Tag Archives: Lowndes County

Agenda: Sprawl on Skipper Bridge Road and Purchase of Land Between the Rivers @ LCC 2022-12-12

Update 2022-12-09:
Packet: Dollar General may be tabled @ LCC 2022-12-12.

Most of the budget dollar items on the Lowndes County Commission agenda are recurring, but the
Purchase of Between the Rivers, L.L.C. Property
for incorporation into the proposed Troupville Nature Park
is one-time.

The most contentious item,
REZ-2022-20 Teramore Development, LLC, ~3 acres at Hwy 122 & Skipper Bridge (Part of 0067 051), E-A to C-C, Well and Septic,
for a Dollar General store in an agricultural and forestry Character Area,
has
no dollar value attached in the agenda,
even though

the potential costs to the county are large.

Dollar General sprawl and Land Between the Rivers park

Cost	What
$356,405.55	Storage Area Network Replacement
$181,424.00	2023 ACCG Workers’ Compensation Insurance Renewal
$121,500.00	Purchase of Between the Rivers, L.L.C. Property
$36,266.00	Approval of Solicitor General’s VAWA Continuation Grant Application for 2023
$22,894.96	MyGov Intergovernmental Agreement
$718,490.51	Total

Here is the

agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2022, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2022, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Videos: Opposition gets Dollar General on GA 122 & Skipper Bridge voted down @ GLPC 2022-11-28

Update 2022-12-09:
Agenda: Sprawl on Skipper Bridge Road and Purchase of Land Between the Rivers @ LCC 2022-12-12.

Update 2022-12-09:

Massive citizen opposition to development foothold in agricultural and forestry area @ GLPC 2022-12-08.

The eight citizens who spoke against the Dollar General rezoning at GA 122 and Skipper Bridge Road get star billing.

Collage @ GLPC 28 November 2022

“We don’t need to have new commercial zoning in our area.” —Gretchen Quarterman

“We have no interest in adding convenience to our peaceful little community.” —Becky Rowntree Harris

“The river is literally my back yard.” —Danielle Jackson

“Ten-day is an absolute joke.” —Samuel Heath Dawson

“And the other 112 acres would be the next battle.” —William Pope

“Put it across from Ashley Paulk’s development.” —Roxanne Newton

“Even with the goose egg [?] it’s still a Dollar General and I do not want this.” —Dan Richardson

“Please take the wishes of the many, versus the dollars of the few.” —Last Speaker

GLPC voted 7:1 to recommend disapproval. The actual rezoning decision will be made by the Lowndes County Commission at its Regular Session, Tuesday, December 13th, 2022, 5:30 PM. If you don’t want that store in an agricultural area, attracting still more subdivisions still farther north in the county, call or write your county commissioner or come speak against at that meeting. If somebody wants to start a petition, that might also help.

Or you can jump to the full meeting,
in which you’ll learn the Hahira deannexation was unanimously voted against,
GLPC has a new board member, Ron Bythwood,
and a new Chair and Vice-Chair starting in January.

So, about

5. REZ-2022-20 Teramore, Hwy 122/Skipper Bridge Rd, 0067 051, 3.0 ac.E-A to C-C. Continue reading →

Dollar General, GA 122 & Skipper Bridge Road @ GLPC 2022-11-28

Update 2022-12-06:
Videos: Opposition gets Dollar General on GA 122 & Skipper Bridge voted down @ GLPC 2022-11-28.

A line of people protested putting a Dollar General on GA 122 at Skipper Bridge Road,
~~north across from where Wes Scruggs’ store used to be.~~
That was at the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) last night.

Dollar General agenda item and waterway map @ GLPC 2022-11-28

GLPC voted 7:1 to recommend disapproval, according to LAKE’s Gretchen Quarterman who was there and who was the first to speak against.
LAKE video she took will follow.

The actual rezoning decision will be made by the Lowndes County Commission at its Regular Session,
Tuesday, December 13th, 2022, 5:30 PM.
If you don’t want that store in an agricultural area, attracting still more subdivisions still farther north in the county,
call or write your county commissioner or come speak against at that meeting.
If somebody wants to start a petition, that might also help.

Here is the GLPC Board packet item for REZ-2022-20:
REZ-2022-20-GLPC-Packet.pdf Continue reading →

Big rezoning inside Valdosta among 5 Valdosta cases, 2 Hahira, 3 Lowndes County @ GLPC 2022-11-28

Update 2022-11-29:
Dollar General, GA 122 & Skipper Bridge Road @ GLPC 2022-11-28.

Inside the City of Valdosta,
something may finally happen with the Loch-Winn Farms property
off of James Road and Riverside Road, near the Withlacoochee River
that has been becalmed since 2008.
The inland part of the property

may be rezoned for 130 house lots.

Hahira may get a

Red Owl drive-through coffee shop with indoor and outdoor seating.
And a landowner on Hagan Bridge Road wants to

deannex some property from Hahira.

Lowndes County may get a subdivision
way out west of Snake Nation Road, near the Little River:

REZ-2022-18 Hilton, Chug A Lug Road, 0033 023B, ~8.3 acres.

Collage @ GLPC 2022-11-28

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

on the LAKE website.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission

~ Lowndes County ~ City of Valdosta ~ City of Dasher ~

~ City of Hahira ~ City of Lake Park ~ City of Remerton ~

Monday, November 21, 2022 5:30 P.M. Work Session

Monday, November 28, 2022 5:30 P.M. Regular Session

Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office

325 West Savannah Avenue, Valdosta, Georgia

Continue reading →

Greenlight Enhanced Decorative Lighting, Fire, Broadband, Courthouse, other Bids @ LCC Packet 2022-11-07

Two presentations the Lowndes County Commission will hear tomorrow morning:
on Broadband and Fire Prevention.
That’s at the Work Session.
Tomorrow evening there will be a Proclamation on Operation Greenlight, whatever that is.

Collage @ LCC Packet 2022-11-07

Most of the board packet consists of details on Enhanced and Basic Decorative Lighting Districts
and bids for aspects of renovation of the historic Lowndes County Courthouse.

There are also items on repairing lightning damage to the Public Safety Radio System,
a grant acceptance, and a service provider. Continue reading →

Videos: Leadership Lowndes, Rezonings, Lift Station, Pictometry, SDS, Suwannee Riverkeeper, Bethany Drive @ LCC 2022-10-11

Update 2024-01-24:
Why the traffic light: The Towns at 4443 (Bemiss Road @ Studstill Road) letter of intent and Conceptual Plan @ GLPC 2022-09-26.

Lowndes County Commissioners were still not happy with the City of Valdosta
about the

Service Delivery Agreement,
with Chairman Bill Slaughter reciting a litany of recent extraterritorial water and sewage decisions and a change in funding for county roads for the upcoming
“physical” year,
at their Regular Session of October 11, 2022.
Commissioners Clay Griner and Scottie Orenstein complained about the agreement,
with some threats to go back to the 2008 agreement if signatures were not gotten from the Valdosta immediately.
It passed 4:1, with Griner voting against.

They spent 25 minutes on

5.a. REZ-2022-16 4443 Bemiss, ~14.1 acres, from C-G \u0026 R-A to P-D \u0026 C-G, finally agreeing for the applicant to add a fence between it and the nearby church.

County Manager Paige Dukes in her

report
said the county was only doing their river cleanup because it is required
by the county’s stormwater permit, so it’s a checkbox they are checking.
Also, she was asking Public Works to have the county’s litter crew
stand down beforehand, so volunteers would have something to pick up
at the boat ramps.

Two citizens spoke,

Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman
proposing a grant application about water quality,
and

Matthew and Debra Williams of Bethany Drive
back again after a year about a county drainage easement draining onto their property.

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

Videos: Rezonings, pictometry, lift station @ LCC 2022-10-10

Update 2022-10-31:
Videos: Leadership Lowndes, Rezonings, Lift Station, Pictometry, SDS, Suwannee Riverkeeper, Bethany Drive @ LCC 2022-10-11.

An executive session involving the fire chief and an extra attorney
was the most unusual thing at the Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission
on October 10, 2022.

Collage @ LCC 2022-10-10

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item,
with a few notes,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.
See also
the agenda and board packet,
and the

LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission meeting. Continue reading →

Videos: FY24 5311, USGS, Code Red, Disaster, Hazard, Facilities, TIA, FY23 Law, SDS, Exit 13 @ LCC 2022-10-25

Everything passed unanimously at the Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission on Tuesday, October 27, 2022.
There were a few questions, but nothing contentious.

Collage @ LCC 2022-10-25

Chairman Bill Slaughter said Valdosta had supplied all the needed signatures
from the City of Valdosta for the Service Delivery Agreement,
although two of the smaller cities (unnamed) still needed to sign.
City Manager Paige Dukes whispered to the Chairman that
Valdosta City Council Andy Gibbs was in the room,
and the Chairman thanked him.

The County Manager in her Report said Finance Director Stephanie Black had finished the “budget report” and it is on the county’s website for use by Commission, staff, and citizens.
She didn’t say where, but I’m guessing she meant the

Operating Budget, Fiscal Year 2023.
She also said the county is going to update its noise ordinance
to “get in line with citizens’ expectations”.
On
November 7th at 4-7 PM there wil be an Internet session with Windstream.

Rachel Thrasher said the county’s new videos have gotten 6,000 views in six weeks.
She didn’t say where. But here’s one, on facebook, about golf cart accidents.

Robert Tracy proposed a special session of the Commission
that citizens could attend, about property taxes.
Apparently as the Tax Assessors catch up with a many-year backlog of appraisals,
there have been some sudden rises in appraisals.

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

Continue reading →

Videos: River Gauges, Lift Station, Disaster Relief, Hazards, Facilities, TIA, Service Delivery @ LCC 2022-10-24

Most items sailed through this morning’s Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission.
They vote tomorrow, Tuesday evening, at 5:30 PM.

The county continues to be unhappy with the City of Valdosta about the

Service Delivery Agreement.

Chairman Bill Slaughter asked to have the

Patrol Car Laptop Lease tabled for further clarification.

River Gauges, Hazard Mitigation, Facilities, Service Delivery, Lift Station, Reports @ LCC 2022-09-24

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes by Gretchen,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.
See also the
agenda and board packet. Continue reading →

Videos: Many rezonings, some contentious @ GLPC 2022-09-26

Update 2022-10-31:

Packet: Two rezonings, Pictometry, Lift Station quit claim, Val Del Estates subdivision infrastructure 2022-10-10

Actually, not contentious: the planners and applicants spoke for a long time.
Nobody spoke against the rezoning requests, and the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) voted unanimously to recommend approval of all of them,
last month on September 26, 2022.

Four of many rezonings @ GLPC 2022-09-26

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

the agenda and board packet. Continue reading →

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange