Tag Archives: Lowndes County

Videos: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC Regular 2026-06-23

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The Regular Session of June 23, 2026, took 39 minutes, largely because a special presentation, an unscheduled report on the 911 center, and five Citizens Wishing to Be Heard.

One of the citizens asked a question about the Alcoholic Beverages Ordinance that he could have read the answer to for himself if the county had published the draft ordinance before the meeting.

Why does the county continue to make more work for itself and everybody else by not publishing its own board packets?

Unsurprisingly, the Lowndes County Commissioners unanimously approved every voting item, including reappointing Raymond Conner to the Lowndes County Division of Family and Children Services (LCDFCS). Commissioner Demarcus Marshall was absent.

[Collage: Datacenter, Craig Center, Alcohol Ordinance, DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software @ LCC Regular 2026-06-23]
Collage: Datacenter, Craig Center, Alcohol Ordinance, DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software @ LCC Regular 2026-06-23

Three citizens spoke about Datacenters: George Fisher about sinkholes, Michael Noll about a datacenter ordinance, and Tetiana Babcock, who wanted to know where the county stands in developing a datacenter ordinance. You may recall that in March she alleged encroachment on her property from the datacenter site, which would be a violation of one of the conditions of the July 2025 rezoning of that potential datacenter site.

This time she asked for a timeline of development of a datacenter ordinance and robust citizen involvement. Which would be refreshing, compared to what we just saw as the usual Lowndes County ordinance public engagement: none. They just slapped the alcoholic beverage ordinance update on the agenda and voted on it, without any public hearing and without even publishing the draft beforehand.

Kelly Saxon spoke about Craig Center warming/cooling center funding.

Mr. Patel wanted to know how the Alcoholic Beverage Ordinances changes would affect established businesses.

If the county had simply published that ordinance before voting on it, they wouldn’t get so many questions, and we wouldn’t see at least one Commissioner trying to explain it on facebook.

As you may know, LAKE published that ordinance as soon as we got it by open records request.

http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/?p=25794

The county has finally published it on lowndescounty.com: Continue reading →

Video: Budget Public Hearings @ LCC 2026-06-23

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There was actually only one Budget Public Hearing last week. It was at 5 PM, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, before the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

This morning at 8:30 AM there is a Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30.

See that post also for the actual presentation slides for this year, which the county posted on its website the day after that Public Hearing last week.

http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/?p=25830

[Video: Budget Public Hearing @ LCC 2026-06-23, One citizen spoke, No Commissioners spoke]
Video: Budget Public Hearing @ LCC 2026-06-23, One citizen spoke, No Commissioners spoke

Meanwhile, here is the LAKE video of the June 23 Public Hearing, in which you can see Finance Director Stephanie Black presenting them.

https://youtu.be/QDp8cB2eh0c?si=5qPxAX9OWWEZiDg9 Continue reading →

Notice: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30

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There’s a Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget at 8:30 AM, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in the Lowndes County Commission Chambers, second floor, 327 N. Ashley Street, Valdosta, GA 31601.

The FY 2027 Budget Public Hearing Presentation is linked from the Finance Department page on lowndescounty.com, and there is a link under Lowndes County News saying it was posted June 24, 2026. Images of each page are below.

[Notice: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30]
Notice: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30

This notice is on the calendar on lowndescounty.com: Continue reading →

Packet: 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira @ GLPC 2026-06-29

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Staff recommended denial of the first of two Valdosta items, and of the one Hahira item, on the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) agenda for 5:30 PM, Monday, June 29, 2026.

The first recommendation for denial is 9. CU-2026-05, Tierra Inman, CUP, 602 Ulmer Avenue Tax Parcel 0161A 219 which is another request for a double-wide mobile home in a stick-built neighborhood. Neither GLPC nor the Valdosta City Council likes those.

The Hahira recommendation for denial is 11. HA-2026-01, Williams Investment Company, Variances Section 5-6.1 Hahira Subdivision Regulations Access Standards, I-75 Exit 29 at Union Road.

“In this particular case, it is very clear that the applicant’s request for Variances is simply a matter of convenience and that the conditions triggering the need for Variance are self-imposed. They can be easily avoided, and they do not extend from any legitimate hardship that is peculiar to the current conditions of the land nor the development thereon (it is all vacant property and this is all new development). Therefore, these Variance requests should be denied.”

[Packet: 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira @ GLPC 2026-06-29, 2 staff recommendations for denial]
Packet: 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira @ GLPC 2026-06-29, 2 staff recommendations for denial

Narrator: the City Planner for both cities is Matt Martin.

The board packet materials for these items, received belatedly in response to a LAKE open records request, are on the LAKE website. Images of each page are below.

See also the Continue reading →

Packet: 4 Dasher, 2 Lowndes County inc. Verizon tower in Langdale Park, 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira @ GLPC 2026-06-29

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Update 2026-06-28: Packet: 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira @ GLPC 2026-06-29.

Update 2026-06-27: WWALS blog post Verizon tower in Langdale Park? @ GLPC 2026-06-29.

Verizon Wireless wants to put a communications tower in Langdale Park, a stone’s throw from the main kiosk, at 30.885908, -83.320453.

The rezoning sign is not in Langdale Park: it’s on the private property on Hyta Mederer Road, at 30.8870644, -83.3173206.

The FAA NOTICE CRITERA say it’s in Remerton.

The packet materials for TWR-2026-02 Bermuda Run say its address is 3781 North Valdosta Road, which is misleading at best.

[Packet: 4 Dasher, 2 Lowndes County, inc. Verizon tower in Langdale Park, 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira, @ GLPC 2026-06-29]
Packet: 4 Dasher, 2 Lowndes County, inc. Verizon tower in Langdale Park, 2 Valdosta, 1 Hahira, @ GLPC 2026-06-29

Also:

The decision to be made by the Board of Commissioners is not a zoning decision. It is a quasi-judicial decision whether the standards for a telecommunications tower in Section 5.05.05 of the ULDC are met.

The TRC analyzed the request, the standards set forth in Section 5.05.00 (attached), and Section 10.02.00 of the ULDC, and noted that Continue reading →

Videos: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC Work 2026-06-22

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Update 2026-06-30: Videos: Datacenter, Craig Center, Alcohol Ordinance, DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software @ LCC Regular 2026-06-23.

They asked a few questions about the three court grant cash match items, the Lowndes County Commission in their 14-minute Monday morning Work Session, June 22, 2026.

Regarding the Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance, Gretchen Quarterman wondered, “I would have thought that the commission might want to have a public hearing on an issue like this to hear from both liquor store owners and churches and schools.”

[14-minute Lowndes County Commission Work Session, 2026-06-22 --LAKE videos]
14-minute Lowndes County Commission Work Session, 2026-06-22 –LAKE videos

Here is a LAKE video playlist.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLshUv86fYkiHj9P_d0XwfATVAWOI3xNiy&si=vDsQm_cdRJcXLBfq Continue reading →

Packet: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC 2026-06-22

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Update 2026-06-24: Videos: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC Work 2026-06-22.

You can now see the proposed Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance the Lowndes County Commission intends to adopt this evening at 5:30 PM, and something about the infrastructure they intend to approve for the Camelot Crossing Commercial Development.

You can speak about pretty much anything, including datacenters, in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard.

Don’t forget the 5:00 PM Budget Public Hearing.

[Packet: DFACS reappointment, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC 2026-06-22]
Packet: DFACS reappointment, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC 2026-06-22

Raymond Conner wants to be reappointed to the Lowndes County Division of Family and Children Services (LCDFCS).

Three court grants require county matches, plus Microsoft has left little option but for shifting to Microsoft Exchange Online.

Cost What
$42,404.00Lowndes County DUI Court FY 27 Grant Award
$32,459.00Lowndes County Accountability Court Grant Approval and Cash Match
$31,886.40Email Software License
$12,773.00Lowndes County Juvenile Accountability Court Grant Approval and Cash Match
$119,522.40Total

This Monday after 4 PM the county satisfied the LAKE open records request of last Tuesday. The resulting board packet and minutes from the previous Commission meetings are on the LAKE website. Images of each page are below.

See also the Continue reading →

Notice: Two Budget Public Hearings @ LCC 2026-06-22

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Update 2026-06-30: Video: Budget Public Hearing @ LCC 2026-06-23.

Update 2026-06-28: Actually, that Monday meeting and those slides were from last year. The last Budget Public Hearing and the this year’s slides: Notice: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30.

Did you know Lowndes County is going to hold two Budget Public Hearings this coming week?

One will be 9 AM Monday morning, after the Work Session. I found that one on lowndescounty.com by googling for it. Monday is actually June 22 according to every other calendar; nevermind what that notice says.

The other Budget Public Hearing will be 5 PM Tuesday evening, before the Regular Session. Gretchen found that one in the Valdosta Daily Times via a google alert.

They will both be in the Commission Chambers on the second floor of 327 North Ashley Street, Valdosta, Georgia.

[Notice: Two Budget Public Hearings @ LCC, 9 AM Monday 2026-06-22, 5 PM Tuesday 2026-06-23]
Notice: Two Budget Public Hearings @ LCC, 9 AM Monday 2026-06-22, 5 PM Tuesday 2026-06-23

Neither of them are in the main calendar on lowndescounty.com.

I also found what appear to be the slides for these budget public hearings. They are on lowndescounty.com, but they are not linked from the web pages for the Finance Department nor the County Clerk nor the County Manager.

They are not in PDF or PowerPoint and they are not downloadable. So I took screenshots of each slide, which you can see below. You’re welcome.

Maybe at some of these Budget Public Hearings or at the Work Session or the Regular Session why these Public Hearings are not more prominently announced. Continue reading →

Agenda: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing Infrastructure, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC 2026-06-22

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Update 2026-06-19: Notice: Two Budget Public Hearings @ LCC 2026-06-22.

It would be interesting to see the Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance the Lowndes County Commission will be voting on Tuesday evening, and the infrastructure they intend to approve for the Camelot Crossing Commercial Development.

But there is nothing on the county website but the bare agenda, and the county has not yet responded to an open records request for the board packet.

We do know that Tuesday evening at the 5:30 PM Regular Session you can speak in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard.

But not at the 8:30 AM Monday Work Session, where you do get to hear staff and Commissioners discuss agenda items.

[Agenda: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC 2026-06-22]
Agenda: DFACS, DUI, Accountability, Juveniles, Camelot Crossing, Email Software, Alcohol Ordinance @ LCC 2026-06-22

Here is the agenda.

All the agenda sheets linked under “Documents:” are blank.

LAKE still does not have the board packet, even though the LAKE open records request went to Lowndes County at 8 AM on Tuesday, June 16. I would think Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday count as the three days permitted to respond to a Georgia Open Records Act (GORA) request. If so, they’re late.

I’ve included a map of Camelot Crossing from the Lowndes County Tax Assessors website. I’ve marked some well-known nearby sinkholes. I wonder how many of the other visible wetlands are also sinkholes?

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2026, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2026, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Proposed Local Act for Local Homestead Option Sales Tax (LHOST) @ LCC 2026-06-09

At their June 9, 2026, Regular Session, the Lowndes County Commissioners added an item about El GHOST or something to the agenda. That turned out to be a Local Homestead Option Sales Tax (“LHOST”).

The Commissioners unanimously approved sending a draft act to the legislative delegation for the mid-June, 2026, Special Session of the Georgia General Assembly. We now have a copy of that draft Act. Which says the Act has to be approved by a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the House, and then placed on the November ballot.

Yes means an additional one cent sales tax, for a total of nine cents, starting January 1, 2027.

That tax will apply only to the unincorporated areas of Lowndes County. Which should be interesting for chains that have stores both in unincorporated Lowndes County and in Valdosta: you’ll get to pay a penny more in the county.

The effect of this new tax would be further homestead ad valorem tax exemption for property owners, with the difference paid for by everyone who pays sales tax. This is the most regressive type of tax, in that even the poorest people have to pay it. Also, the businesses that collect this sales tax will get no benefit from it. Well, businesses in the city may get a benefit of more customers because they do em collect this tax.

[Proposed Local Act for Local Homestead Option Sales Tax (LHOST), SB 33 of 2026, HB 581 of 2024 @ LCC 2026-06-09]
Proposed Local Act for Local Homestead Option Sales Tax (LHOST), SB 33 of 2026, HB 581 of 2024 @ LCC 2026-06-09

LAKE previously got the 20-minute slide presentation by County Manager Paige Dukes, which is also appended below to have it all in one place.

According to the agenda finally updated on the county website, that’s:

7.f. Proposed Local Act for LHOST

Here is the substantive part of the agenda sheet:

Senate Bill 33 passed in 2026 authorizes a Local Homestead Option Sales Tax (“LHOST”) to fund homestead exemptions granted by local Act of the General Assembly and approved by voters by referendum.

Staff and the County Attorney have prepared the attached draft proposed local Act providing for an LHOST in Lowndes County. It is based on a sample prepared by ACCG.

OPTIONS:

  1. Approve submitting the attached proposed local Act to the local delegation of the General Assembly representing Lowndes County
  2. Redirect

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Option 1

DEPARTMENT: County Manager Department Head: Paige Dukes

ADMINISTRATIVE COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATION:

Continue reading →