Tag Archives: LAKE

Packet: Remerton variances for Bryce Nerland, Woodard Street @ GLPC 2024-05-20

The Greater Lowndes Planning Commission heard two requests for variances on two adjoining lots, “The main motivation behind the request is to allow a reduction in setbacks to allow new construction for 6 single family homes on 2 vacant lots.”

Nobody spoke against.
The Planning Commissioners unanimously voted to recommend approval of each request.
The Remerton City Council probably has approved the requests by now.

Setback variances for two lots on Woodard Street, Remerton @ GLPC 2024-05-20

Jessica Freeman sent the Remerton packet materials a week after the Planning Commission meeting.
They are on the LAKE website.

Now that I know an email address that seems to work for her,
probably future Remerton packets will arrive more speedily
after she gets the LAKE open records request. Continue reading →

Packet: Rezoning on Glenn Road, Abandon part of Valencia Street, pave Kinderlou Clyattville Road @ LCC 2024-06-10

Update 2024-06-11:
Videos: Career Academy, Glenn Road Rezoning, Valencia Street Abandonment, Kinderlou Clyattville Road paving @ LCC Work 2024-06-10.

It’s a light agenda for the Lowndes County Commission this week,
with an uncontested rezoning, a road abandonment continued from 2005,
and two bids for paving a road.

Collage, LCC Packet 2024-06-10

The road paving is a TSPLOST project, so presumably that’s where the three and ahalf million dollars comes from.

Cost	What
$3,495,208.06	Pl# 0016278 Kinderlou Clyattville Road Paving and Drainage Improvements Bids
$3,495,208.06	Total

Here is the
agenda.

The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request,
is

on the LAKE website.

Agenda: Budget, Personal Care Home, streets and transit, 2 sewer repairs @ VCC 2024-06-06

Nobody attended the
First Hearing of the
proposed FY 2025 Valdosta Budget,
so Thursday is your last chance, at the Second Hearing,
at the Valdosta City Council meeting.

Agenda: Budget, sewers, Personal Care Home, streets, and transit @ VCC 2024-06-06

That budget includes a pending $67 million bond for water and sewer projects,
with interest to be paid from the Water and Sewer Revenue Fund.

The agenda also includes a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a Personal Care Home,
two street resurfacing projects, an amendment to the contract for the on-call transport cars, and two sewer repair projects.

Here is the agenda.

See also the preceding
Planning Commission meeting.

AGENDA

REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL

5:30 PM Thursday, June 6, 2024

CITY HALL, COUNCIL CHAMBERS

Opening Ceremonies

Call to Order

Invocation

Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag

Minutes Approval

The Minutes from the May 9, 2024 Regular Meeting and the May 15, 2024 Special Called Meeting are forthcoming.

Public Hearings

Public Hearing for the Adoption of the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget. (Second Hearing)

Consideration of an Ordinance for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a Family
Personal Care Home in a Single-Family Residential (R-6) Zoning District as requested
by Roche Kempson (File No. CU-2024-04). The property is located at 1206 West
Magnolia Street. The Planning Commission reviewed this at their May 20, 2024
Regular Meeting and recommended approval subject to four conditions (5-0 Vote).

Ordinances and Resolutions

Consideration of a Resolution authorizing the execution of a Contract with the Georgia Department of Transportation for the Patterson Street Resurfacing and Utility Adjustments Project.

Bids, Contracts, Agreements and Expenditures

Consideration of bids for the resurfacing of streets in the City of Valdosta through the SPLOST VIII Funding and GDOT Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant.

Consideration of a request to amend the Contract with River North Transit, LLC and extend Via On-Demand Transportation Services for the City of Valdosta.

Local Funding and Requests

Consideration of a request to authorize payment for an emergency bypass and sewer repairs on Pebblewood Drive.

Consideration of a request to authorize payment for Phase III final billing for emergency sewer repairs at Knights Creek near the intersection of U. S. Highway 84 and Blanchard Street.

Citizens to be Heard

City Manager’s Report

Council Comments

Adjournment

-jsq

Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!

http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/donate

Videos: Budget award, LMIG for Val Del Road widening, Jail addition max price, service and software agreements @ LCC Work 2024-05-28

Update 2024-06-11:
Videos: Budget award, LMIG for Val Del Road widening, Jail addition max price, service and software agreements @ LCC Regular 2024-05-28.

For the 18th year,

Lowndes County won a Distinguished Budget Award from
the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA).
That was the first item
ihis morning at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session.

They vote this evening at 5:30 PM.

Collage @ LCC Work 28 May 2024

We heard some clarification about the

almost $9 million dollars in jail additions.
Gretchen says,
“This is for the proposed new medical area at the jail.
Some of the money is ARPA 2021 money.”

With the

changeover from Code Red to RAVE Alert,
everyone will have to sign up again,
because Code Red had an option not to share personal information, which included with the county.
However, Ashley Tye said the new system would provide more functionality for less price.
That was the longest discussion in the meeting, at more than six minutes.

Hurricane Idalia provided incentive to look for a faster way to do damage assessment.
The county is

buying Crisis Track damage assessment software,
which is a smartphone or table app for faster input to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA).
That was the second longest discussion, at more than five minutes.

They ended with an

executive session to discuss client-attorney privilege for real estate acquisition.

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 board packet,
received in response to a LAKE open records request. Continue reading →

Videos: Two Remerton setback cases, 1 Lowndes County multiple residence rezoning, 1 Valdosta CUP @ GLPC 2024-05-20

Update 2024-06-10:
Packet: Rezoning on Glenn Road, Abandon part of Valencia Street, pave Kinderlou Clyattville Road @ LCC 2024-06-10.

Update 2024-06-10:
Packet: Remerton variances for Bryce Nerland, Woodard Street @ GLPC 2024-05-20.

Update 2024-06-04:

Agenda: Budget, Personal Care Home, streets and transit, 2 sewer repairs @ VCC 2024-06-06

Apparently the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC)
also thought these cases were unremarkable,
since the Planning Commissioners breezed through them,
unanimously recommending approval for all of them.

Steve Miller chaired the meeting.
Ed Hightower was not present.

We never did get the board packet materials for the Remerton cases,
despite being promised them at the Planning Commission meeting.

Collage @ GLPC 20 May 2024

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

Videos: Hospital Authority appointment, 6 rezonings, paving and resurfacing, subdision infrastructure, probationers @ LCC Regular 2024-05-14

An hour-long Regular Session is very unusual for the Lowndes County Commission.
Much of it was taken up by two rezonings:

REZ-2024-08 on River Road
(10:43)
and

REZ-2024-09 Dasher Grove Subdivision (12:24).
For River Road, the applicant discussed setbacks and fire trucks and answered Commissioner questions about house prices and lot sizes.
For Dasher Grove, Commissioner questions were mostly about how many lots and when T-SPLOST road work on Val Del Road would take place.
Remember, that road work is your tax dollars going to subsidize subdivisions.

Nobody spoke against those rezonings nor against any of the others.
All the rezonings and everything else passed unanimously, including
they reappointed
Hospital Authority incumbent Shirley Garland as expected.

Collage @ LCC Regular 14 May 2024

There was discussion about the apparent price rise by

8.b. Pronto Consulting
for Software as a Service to manage probationers.
It is actually just that Pronto started with a discount,
and this time is not supplying a discount.
The total undiscounted amount was always in the county budget.

In Citizens Wishing to Be Heard,

Mark Perkins of Lake Park had some questions about the burn ordinance.

Also, Representative John LaHood (R-175)

was recognized by the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG)
for his work on legislation regarding Service Delivery Strategies.

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

Packet: LMIG for Val Del Road widening, Jail addition max price, service and software agreements @ LCC 2024-05-28 2024-05-28

The jail additions should cost less than $9 million dollars.

The state will supply $1.5 million for Val Del Road (CR 57) widening and turn lanes
north from North Valdosta Road (SR 7, aka US 41),
and $175,000 for restriping 35 miles of various other roads.

LMIG for Val Del Road widening, Jail addition max price, Service and software agreements @ LCC 2024-05-28

The county is switching from
Code Red (OnSolve) to RAVE Alert (Motorola).

And the county is buying Crisis Track damage assessment software,
which is a smartphone or table app for faster input to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA).

These items will be considered at the Work Session Tuesday morning,
and voted on at the Regular Session Tuesday evening,
both on the same day because today (Monday) is a holiday.

Cost	What
$8,965,053.00	A New Addition to the Lowndes County Jail Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP)
$1,656,734.49	2024 Local Road Assistance (LRA) Administration Funds Application
$29,900.00	RAVE Alert Service Agreement
$6,237.00	Crisis Track Damage Assessment Software
$10,657,924.49	Total

Here is the

agenda.

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

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 28, 2024, 8:30 A.M.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 28, 2024, 5:30 P.M.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Packet: Proposed Annual Budget, City of Valdosta, FY 2025, for Budget Meeting 2024-05-22

In this Proposed Annual Budget for the City of Valdosta Budget Meeting Wednesday afternoon, 3-8 PM,
there are two bond series, one refinancing, the other new, both for water and sewer improvements.

Apparently the city has previously financed more than $32 million in loans
from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA),
and last year floated a bond at a lower interest rate
for about $22 million still to be paid.

Even more interesting, if I am reading it correctly, this budget proposes a new bond for
$67 million.

Maybe the Valdosta City government is getting more serious about fixing their sewer system problems.

This is all in addition to the water and sewer improvements paid for by
Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) line items,
by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds,
or from other revenue; see below.

Extracts, Proposed FY 2025 City of Valdosta Budget

W&S 2020 Bond Series

Purpose: Refinance GEFA notes at a lower interest rate

Maturity Date: 2033

Original Principal Amount: $32,134,000; July 1, 2023, Principal Outstanding $22,264,065

Interest Rate: 2.29%

Funding Source: Water and Sewer Revenue Fund

Pending for FY 25 – estimate

W&S 2024 Bond Series

Purpose: Upgrades Water and Sewer

Maturity Date: 2054

Original Principal Amount: $67,000,000; July 1, 2023, Principal Outstanding $67,000,000

Interest Rate: 4.5%

Funding Source: Water and Sewer Revenue Fund

See

page 49, Debt Service, FY 2025, City of Valdosta. Continue reading →

Videos: Hospital Authority appointment, 6 rezonings, paving and resurfacing, subdision infrastructure, probationers @ LCC Work 2024-05-13

Update 2024-05-27:
Videos: Hospital Authority appointment, 6 rezonings, paving and resurfacing, subdision infrastructure, probationers @ LCC Regular 2024-05-14.

This Work Session was long by Lowndes County Commission standards,
more than half an hour.

Collage @ LCC 13 May 2024

Almost half of that, 13 and a half minutes, was on

7.c. REZ-2024-08 River Road, 4374 River Road,
mostly about spacing between houses and fire risk.

Another five minutes was on

7.d. REZ-2024-09 Dasher Grove,
about the timeline for Val Del Road improvements.

Notice the Val Del Road improvements are TIA projects, which means tax-paid road improvements to benefit a private developer.
Yet this and other such rezonings appear in the agenda as “BUDGET IMPACT: NA”.

Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker asked if the packet materials could be projected on the screen for

6.a. Appointment – Hospital Authority of Valdosta and Lowndes County.
ITS Director Aaron Kostyu said he did not have the ability to do that.

Well, the County Planner manages to project all the materials for the rezonings.
Why can’t the ITS Director project materials for other board agenda items?

Or the County Commissioners can look at the LAKE website, I suppose.

Or county staff could put the board packet on the county’s own website.

Either way, the Commissioners could use the Internet to look at it on their tablets.

The Commissioners could just direct staff to put the packet on the county’s website.

Commissioners also had some questions about why the increases in Continue reading →

Two Remerton setback cases, 1 Lowndes County multiple residence rezoning, 1 Valdosta CUP @ GLPC 2024-05-20

Update 2024-06-10:
Packet: Remerton variances for Bryce Nerland, Woodard Street @ GLPC 2024-05-20.

Update 2024-05-27:
Videos: Two Remerton setback cases, 1 Lowndes County multiple residence rezoning, 1 Valdosta CUP @ GLPC 2024-05-20.

These cases for the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC)
Monday evening seem unremarkable to me.

We do not yet have the packet materials for the Remerton cases,
so I inserted a map from the Lowndes County Tax Assessors.
We will post the Remerton materials when we get them.

1 Remerton, 1 Valdosta, 2 Lowndes @ GLPC 2024-05-20, Woodard St., Glenn Road, W Magnolia St.