Tag Archives: Joyce Evans

Stick with old budget for now @ LCC 2020-06-26 @ LCC 2020-06-26

The Lowndes County Commission did not pass a new budget, and nobody seems to know or at least be willing to say why, even though that was on the agenda for that Tuesday meeting.

Instead, they’ve scheduled a “Special Called Meeting on Friday, June 26, 200, at 9:00 a.m., to consider a resolution to temporarily continue the operation of the 2020 Fiscal Year budget.”

We don’t have the new draft budget, but here’s the general fund expenditure chart from the old budget they’re extending:

[General Fund Expenditures]
General Fund Expenditures
37.12% + 12.17% = 49.29%

I wonder if this delay has anything to do with sales tax revenues being way down due to the pandemic, and nobody really knowing when they might recover?

There’s no video of the meeting, but fortunately the VDT was on the job. Chris Herbert, Valdosta Daily Times, 24 June 2020, Lowndes County Commission tables 2021 budget, Continue reading →

Cities and Lowndes County settle service delivery dispute @ LCC 2020-01-08

Update 2020-01-10: Not quite settled. Valdosta still has to agree to it.

These must be golden words indeed, to have been worth the hundreds of thousands of legal fees expended over them:

  1. In regards to water and sewer services:

    The Parties’ current water and sewer service areas are delineated on the service area maps attached to the DCA Forms for water and sewer services approved herewith.

    All existing intergovernmental agreements of the Parties regarding the provision of water and sewer services shall remain in effect.

    Any request for an extraterritorial extension shall be negotiated by the requesting Party and the affected Party. Approval of the affected Party shall not be unreasonably withheld.

The wording is “based on trust,” said Commissioner Clay Griner. “Where’s the document?” responded Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker? “It’s on your ipad,” clarified Chair Bill Slaughter.

As the County Clerk proceeded to hand out paper copies, Griner elaborated:

And it’s all based on trust. It’s us trusting, the County Commission trusting the City Council, whichever municipality it is, to do the right thing. The city council has to trust the County Commission to do the right thing. And the citizens to trust all of us to sit down and do the right thing.

After the county didn’t put anything for the citizens to see on the county website about this Wednesday morning meeting until Continue reading →

Videos: Taxes, water, sewer, LAS, paving, road abandonment @ LCC 2019-03-12

Five minutes and 46 seconds Sixteen minutes to vote on the people’s business in the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session. Where do they actually discuss things?

By far the longest item at three minutes and fourteen seconds was 5a. REZ-2019-04 Southeastern Freight 2120 West Hill Ave., C-H/R-1 To M-2,, and that only because somebody spoke in favor of the request in the Public Hearing.

Second longest at one minute and 46 seconds was the controversial 7 a. North Lowndes Spring Creek Utility Inter-connection Project Phase II, for which they made a decision about the yellow paper. They still never said who the rest of the bidders were, nor how much they bid, on this $3,889,825.23 project.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with Continue reading →

Groundbreaking, Naylor Community Center @ LCC Naylor 2017-08-16

Approved by the voters on the SPLOST VII ballot, plans discussed in a town hall meeting April 14, 2016, bids approved May 9, 2017, and below are the LAKE videos Gretchen took of the Naylor Community Center Ground Breaking, August 16, 2017. Of the two Commissioners in whose district is this project, Joyce Evans was there, but Demarcus Marshall was not, because they held it at 10AM when they know he cannot attend due to his day job. Continue reading →

Videos: Appointments to Hospital Authority and Parks and Rec + well pump @ LCC 2017-07-11

Two Regular Sessions back, they started with a moment of silence for Mike Everett, recently deceased employee of the Public Works department. The obituary in the VDT, 14 July 2014,

Michael Thomas Everett, a senior heavy equipment operator with Lowndes county and long time resident of Berrien County, GA, died unexpectedly on July 9, 2017 at the age of 58 at his home. Mike was born in Miami, Florida on December 29, 1958 to Hermon J. Everett and Mary C. Everett both deceased and is survived by his loving Step-Mother Nora N. Everett. Mike also known as Mr. Mike to many of his close friends and co-workers was an avid race car fan, loved cooking, enjoyed tending to his many gardens. He also loved music and often played guitar with family and friends. He was a magnet for all dogs taking great care of any that showed up on his doorstep. Mike was a very kind and generous man who will be deeply missed by his family, close neighbors, friends, co-workers and all who knew him. There is no service scheduled at this time.

No surprise on the pump or for the Hospital Authority, but news about Ashley Paulk and VLPRA. They approved everything else unanimously, as they usually do.

