That was
Ashley Paulk, Chairman of the Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
talking at the Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP) monthly meeting
about T-SPLOST.
Ashley Paulk, Chairman of the Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
explains T-SPLOST (HB 277) and the Transportation Investment Act of 2010
at the monthly meeting of the Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP),
Gretchen Quarterman (Chair), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Gretchen Quarterman, Chair of the Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP),
thanks
Corey Hull of VLMPO and says the next speaker will give us
some inside knowledge about T-SPLOST.
Ashley Paulk, Chairman of the Lowndes County Commission (LCC)
is not a fan of T-SPLOST.
He says:
Y’all know I’m on the executive committee, so I guess I should be a salesman.
But I’m sorry.
Y’all know me pretty well, I’ve got to really be
not just a little bit correct,
but it’s got to be good for the people.
I think what disturbs me,
is when you’ve got to put something in the law that’s a stick,
carrot and stick,
you don’t do what I’ve said you’re going to get punished.
Public meetings will be held in August and September before the
regional transportation roundtable meets before
October 15th; that’s what their deadline is to vote….
The referendum will be in the summer of 2012 … July or August 2012….
Corey Hull of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Metropolitan Planning Organization (VLMPO)
explains T-SPLOST (HB 277) and the Transportation Investment Act of 2010
at the monthly meeting of the Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP),
Gretchen Quarterman (Chair), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Part 1: T-SPLOST Explained —Corey Hull of VLMPO at LCDP
Part 2:
T-SPLOST Business plan —Corey Hull of VLMPO at LCDP
Part 3: T-SPLOST Project Lists —Corey Hull of VLMPO at LCDP
Part 4:
T-SPLOST Penalties and LMIG —Corey Hull of VLMPO at LCDP
Part 5: T-SPLOST Projects to GDOT —Corey Hull of VLMPO at LCDP
Corey Hull of VLMPO explains that next they go to GDOT and then back.
On April 13th we have to turn those projects in to the Georgia
Department of Transportation.
…
On June 1st or thereabouts, the executive committee that
Chairman Paulk is on is gonna receive the unconstrained project list.
It won’t be … constrained to the amount of money the economists
say we will receive.
…
It is that executive committee’s responsibility
to go through and select projects and select the projects off
that we can afford for the region.
Corey Hull of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Metropolitan Planning Organization (VLMPO)
explains T-SPLOST (HB 277) and the Transportation Investment Act of 2010
at the monthly meeting of the Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP),
Gretchen Quarterman (Chair), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
If the regional transportation roundtable does not agree on a list
to present to the voters by October 15th of 2011,
then each jurisdiction in this region must match their
Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant … at a rate of 50%.
That’s
Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant Program (LMIG).
So if they get $100,000 from LMIG they’ll have to match that with $50,000.
This will affect smaller communities the most, since they use the
most LMIG funds proportionally.
And the most likely way to raise the funds to match is to raise property taxes.
So what if there is a list on the ballot but the voters vote it down?
Continue reading →
The 75% pot of T-SPLOST funds is what the project lists recently
submitted by Lowndes County
and the City of Valdosta are about,
according to
Corey Hull, continuing his presentation on T-SPLOST at the Lowndes County
Democratic Party (LCDP) meeting.
Those are projects of regional significance
that the local jurisdictions want the voters to actually
vote on that project.
The other 25% goes to local jurisdictions, like this:
Corey Hull of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Metropolitan Planning Organization (VLMPO)
explains T-SPLOST (HB 277) and the Transportation Investment Act of 2010
at the monthly meeting of the Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP),
Gretchen Quarterman (Chair), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
The plan identifies
$35 billion to meet the needs in Georgia today.
However, $72 billion are needed to meet the transportation
needs to sustain Georgia’s economy into the future.
Of course, that’s according to the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT),
which notoriously is not interested in trains or other mass transit:
if it’s not a road or a road bridge, forget it.
Continuing:
And $1 billion is needed here in Lowndes County.
Lowndes County’s transportation plan through the
Metropolitan Planning Organization
has about a billion dollars in projects.
What about county voters, and what about the combined budget?
Q: “What is the county’s view on consolidation?”
A: CUEE Chairman Leroy Butler answered:
“We did no poll of individuals in the county,
so we don’t have any; anything we say would be speculation.”
Remember,
only one of CUEE’s board is from the county outside the City of Valdosta,
and nobody outside Valdosta gets to vote in the referendum.
They don’t know what the county thinks, and they don’t care,
because legally they don’t have to:
if Valdosta votes to give up their school system, the Lowndes County
school board has no choice but to pick up the pieces.
Kick-off meeting, Community Unification for Educational Excellence, Inc., CUEE.
They’re for consolidation of the Valdosta and Lowndes County School Systems.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
http://lake.typepad.com/on-the-lake-front/cuee/
He says there’s a lot more to learn,
T-SPLOST has got a good regional executive committee,
etc., but:
