Tag Archives: Keep Lowndes-Valdosta Beautiful

Videos: Lowndes County Commission Goals @ LCC 2017-03-27

The Chairman confirmed that yesterday’s “Lowndes County Commission Goals” was a continuation of the rather testy goals discussion at their February planning session, in which they disagreed on things such as whether to hold Work Sessions at times when working people could attend. And ten days later held a three-minute Work Session. There’s still no agenda for that 9:30AM to 10:30AM Goals meeting on the county’s website, even though it appears they had one.

They declared Solid Waste Management accomplished, yet they spent even more time discussing Litter Control and Beautification and kept that on their short-term goals. Later they seemed to decide to make a special class of ongoing issues, including litter and Moody AFB.

The elephant in the room is that tax revenue is down and inconsistent.

Below are links to each LAKE video of that Goals meeting, with a few notes, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading →

Videos: sidewalk, KLVB, DFCS, SGCSB, LCLB appointments, prisoners, mosquitos, grants, contracts @ LCC 2016-06-14

In a very unusual move, they tabled trust deed or a well system that a developer wants because he does not want to have property annexed into the city of Valdosta. Valdosta services are across the street. The Chairman said he asked the Engineer who asked the developer first.

Citizens Lawrence and Helen Williams expressed concern about dogs and a gun at a neighbor’s house.

They unanimously approved everything else Continue reading →

Videos: KLVB, DFCS, SGCSB, LCLB appointments, prisoners, mosquitos, grants, contracts, and a sidewalk bid @ LCC 2016-06-13

Sandra Tooley, Valdosta City Council District 2, was among the very few people present who did not have business on the agenda of the Lowndes County County Commission Work Session this Monday morning. They vote 5:30 PM Tuesday evening.

Below are LAKE videos of Monday morning’s Work Session, with a few notes, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading →

KLVB, DFCS, SGCSB, LCLB appointments, prisoners, mosquitos, grants, contracts, and a sidewalk bid @ LCC 2016-06-13

Here’s the agenda for this morning’s 8:30 AM Work Session and tomorrow evening’s voting Regular Session: will the Lowndes County Commission spend more on mosquito testing than on renting prisoners from Valdosta State Prison? (Answer: no, $45,790 on mosquitos and $118,500 on three prisoner work details at $39,500 each: “The details are utilized in the maintenance of over 5,000 easements that require manual hand cutting.” Hm, if the county didn’t insist on 80-foot easements….

They’re also appointing people to four different boards. If you wanted to apply, how would you know to do so?

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JUNE 13, 2016, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 2016, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Videos: Four board appointments, plus Justice, Water, and Alcohol @ LCC 2015-06-23

$16,915 to upgrade a water main to subsidize a developer, but no approval of $15,957 to study public transportation and truck routing.

Speaking of subsidizing private developers, there’s yet more fallout from the failed 2007 mega-mall-and-subdivision Market Street project; see separate post.

And the Chairman gave an excellent demonstration of why elected officials would benefit by interacting and even debating with citizens, instead of jumping to conclusions and preaching at them.

Here’s the agenda, and the LAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session and the budget hearing immediately before the Regular Session. Below are the Regular Session LAKE videos with a few comments, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading →

Videos: Four board appointments, plus Justice, Water, and Alcohol @ LCC 2015-06-22

The Chairman said the Finance Director would make a presentation about the Adoption of the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Tuesday before they voted; he said nothing about that presentation being the second Public Budget Hearing. See LAKE videos of the first Budget Hearing and of the second budget hearing.

The Commercial Driveway for Raceway on James Road. is yet more fallout from the failed 2007 mega-mall-and-subdivision Market Street project; see separate post. Also five pre-bidders but only one bid, this one from Scruggs Co., for Widening of a Portion of Old US 41 N.

Why is the county paying the cost to Upgrade Water Main at Lake Alapaha Subdivision from 2 inches to 6 inches? At least we found out where and why for the Engineering and Surveying Services for Water and Sewer.

Here’s the agenda. Below are the LAKE videos of the Work Session with a few comments, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading →

Four board appointments, plus Justice, Water, and Alcohol @ LCC 2015-06-22

Adoption of the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget to be considered Monday morning and voted on Tuesday evening (see LAKE videos of Budget Hearing of two weeks ago), plus a 300x298 Parcel 0043 016, in Buck Cato Road, by John S. Quarterman, 22 June 2015 GEFA Loan Modification (thought they approved that 26 May 2015 for the Alapaha Water Treatment Plant), a Justice Assistance Grant, a SCADA lease-purchase agreement, and the annual controversial Mosquito Contract.

Two appointees each to KLVB and the Library Board. We don’t know who, because the county posted the agenda only in PDF, with no item sheets.

Public Hearing approved last month for the Abandonment of Buck Cato Road: what’s causing all of these in the last couple years? And they’ve found an excuse for their long-desired Continue reading →

Tipping fees: no contract, no list of fees, no details of expenses

No copy of the contract for tipping fees from the landfill it privatized some years ago, no list of what those fees were, and no detailed accounting of what they were used for: that was the answer from Lowndes County’s Open Records Officer. She also took more than 3 days to produce this non-information, answering the day after the recent County Commission meeting. Here’s her answer:

2008 CAFR page 38 From: pdukes@lowndescounty.com
Subject: Open records requests
Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:42:16 +0000

Good Afternoon,

In response to your open records requests of June 6, 2013, please find the following:

For the contract or agreement addressing tipping fees, you may contact Regional Commission Representative, Julia ShewChuk, at 229-333-5277. Lowndes County is not the custodian of this information. You many find fee amounts in Lowndes Countys Comprehensive Annual Reports located on the countys website, www.lowndescounty.com. To access these reports, go to the Government tab at the top of the homepage, then County Manager, then Finance, then Financial Reports. Fees are located on page 38 for 2008, page 38 for 2009, page 38 for 2010, page 39 for 2011 and page 36 for 2012.

To be clear, Continue reading →

KLVB 2012 Executive Director’s Report —Aaron Strickland @ LCC 2012-09-10

Here is the Keep Lowndes-Valdosta Beautiful (KLVB) 2012 Executive Director’s Report, provided to LAKE by KLVB Executive Director Aaron Strickland.

This is the report he discussed at the 10 September 2012 Lowndes County Commission Work Session.

-jsq

KLVB report —Aaron Strickland @ LCC 2012-09-10

In the 10 September 2012 Lowndes County Commission Work Session, Aaron Strickland of Keep Lowndes-Valdosta Beautiful (KLVB) said there were two applicants for appointement to the KLVB board: Emily Preston and Deanna Wagner. They did not speak; Emily Macheski-Preston and Deanna Wagner. Ms. Macheski-Preston spoke (included below); Ms. Wagner did not; maybe tonight.

He gave a brief verbal report, which he said was a summary of a report he submitted last week (which we the taxpayers haven’t seen). He said at their Rivers Alive event last year they had a record number of sites cleaned: seven. Great American Cleanup, KLVB’s signature event used to be 1 day, but this year was 3 days.

  1. Valdosta asked for help with a creek project.
  2. Helped emergency management after the tornadoes, through Ashley Tye and a group called Vision 388(?).
  3. Traditional cleanup day in Valdosta, Lowndes County, and Lake Park.

He read some statistics on numbers of volunteers and things cleaned up. He listed some future events. There’s more in the video.

Commissioner Richard Raines wanted to know how much time commitment was involved. Answer: an hour per board meeting and helping out with events and committees.

Here’s the video: video of Aaron Strickland’s aural report:

Continue reading →