Tag Archives: Law

Videos: surprise ULDC update, DUI Court grant, Project Viking @ LCC Work 2023-06-12

Update 2023-06-13:
Packet: Airport Authority appointment, Project Viking rezoning, 2 court, 3 water including a tractor @ LCC 2023-06-13.

Once again Lowndes County sprung ULDC changes not on the agenda.
They took up more than half of the Work Session yesterday morning.

This time County Manager Paige Dukes asked former County Planner
and current consultant Jason Davenport to

explain to the Commissioners
those changes to the Unified Land Development Code.
LAKE has sent in an open records request for those changes.


[Collage @ LCC 12 June 2023]

Collage @ LCC 12 June 2023

Second longest was

7.d. Lowndes County DUI Court FY 24 Grant Award.
We don’t know why a judge has to come justify a grant that is working,
yet applicants for boards do not have to show up before they are appointed.

The mysterious

Project Viking conservation rezoning got two minutes.

The water
main
and

well
raise interesting questions about who is paying.
The county got a local deal on

the LAS tractor.

They vote this evening at 5:30 PM.

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

See also the
agenda.
LAKE will publish the board packet after the county sends it to us in response to the LAKE open records request. Continue reading →

Packet: Airport Authority appointment, Project Viking rezoning, 2 court, 3 water including a tractor @ LCC 2023-06-12

Update 2023-06-13:

Videos: surprise ULDC update, DUI Court grant, Project Viking @ LCC Work 2023-06-12.

Tuesday evening after the Monday morning Work Session,
the Lowndes County Commission will decide whether to reappoint the incumbent
Anthony Payton to the Airport Authority (as it usually does),
or to apoing David Westberry.

Also on the agenda are two court grant cash matches, three water projects including a tractor for the county sewer system Land Application Site (LAS), and Project Viking.


[Airport, Courts, Water, and Project Viking by Knights Creek @ LCC]

Airport, Courts, Water, and Project Viking by Knights Creek @ LCC

The wetlands of the Project Viking rezoning are next to Knights Creek in the Alapaha River Basin.
The agenda does not seem to mention who this rezoning is for,
but according to the
Tax Assessors maps
it’s BASSFORD N L JR.
Those maps show the acreage as 80.0, not 69.
I don’t know why the discrepency.

It appears that none of the water projects went out for bids.
Two of them are for private wells.

Cost What
$96,095.22 Kubota M6-141 Tractor
$64,095.00 Stone Creek Onsite Well Pump
$30,750.00 Oak Hill Drive Water Main Extension
$19,509.00 Lowndes County DUI Court FY 24 Grant Award
$8,857.00 Lowndes County Juvenile Accountability Court (LCJAC) FY24 Budget & Grant Award
$219,306.22 Total

Here is the
agenda.

See also the LAKE
Videos: Five Valdosta rezonings, one Lowndes County, Lake Park Case pulled @ GLPC 2023-05-22.

LAKE does not have the board packet for this County Commission meeting,
because I forgot to file an open records request before today.
However,

the Project Viking board packet materials
from

the Planning Commission
will probably mostly be re-used for the County Commission meeting.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2023, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2023, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

  1. Call to Order

  2. Invocation

  3. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag

  4. Minutes for Approval

    1. Work Session – May 8, 2023, Regular Session – May 9, 2023, & Budget Work Session – May 31, 2023
  5. Appointment

    1. Valdosta-Lowndes County Airport Authority

      Documents:Valdosta Lowndes County Airport Authority Appointment.pdf

  6. Public Hearing

    1. REZ-2023-07 Project Viking, ~69 acres, Hunt Road, M-2 & CON to M-2 & CON, City Utilities

      Documents:REZ-2023-07 Project Viking.pdf

  7. For Consideration

    1. Oak Hill Drive Water Main Extension

      Documents:Oak Hill Drive Water Main Extension.pdf

    2. Stone Creek Onsite Well Pump

      Documents:Stone Creek Onsite Well Pump.pdf

    3. Kubota M6-141 Tractor

      Documents:Kubota M6-141 Tractor.pdf

    4. Lowndes County DUI Court FY 24 Grant Award

      Documents:Lowndes County DUI Court FY 24 Grant Award.pdf

    5. Lowndes County Juvenile Accountability Court (LCJAC) FY24 Budget & Grant Award

      Documents:Lowndes County Juvenile Accountability Court FY24 Budget Grant Award.pdf

  8. Reports – County Manager

  9. Citizens Wishing to be Heard-Please State Your Name and Address

  10. 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

Howell Road Halfway House rezoning back yet again 2023-06-12

Update 2023-06-14:

Packet: Howell Road Halfway House massive opposition 2023-06-12.

Apparently somebody sued and the county is going to tidy up by
invalidating its previous decision on the Howell Road Halfway House rezoning and
hold yet another Public Hearing before making what will likely be the same decision.
That will be this Monday, June 12, 2023, at 5:30 PM.


[Redo rezoning, WRPDO Site Map, REZ-2022-10 The Campus Transitional Facility]

Redo rezoning, WRPDO Site Map, REZ-2022-10 The Campus Transitional Facility

How five days’ notice solves the legal problem of lack of previous notice,
I don’t know.
Also why they could not wait one day and hold this Public Hearing in their
regularly-scheduled Regular Session of this Tuesday is mysterious.
Perhaps the County Attorney will explain it all.

Meanwhile, the county’s apparent lack of concern for the Character Areas of the Comprehensive Plan does not bode well for other rezonings elsewhere.

For what they plan to do Monday evening see Continue reading →

Videos: Animals, Juveniles, Golf Course, Subdivision infrastructure, solid waste, and alcohol @ LCC Regular 2023-04-25

The Lowndes County Commission breezed through approving everything unanimously
two weeks ago.

There was some further discussion in

Reports
about

the county taking over management of the Moody AFB golf course
and some other items.


[Collage @ LCC 25 April 2023]

Collage @ LCC 25 April 2023

Then in Citizens Willing to Be Heard, Veterinarian Dr. Amanda Hall spoke

about changes in state law regarding animal control,
including about what counts as a breeder.
And it is now unlawful to tether animals during inclement weather
or mental distress, but that is not being enforced.
She recommended Lowndes County revise its local animal control ordinance
to be in line with the noise ordinance.

She recently learned the county was budgeting $7 million for a new animal shelter.
She said there was much lower hanging fruit than that,
such as updating the ordinance to use ideas that work elsewhere.

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 Continue reading →

Videos: Juveniles, Golf Course, Subdivision infrastructure, solid waste, and alcohol @ LCC Work 2023-04-24

Update 2023-05-08:
Videos: Animals, Juveniles, Golf Course, Subdivision infrastructure, solid waste, and alcohol @ LCC Regular 2023-04-25 2023-04-25.

Surprise housing!

Two weeks ago, the longest regular business item at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session was

6.a. FY2024 Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant,
mostly because Judge Council wanted to mention a first quarter success rate of 86%,
and a second quarter success rate of 79%.

Also taking more than a minute were

6.b. Quiet Pines Golf Course Agreement
for Lowndes County to operate that course for Moody AFB,
and

the alcohol license for Twin Lakes Club & Grill,
for which they went through various scenarios requiring a new license.


[Collage @ LCC 24 April 2023]

Collage @ LCC 24 April 2023

Unscheduled under

7. Reports
was a seven-minute surprise report on affordable housing.
Mark Stalvey from the Housing Authority and Rhett Holmes from IDP Properties (the low income housing tax credit developer) gave a presentation on a new development at the corner of South Troupe Street and Griffin Ave. They are working on a phase two and asked for financial support in the form of $1,000,000 low interest loans. Similar to Freedom Heights on Bemiss Road which is both market rate and rent controlled units.

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 Continue reading →

Videos: Howell Road Halfway House approved in split vote @ LCC Regular 2023-04-11

Two weeks ago the Lowndes County Commission appointed
Brenda Mims to the Board of Health,
Victoria Copeland and Marion Ramsey to ZBOA,
and Jane Peeples to the Library Board,
all unanimously.

Everything else (except one item) also passed unanimously, including

8.b. Amend 2015 Solid Waste Ordinance
raising waste collection fees
and reducing collection center hours, as requested by the haulers.


[Collage @ LCC Regular 2023-04-11]

Collage @ LCC Regular 2023-04-11

It became even more obvious why
they tabled it a month before:
All the Lowndes County Commissioners apparently already knew how they were going to vote on the Howell Road halfway house rezoning before they held the
Public Hearing.

The vote was the same as Continue reading →

Packet: Alcohol, Juveniles, Golf Course, Subdivision infrastructure, and solid waste @ LCC 2023-04-24

Update 2023-05-08:
Videos: Juveniles, Golf Course, Subdivision infrastructure, solid waste, and alcohol @ LCC Work 2023-04-24.

Just after I posted

the agenda
and mentioned that Lowndes County was past the three days limit state law
requires for a response (and I also sent them an email reminder),
the county sent the board packet.

The board packet is

on the LAKE website.


[Packet Collage @ LCC 2023-04-24]

Packet Collage @ LCC 2023-04-24

-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

Agenda: Alcohol, Juveniles, Golf Course, Subdivision infrastructure, and solid waste @ LCC 2023-04-24

Update 2023-04-23:
Packet: Alcohol, Juveniles, Golf Course, Subdivision infrastructure, and solid waste @ LCC 2023-04-24.

Here’s a rare Lowndes County Commission session where the total
amount of taxpayers dollars being considered to spend is zero.

Cost What
$368,179.20 FY2024 Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant
-$368,179.20
Reimbursed 100% by CJCC
$0.00 Total

That of course ignores
future road and utility maintenance costs for
Quarterman Estates Subdivision Phase 4, Section 1 and
Grove Pointe Subdivision Phase 5, Section 3, plus
whatever it will cost for the county to run the
Quiet Pines Golf Course for Moody AFB.
Lowndes County already operates Moody AFB’s wastewater treatment plant.


[Agenda @ LCC 2023-04-24]

Agenda @ LCC 2023-04-24

Here is the
agenda.
We have no board packet to show you,
because there has been no response to the LAKE open records request of 8:00 AM Tuesday, four working days ago,
even though the Georgia Open Records Act (GORA) requires a response within three days.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2023, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2023, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Agenda: Lowndes County Commissioners Planning Meeting 2023-04-12

In Lowndes County’s annual Planning Retreat, these items seem especially interesting, for today and Friday:

Wednesday- 2:00 p.m. Unified Land Development Code Ordinance Update

Friday- 8:30 a.m. Ordinance Update Discussion

It’s hard to tell what will be discussed in the other agenda items,
since they have labels like “Finance” or “Departmental Updates”.


[Agenda]

Agenda

PDF

Not sure when this was posted, but it is under Lowndes County News:

2023 ANNUAL PLANNING MEETING AGENDA. Continue reading →

Videos: Recognitions, Extension Office, Raise waste collection rates, Howell Road halfway house rezoning, appointments to 3 boards @ LCC Work 2023-04-10

Update 2023-04-24:
Videos: Howell Road Halfway House approved in split vote @ LCC Regular 2023-04-11.

Yesterday the Lowndes County Commissioners had no discussion about
what Chairman Bill Slaughter referred to as
“One public hearing item that just will not go away.”
That’s

7.a. REZ-2022-10 Campus Transitional Care, 2193 Howell Road, E-A to P-D.
The Commissioners vote at the Regular Session this evening at 5:30 PM.
They can make it go away for at least a year by denying the rezoning.


[Collage @ LCC 10 April 2023]

Collage @ LCC 10 April 2023

On
8.b. Amend 2015 Solid Waste Ordinance,
Gretchen remarked:
“In my mind, it seems super inconvenient to shorten the hours of the collection sites on Monday and Friday. If someone works 8-5, then getting their recycling there by 6 is not possible.

“Oh, but this isn’t for the health, safety and well being of the citizens, Continue reading →