Tag Archives: I-75

Packet: 3 rezonings, 1 Utility Easement Termination, Orr Road Bids, Backup Generators for Pruitt Health Facilities @ LCC 2026-02-09

The big-budget item is $477,896.15 to Reames & Son Construction from TSPLOST for 7.a. PI #0016273, Transportation Investment Act (TIA) Orr Road Bids.

The $1,470,216.00 for 7.b. Emergency Backup Generators at Pruitt Health Facilities is to be completely reimbursed by $1,088,903.00 from HMGP Funding, $217,781.00 from GEMA Funding, and $233,126.00 from Pruitt Health.

In July 2019, the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners approved the submittal of a Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) application on behalf of Pruitt Health Corporation to fund the installation of emergency backup generators at five skilled nursing facilities located within Lowndes County. These facilities provide critical care to vulnerable populations, making continuity of power during emergencies a key resiliency priority.

In January 2025, Lowndes County was notified that the HMGP application had been awarded. As part of the grant structure, Lowndes County will administer the project and pay the selected contractor, with eligible costs reimbursed through a combination of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) funding. Any costs not reimbursed through FEMA or GEMA will be the responsibility of Pruitt Health. As a result, Lowndes County will receive 100 percent reimbursement for the project through the combined participation of FEMA, GEMA, and Pruitt Health, with no net financial impact to the County.

Packet: 3 rezonings, Utility Easement Termination, Orr Road Bids, Pruitt Health Backup Generators, @ LCC 2026-02-09

Here is the agenda.

The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website.

Videos: Valdosta downtown multi-family residential development and office and storage in Lowndes County @ GLPC 2026-01-26

2 Replies

Update 2026-02-08: Packet: 3 rezonings, 1 Utility Easement Termination, Orr Road Bids, Backup Generators for Pruitt Health Facilities @ LCC 2026-02-09.

They unanimously recommended approval of all items, at the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC), at its January 26, 2026, Regular Meeting.

Collage @ GLPC 26 January 2026

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist.

See also the agenda and the board packet, received in response to a couple of LAKE open records requests.

Why should a private media firm have to pry these materials out of the county?

I’m not blaming the county staff. They do what they are told to do by the County Commissioners.

I’m not blaming the Planning Commissioners. They are merely an advisory body.

So please ask your Lowndes County Commissioners why they do not publish important materials so the public can see what they the Commissioners are using to make decisions? Continue reading →

Packet: Valdosta downtown multi-family residential development and office and storage in Lowndes County @ 2026-01-26

Update 2026-02-08: Videos: Valdosta downtown multi-family residential development and office and storage in Lowndes County @ GLPC 2026-01-26.

Not even the agenda is on lowndescounty.com for Monday’s Planning Commission meeting, much less any of the board packet materials.

You can see all of those, plus the minutes from the previous meeting, here on the LAKE website.

But why doesn’t Lowndes County put these materials on its own website, so the taxpaying and voting public can see them?

Maybe you’d like to ask your Lowndes County Commissioners. They have a Work Session Monday morning and a voting Regular Session Tuesday evening with Citizens Wishing to Be Heard.

Why does it take multiple open LAKE open records requests and further email interactions to pry these materials out of Lowndes County?

It’s not just the materials for the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) that are not on the county’s website. While the agenda and one-page agenda sheets for the Lowndes County Commission are on the county’s website, none of the rest of their board packet materials are.

Why should a private media firm have to pry these materials out of the county?

I’m not blaming the county staff. They do what they are told to do by the County Commissioners.

I’m not blaming the Planning Commissioners. They are merely an advisory body.

So please ask your Lowndes County Commissioners why they do not publish important materials so the public can see what they the Commissioners are using to make decisions?

Packet: Valdosta downtown multi-family residential @ GLPC 2026-01-26, Office & storage in Lowndes County; None of this on lowndescounty.com

The Valdosta item is for a dense residential development in an appropriate city character area, with appropriate conditions recommended by staff. It’s the opposite of sprawl. Seems like a good idea to me.

