I talked about the Water Trail that WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc.
is developing on the Alapaha River with a tiny grant from the
Georgia River Network, and how that was a plus for local economic
development that wouldn’t cost VLCDA a dime.
They seemed to like that, at the
19 August 2014 Regular Meeting of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority.
Here’s the video, followed by some pictures, links, and notes:
Continue reading
They (maybe) finally settled on their new name:
Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority; see
Minutes.
Interesting discussion about
Express Scripts,
and some details about presenters at the next day’s
Community Economic Development meeting.
I talked about the Alapaha River Water Trail.
And they are talking about spec[ulative] building, such as they liked when they saw it in Douglas and Valdosta Mayor Gayle liked in Vidalia.
Here’s the agenda, with a few notes, and links to the videos.
Continue readingValdosta-Lowndes Development Authority
Tuesday, August 19, 2014 5:30 p.m.
Development Authority Conference Room
103 Roosevelt Drive
Monthly Meeting Agenda
The big item tonight is the update on their local economic development meeting
last month, plus election of officers and the usual project and
marketing updates.
Here’s the agenda, with a couple of formatting typos fixed (not sure I got it right, either).
Valdosta-Lowndes Development AuthorityContinue reading
Tuesday, September 16, 2014 5:30 p.m.
Development Authority Conference Room
103 Roosevelt Drive
Monthly Meeting Agenda
A reader wondered how Nova Scotia’s fracking ban would result in safer oil and gas company drilling operations instead of just balkanizing the world into fracking permitted and prohibited zones. Actually, Energy Minister Andrew Younger said:
“This way, people will know before it’s allowed — if it’s ever allowed — there will be a full debate in the Legislature.”
And the panel report that was the proximate cause of the ban, by the Nova Scotia Hydraulic Fracturing review, led by President Dr. David Wheeler, explicitly is for: Continue reading
I’ll give them an A for effort, including branching out:
from tires to agribusiness this month, and Valdosta North Rotary today, too.
That Community Ecomomic Developmeent Meeting is still on for tomorrow,
at
the Conference Center.
And they are talking about spec[ulative] building, such as they liked when they saw it in Douglas and Valdosta Mayor Gayle liked in Vidalia.
Here’s the agenda. Continue reading
Well, the agenda says the Invocation was “For the purpose of discussing real estate”; it doesn’t say what the Executive Session was for.
Maybe they’ve got a customer for one of those empty industrial parks
Brad Lofton talked them into building before he left the state.
Maybe they’re going to build some of those spec buildings they and Valdosta Mayor Gayle admire in Vidalia and Douglas.
Maybe they’re still negotiating with Continue reading
Citizens are not convinced EPA, GA-EPD, and GA Dept. of Health
are doing enough to find what’s causing widespread sickness and death
in Waycross, GA.
They asked questions and provided data and anecdotes for more than
an hour, demanding more testing and answers, at a meeting
about the Seven Out Superfund and other air and water contamination,
for example from CSX and AGL.
Georgia Department of Health did offer a new survey, with local help. She also offered to send a local health dept. rep. right out whenever they were alerted a certain site stunk after rains. EPA and GA-EPD admitted there was a problem and said they were trying to fix it, which is a step forward from their preliminary Waycross meeting last November. But not a big enough step or quick enough to satisfy Waycross people who are or who know many who are sick or dying.
They asked very insightful questions, about Continue reading
They’re aiming at
20 August 2014 for a meeting with local educational
and business leaders.
After mulling it over for more than two years,
VLCIA waited until somebody in Atlanta told them to, and finally
added a trading name of Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority (VLDA),
which two board members immediately said wrong.
Still, much actual thought, discussion, investigation and potential
courses of action was presented, especially in the
Executive Director’s Report
and in the answers to
Alvin Payton’s questions.
Only three board members attended VLCIA’s first meeting in its new office near the hospital: Roy Copeland, Vice-Chairman Jerry Jennett (presiding), and new member Georgia Power VP Terri Lupo, who was just appointed to VLCIA by the Lowndes County Commission. They did not have the expected officer nominating committee report, because Chairman Mary Gooding and Tom Call were not there; they barely had a quorum with 3 out of 5 board members. Also attending were Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter, Valdosta Mayor John Gayle, and Valdosta City Council Alvin Payton. All three spoke in Citizens To Be Heard, as did I, delivering the traditional welcome gift.
This move uptown leaves their old building to Sabal Trail and its proposed fracked methane pipeline. Has VLCIA ever developed an opinion on that boondoggle?
Here’s the agenda, with links to the videos, followed by a video playlist.
Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial AuthorityContinue reading
Tuesday, July 15, 2014 5:30 p.m.
Industrial Authority Conference Room
103 Roosevelt Drive
Monthly Meeting Agenda
They talked about a new website; is it up yet?
Nope, according to
http://www.hahira.ga.us/cityofficials.html
Wayne Bullard is still Mayor, Rose Adams is still on the Council, and new
Council members Kenneth Davis and Mason Barfield are nowhere to be seen.
However, former Council member Bruce Cain has vanished,
even though he’s
the actual Mayor per last November’s election.
Here are some videos from the May 15th special called meeting
of the Hahira City Council where they talk about that proposed new website.
Here’s a video playlist:
Videos: fire chief, teachers, web site, and chairs
Special Called Meeting, Hahira City Council (Hahira),
Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Hahira, Lowndes County, Georgia, 15 May 2014.
-jsq
6-8PM tomorrow, Thursday 17 July 2014
Memorial Stadium, 715 Dewey St., Waycross, GA 31501
The Environmental Protection Agency, GA Environmental Protection
Division, and Georgia Department of Public Health will be present to
discuss sample collection and results from the Seven Out Tank site
in downtown Waycross.
EPD will also be available to address issues and answer questions regarding CSX.
From Satilla Riverkeeper’s facebook event. Here’s a map: Continue reading