Below are links to each LAKE video, with a few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also the agenda. There are no LAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session, because, they moved it half an hour early and didn’t send a notification. But there is a blog post about one Commissioner’s response to that. The county apparently does video its work sessions, but not that one, and not this Regular Session, either.

Continue reading →

Videos: Appointments to Hospital Authority and Parks and Rec + well pump @ LCC 2017-07-10

Nope, there are no LAKE videos of yesterday morning’s Work Session, because, remember, they moved the meeting half an hour earlier so when Gretchen showed up it was already over. The county does not video its Work Sessions, so there is no county video, either. Since the Valdosta Daily Times apparently did not run a story (I don’t even know if they had a reporter there), this means you won’t know what the Commissioners discussed nor who else was there Monday morning before they vote this evening at 5:30 PM.

Valdosta City Manager Larry Hanson welcomes new 23d Wing Commander Col. Jennifer Short at the July 10 Change of Command ceremony.
City of Valdosta PR 2017-07-10: Valdosta City Manager Larry Hanson welcomes new 23d Wing Commander Col. Jennifer Short at the July 10 Change of Command ceremony.

Commissioner Scottie Orenstein asked, on facebook, in response to yesterday’s LAKE blog post about the moved meeting: Continue reading →

Videos: Peace Officers, Public Works GA-EPD request, Regional T-SPLOST, 2 ZBOA appointments, 2 rezonings, surplus, quit claim, lift station pump, and Naylor Community Center bids @ LCC 2017-05-09

The T-SPLOST motion passed, but as a very unusual split vote, two weeks ago in the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, 9 May 2017.

4. Peace Officers Memorial Week Proclamation Presentation,

Vice-Chair Joyce Evans presiding, they spent about five minutes on this item, including a speech by Sheriff Ashley Paulk, in which he said his department would be having a bigger presence. Chairman Bill Slaughter returned from his “good little trip” some time in there and took up the gavel after the minutes to be approved.

6. ZBOA appointments,

They reappointed Continue reading →

Videos: Abandoned Voting @ LCC 2016-05-24

Record low attendance, not record but very short session time, even with a full agenda; at least you can see last month’s last Lowndes County Commission Regular Session in these LAKE videos. They meet again 8:30 AM this morning.

See also the LAKE videos of the May 23rd Work Session. In the May 24th Regular Session, there were still no questions yesterday from Commissioners about that $55,979.00 in two no-bid items.

Commissioner Demarcus Marshall did ask Continue reading →

Videos: Abandon Beaver Lane, Aging Development Appointments, Kinderlou Lift Station Pump @ LCC 2016-05-23

Will they take longer to vote this evening at 5:30 PM than the 8 1/2 minutes for yesterday morning’s Work Session with a full agenda?

No questions yesterday from Commissioners about that $55,979.00 in two no-bid items, although the County Manager did say “quotes” about the . lift station pump. The County Manager’s Report did say he’d received an annexation request from Hahira for the W. Main St. property and he indicated no grounds for the county to protest.

The only question from a Commissioner was about which one of them might be picked to serve with “Ms. Andrea Schuijer” on the South Regional Joint Development Authority. Answer: maybe Clay Griner. Nobody asked why the county’s web page on that Joint Authority says Andrea Schruijer is already on it. Is this a reappointment? And which slots are vacant? Also, what does this Joint Authority do?

For the Southern Georgia Area Agency on Aging, yes it’s Commissioner Joyce Evans for reappointment.

County Engineer Mike Fletcher said the Beaver Lane closing previously came up in 2002 and was denied, but now some of the opponents from then are for it. Tonight is not the public hearing: merely a determination on scheduling a public hearing. Continue reading →

Abandon Beaver Lane, Aging Development Appointments, Kinderlou Lift Station Pump @ LCC 2016-05-23

This morning’s 8:30 AM $45,600.00 for new grounds for four radio towers: was it in the budget, or is this another emergency no-bid item? Ditto the $10,379.00 for the Kinderlou Lift Station Pump? Each item names only one company quoting.

After abandoning Beaver Lane, will the county vote to fix it as a private road, 4689 Mt. Zion Road, parcel 0061 01 like they did with Carter Way? And from whom did the county receive the abandonment request? Will the County Manager’s Report include the Hahira W. Main St. annexation?

Also on the Lowndes County Commission agenda for discussion Monday morning and vote Tuesday evening, appointing “Ms. Andrea Schuijer and a Commissioner” to the Continue reading →