I’m less clear on the proposed office and storage facility in Lowndes County, REZ-2026-03. It is not in an appropriate Character Area. It has noise and lighting concerns. It crosses a county sewer force main and a natural gas pipeline. It crosses a creek that feeds into Franks Creek into the Little River. The staff-recommended conditions seem like weak tea.

We only have the board materials for this third county case because LAKE insisted on the county honoring the Georgia Open Records Act (GORA). The materials for this city case and this county case are on the LAKE website, along with the agenda and the minutes from the previous GLPC meeting.

For the materials for the other two county cases, see the previous post:

http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/?p=25459

Here is the GLPC agenda, which is still not on the county’s own website:

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
~ Lowndes County ~ City of Valdosta ~ City of Dasher ~
~ City of Hahira ~ City of Lake Park ~ City of Remerton ~
Tuesday, January 20, 2026 5:30 P.M. Work Session
Monday, January 26, 2026 5:30 P.M. Regular Session
Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office 325 West Savannah Avenue, Valdosta, Georgia
Continue reading →

Packet: 3 Lowndes County rezonings @ GLPC 2026-01-20

Update 2026-01-24: Packet: Valdosta downtown multi-family residential development and office and storage in Lowndes County @ GLPC 2026-01-26.

Lowndes County has three small rezoning cases on this week’s agenda for the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC).

This post has what Lowndes County sent before the GLPC Work Session, coming up 5:30 PM, Tuesday, January 20, 2026.

Obviously these materials are not yet complete, since the third one has nothing but one conceptual site plan. The agenda is also not yet ready.

And the county tells us that County Planner JD Dillard said, “The DRAFT minutes are still in draft status.”

Collage @ GLPC Packet 2026-01-20

The City Clerks of Remerton and Lake Park say they have no items for GLPC this month.

Valdosta, Hahira, and Dasher have not been heard from yet.

This may be the first time Lowndes County has responded first to a LAKE open records request for GLPC materials. Those materials are on the LAKE website.

Since I seem to have been hasty in sending this request before the Work Session, I guess I’ll send another request before the Regular Session, which the county says will be January 26.

As always, the appointed GLPC Commissioners make recommendations, and the county or city elected officials make the actual decisions later. Continue reading →

Videos: All Valdosta cases: 2 small and 1 big annexation and rezoning @ GLPC 2024-07-29

All the items were for Valdosta, and the Planning Commissioners unanimously recommended approval of all of them, two of them with conditions.

Collage @ GLPC 29 July 2024

Six special conditions accompany the recommendation for the Bemiss Road Yazmin Saucedo storage facility and the “event center called the “Enchanted Hall” that specializes in weddings, quincenaras, and family reunions, with an anticipated overall seating capacity of about 160 people,”.

Several people spoke against the Bemiss Road Freeman Investments rezoning from R-P to C-N. Several people explained to them that if this rezoning did not pass, the owner could put up a three-story apartment building. The unanimous recommendation for approval came with a condition of a 6-foot opaque wooden fence between this property and the three it backs up on.

No conditions were recommended for the Southern Gateway Madison Highway rezoning and annexation south of the airport. I spoke to attorney Bill Nijem and Valdosta City Planner Matt Martin afterwards. There is indeed a pond in the middle of the part of the property south of Race Track Road SE. It’s not clear what will happen to it; it may be used as a detention pond. The eventual development of the property is as yet undecided. It’s also between the Withlacoochee and Alapaha River watersheds, and not well-connected to creeks, so probably not a problem.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes by John S. Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist.

All Valdosta cases: 2 small and 1 big annexation and rezoning @ GLPC 2024-07-29

On Bemiss Road, the storage facility and the “event center called the “Enchanted Hall” that specializes in weddings, quincenaras, and family reunions, with an anticipated overall seating capacity of about 160 people,” seem unremarkable in next week’s agenda for the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC).

