Yes, you can speak about datacenters, animals, water, or whatever else in
Citizens Wishing to Be Heard at the voting Regular Session, 5:30 PM, Tuesday, May 12, 2026.
The Lowndes County Commissioners will notice if you show up for the Work Session,
8:30 AM, Monday, May 11, 2026.
The Planning Commissioners found a way not to recommend denial even of the one item
for which Valdosta City staff recommended denial,
6. CU-2026-02 Request by Hedgecock Investments LLC, Conditional Use Permit (CUP).
They added to one of the conditions.
Calvin Graham was the lone vote against.
Afterwards he told me he just didn’t think it belonged there.
Due to some confusion about who to ask, the packet materials for the one Lake Park item
came in after the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) meeting on April 27, 2026.
There was some discussion among Lowndes County Commissioners,
but their Regular Session on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, as they
approved all the voting items unanimously.
In her Reports,
County Manager Paige Dukes called on both Utilities Director Steve Stalvy and Fire Chief Billy Young about the current drought and fire situations.
After the meeting adjourned, County Chairman Bill Slaughter came down to talk to several people about datacenters.
County Manager Paige Dukes joined in.
The Chairman said it was their procedure not to answer Citizens Wishing to Be Heard during the meeting, but he made himself available afterwards.
I mentioned that the
Irwin County Commissioners modified their draft datacenter ordinance after three Public Hearings, and passed it on April 6.
The Lowndes County Chairman did not say that they would hold public hearings.
If they follow their usual methods, a draft ordinance will appear on an agenda
and they will vote on it.
I mentioned that the Brooks County, GA, datacenter moratorium expires May 2.
The Lowndes County Chairman said Lowndes County
there is still no datacenter application, and the county would not pass a moratorium.
County Manager Paige Dukes said she was looking at ordinances throughout the country.
Various other people asked questions and got some sort of response.
I will not attempt to transcribe those parts.
The Chairman said everyone could go tell people what he said.
Above is my attempt to do so.
However, since there is no video nor any other recording that I am aware of,
I could be mistaken, and the county has plausible deniability.
Personally, I’d prefer answers during the meeting and on the record.
Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item,
with a few notes by John S. Quarterman,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.
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
In the elevator after, I told Commissioner Joyce Evans she needs to stop making those long speeches. (Joke: she famously never has said much during County Commission meetings.)
The meeting lasted more than 32 minutes, which is quite long for them.
Commissioner Scottie Orenstein was absent.
They vote today at 5:30 PM, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in their Regular Session.
You can speak at the end of this evening’s meeting, in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard.
Below are links to LAKE videos of each agenda item, with a few notes by John S. Quarterman,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.
CWTBH took about 18 minutes.
4. Purple Up For Military Children Proclamation took 9.5 minutes.
The usual preliminaries took 1.5 minutes.
So that’s 29 minutes.
The whole meeting took 46 minutes.
So that’s 17 minutes the Commissioners took to unanimously approve all the voting items.
Staff for Valdosta or Lowndes County recommend approval of all the other cases
before the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) tomorrow at 5:30 PM.
The board packet materials are on the LAKE website,
with images of each page below.
Except Lowndes County did not send the Minutes of the previous GLPC meeting.
I will remind them.
We do not yet have the packet materials for the Lake Park case,
because we had the wrong address for the Lake Park planner.
I’ve now sent a request.
Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
~ Lowndes County ~ City of Valdosta ~ City of Dasher ~
~ City of Hahira ~ City of Lake Park ~ City of Remerton ~
Monday, April 20, 2026 5:30 P.M. Work Session
Monday, April 27, 2026 5:30 P.M. Regular Session
Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue, Valdosta, Georgia Continue reading →
The Lowndes County Commission has no rezonings and no appointments to review
Monday morning at its Work Session, nor to vote on at 5:30 PM, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at its Regular Session.
Most of the agenda items are continuation or updating of things they were already doing, such as
5.c. Renewal of Disaster Related Debris Contracts, since we seem to keep having disasters.
The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is
on the LAKE website, with images of each page below.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2026, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2026, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Eight minutes is all it took for the light agenda at the Work Session yesterday morning.
The Lowndes County Commission votes today at 5:30 PM,
on two appointments to one Authority and two apparently uncontroversial subdivision rezonings.
There was nothing for the
Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) to vote on regarding the controversial subdivision application on Lake Laurie Drive, because it was withdrawn by applicant.
Everything else got unanimous recommendations of approval:
the other Valdosta rezoning and the two Lowndes County subdivisions.
That other Valdosta rezoning,
5. VA-2026-01 Alpha Britton, Johnson Lane, 0118C 017,
did get quite a bit of opposition, mostly about drainage,
but the Planning Commissioners and city staff assured
people that staff would handle that as the permitting process continued.
Here are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.
VA-2026-01 got three videos, because the first LAKE camera ran out of space, and I had to switch to the other one.
I did lose a minute or so of what one opposition citizen was saying.
![[Collage @ LCC Packet 2026-05-11 --LAKE]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2026-05-11--lcc-packet/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ GLPC 27 April 2026]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/glpc/2026-04-27--glpc-videos/many.jpg)
![[Packet: Lake Park, annexation item, Calvary Baptist Church, @ GLPC 2026-04-27]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/glpc/2026-04-27--glpc-lake-park-packet/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 28 April 2026]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2026-04-28--lcc-regular-videos/many.jpg)
![[Datacenter discussion after @ LCC, 2026-04-28 --jsq for LAKE]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2026-04-28--lcc-regular-videos/20260428_183708.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 13 April 2026]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2026-04-13--lcc-regular-videos/many.jpg)
![[Packet: 1 Lake Park, 2 Lowndes County, 4 Valdosta cases @ GLPC 2026-04-27]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/glpc/2026-04-27--glpc-packet/many.jpg)
![[Packet: Emergencies, Disasters, Judges, Drugs, and Wells @ LCC 2026-04-27-28]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2026-04-28--lcc-packet/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 13 April 2026]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2026-04-13--lcc-work-videos/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ GLPC 30 March 2026]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/glpc/2026-03-30--glpc-videos/many.jpg)