal's into a fire station]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-07-09--taylor-purchase/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 8 April 2025]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2025-04-08--lcc-regular-videos/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 7 April 2025]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2025-04-07--lcc-work-videos/many.jpg)
![[Collage: LCC Packet 2025-04-07]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2025-04-07--lcc-packet/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 23 October 2024]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-10-23--lcc-regular-videos/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 15 October 2024]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-10-15--lcc-millage-videos/many.jpg)
![[Property Tax Example]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-10-15--lcc-millage-videos/2024-10-15--property-tax-example.jpg)
![[Unincorporated Property Tax Example]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-10-15--lcc-millage-videos/2024-10-15--unincorporated-property-tax-example.jpg)
![[Millage Calculation]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-10-15--lcc-millage-videos/2024-10-15--millage-calculation.jpg)