Two small Valdosta items and an annexation and rezoning @ GLPC 2024-07-29

For the Southern Gateway annexation and rezoning south of the airport, you can see a pond in the Aerial Location Map. Continue reading →

Videos: Race Track Road SE abandonment and TXT-2024-01 ULDC Amendments @ LCC Regular 2024-04-09

“We’re down to one!” said Commissioner Scotti Orenstein, seeing Commissioners Joyce Evans and Demarcus Marshall coming out of the elevator before the April 9, 2024, Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

“Due to an issue with some advertising, staff is requesting this item be tabled until until the May 14, 2024, meeting,” said Engineering Director Chad McLeod, in 5. Public Hearing a. Abandonment of a Portion of Race Track Road SE.

Collage @ LCC 9 April 2024

They meet again this morning at 8:30 AM for their Work Session, and Tuesday at 5:30 PM for their voting Regular Session.

Their Regular Session two weeks ago would have been very brief, except for Continue reading →

Videos: Race Track Road SE abandonment and TXT-2024-01 ULDC Amendments @ LCC Work 2024-04-08

The Lowndes County Commissioners had no questions about the two items in their Work Session Monday morning.

In the meeting, the only thing unusual was the County Manager gave her report, because she was going to be absent the next day.

LAKE Videos: Racetrack Road SE Abandonment and ULDC Text Amendments @ LCC Work 2024-04-08

The interesting parts were outside the meeting:

Before the meeting, I asked Information Technology Services (ITS) Director Aaron Kostyu if the sound box in the video pen at the back of the room would be fixed soon. He said that was a $1700 item, but they were working on it. I asked loudly enough that all of the Commissioners could hear me, including when I noted that it’s hard to hear Commissioners on our videos without the direct audio feed. He said some of them probably would still be inaudible.
I went up to where Commissioner Joyce Evans was sitting and indicated that if Commissioners push their microphones away, they’re hard to hear. She said I was pointing at Commissioner Scottie Orenstein’s microphone. We shall see.
I had a video camera fail, so I took these videos with my phone, starting after they did, so the call to order and approval of minutes agenda items are not in these videos. Also, my phone does not stop and start videos quickly, so there may be a second or two missing between clips.
After the meeting was adjourned, Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker said he was disappointed to get dressed to come there for such a brief meeting. I feel his pain. It’s an hour round trip for me, this time for a five minute meeting.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, followed by a LAKE video playlist.

Packet: Race Track Road SE abandonment and TXT-2024-01 ULDC Amendments @ LCC 2024-04-08

Update 2024-04-10: Videos: Racetrack Road SE Abandonment and ULDC Text Amendments @ LCC Work 2024-04-08.

This is the briefest Lowndes County Commission agenda I’ve seen in a while, with only two items: Abandonment of a Portion of Race Track Road SE (for Southern Gateway LLC) and TXT-2024-01 ULDC Amendments, both Public Hearings.

Race Track Road SE abandonment and TXT-2024-01 ULDC Amendments @ LCC 2024-04-08

This is the last Public Hearing for the ULDC Amendments, after the one last month at the Planning Commission. So if you have any input, better show up Tuesday, or contact Commissioners or Planning/Zoning department head JD Dillard beforehand, preferably in writing.

The bit that may affect the most people is 10.00.07 Board of Commissioner Public Hearing Procedures. Continue reading →

Videos: Five Valdosta rezonings, one Lowndes County, Lake Park Case pulled @ GLPC 2023-05-22

Last month at the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission, the longest item was almost twelve minutes on Tony Tong’s tattoo studio, for which they eventually recommended approval with slightly modified conditions.

Collage @ GLPC 22 May 2023

The only Lowndes County rezoning got three and a half minutes, for 8. REZ-2023-07 Project Viking, Hunt Road, Amended conservation. Like all the others (except the retracted Lake Park item), GLPC recommended approval. That case comes before the Lowndes County Commission this Monday, June 12, 2023, for a decision Tuesday evening.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few comments by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist.

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange