Tag Archives: Michael Noll

SAVE fossil fuel divestment on Spectator front page twice in two weeks

Winning PR by losing initial decisions:
SAVE‘s doing it right.

Will Lewis write for The Spectator yesterday,

SAVE fails to persuade Foundation,

“Compliance with your well-intentioned request is impractical
for a number of reasons and perhaps even a breach of the fiduciary
responsibility that all of our trustees take very seriously,”
the refusal read.

Here’s
SAVE’s request,
and here’s SAVE’s president’s comment:

Danielle Jordan, senior anthropology major and president of SAVE,
said, “There’s a lot of disappointment but we are not going to
stop, we don’t see this as the end of our campaign. It lets us know
where we stand with the Board of Trustees.”

The VSU Foundation’s Investment Objectives in the

Investment Policy and Guidelines
states that “Foundation funds should be
invested to produce maximum total return consistent with prudent
risk limits.”

On the other hand, the

VSU Trustee Handbook
says the Mission Statement of the VSU Foundation is: Continue reading →

Moody can’t get onto site for Moody Family Housing –Michael Noll @ LCC 2013-08-27

Dr. Michael G. Noll of VSU said representatives of
Moody Air Force Base for the second time could not
get permission to go on the site for the Moody Family Housing
the Commission

approved rezoning for two weeks before,
at

the 27 August 2013 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

He also handed the Commission and interested parties copies of

a public comment
he and VSU professors Don Thieme and Can Denizman
had sent to USAF.

Plus the developer still refused to
provide a copy of
the geotechnical report

the Air Force’s Environmental Assessment
says the developer is required to send to the Air Force.

If there is nothing to hide,
if there are no problems with possible developments of the area,
why not share the report?

Two different people report seeing Commissioner Richard Raines
catch Dr. Noll on the way out of the building and ask him
what would be involved in doing the geophysical survey Dr. Noll
has

repeatedly asked to do.

Importance of transparency, due diligence, and communication –Michael G. Noll @ LCC 2013-08-27

Received yesterday on

VSU professors write to USAF consultant about Moody Family Housing @ LCC 2013-08-27. -jsq

Thanks for posting this John.

One should note that the VDT was absent at

the LCBOC meeting on
August 13, when the

county commissioners approved the rezoning
request. This approval came after

we presented our concerns and
before

the period given by AFCEC for public comments
in regard to the

Environmental Assessment (EA) expired. No mention in the VDT on
August 14 about any of it, since no VDT reporter was present.

In regard to the EA and the possibilities to submit comments, it
should also be noted that

the phone number listed in the public announcement was incorrect.
Thus, any attempts to contact Mr. Allen
Richmond, the AFCEC representative, with this published phone number
were unsuccessful. We eventually received the correct phone number
with the help of Moody AFB personnel. While we were able to speak
once with Mr. Richmond and establish email contact, his ability (or
willingness?) to communicate was limited.

Moreover, we asked Mr. Allen Richmond on August 12 if we Continue reading →

VSU professors write to USAF consultant about Moody Family Housing @ LCC 2013-08-27

Presented to the Lowndes County Commission yesterday
by Dr. Noll; video to come. I’ve added a few links and illustrations. -jsq

AFCEC/CZN

2261 Hughes Ave.

Lackland AFB

TX 78236-9853
ATTN: Mr. Allan Richmond

Thursday, August 15, 2013

PUBLIC COMMENT_

RE: Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI), Moody
AFB, Georgia

This letter is written in response to the

Environmental Assessment (EA)
of the

proposed Military Housing Privatization Initiative
(MHPI) northwest of Valdosta, Georgia, on Val Del Road (also
referred to as the “Val Del parcel”).

After a careful analysis of the report, we have come to the
conclusion that the current EA of the proposed site for military
family housing

does not address a number of

potential issues
commonly found in areas of karst topography. Such areas display
unique geophysical conditions, including the presence of sinkholes
and the potential for future sinkhole formation, as well as
geohydrological conditions that need to be studied more carefully
and in a larger geographical context than currently given in the EA.

Without a more thorough environmental analysis and planning of the
construction phases, the danger exists Continue reading →

Ground-penetrating radar and karst topography –Michael Noll @ LCC 2013-08-13

Yes, we can look under the ground at the Moody Family Housing site,
and it won’t take very long,
said a VSU professor
at the

13 August 2013 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

Dr. Michael Noll further answered

Commisioner Richard Raines’ previous question
as to what Dr. Noll was offering
regarding REZ-2013-09 Moody Family Housing
by saying

VSU does have ground-penetrating radar equipment on campus,
and a survey would take only a few weeks.
Here’s

an example of VSU work using that equipment.

Here’s

the video:

Ground-penetrating radar and karst topography –Michael Noll

Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),

Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 13 August 2013.

-jsq

Florida sinkholes spreading real estate effects in same Aquifer as under Lowndes County

Florida real estate effects of sinkholes in the same Floridan Aquifer
that underlies Lowndes County
would be worth looking at
before rushing to build Moody Housing around a sinkhole on Val Del Road.
It’s not just the sinkhole that may widen, it’s housing prices that may drop.

Diana Olick wrote for CNBC 15 August 2013,

Overdevelopment widens Florida sinkhole problem,

DAVID MANNING / Reuters

A section of the Summer Bay Resort lies collapsed after a large sinkhole opened on the property’s grounds in Clermont, Fla. on Aug. 12.

Sinkholes may be as old as the earth itself, but the increase in
sinkhole activity is new. The rush to reason why has put scientists,
engineers and real estate developers at odds.

Some geological experts believe the sinkhole activity is increasing
because developers are pumping more water out of the ground for new
projects or for agricultural use. While acid in the water itself is
what causes the limestone under much of Florida to dissipate and
create the holes, the water also acts as a support. Add water from
heavy rains on the top soil, and you’ve got a bigger problem.

It is even beginning to weigh on the recovering real estate market
in Florida.

Recent sinkholes of note in Lowndes County include: Continue reading →

USAF Environmental Assessment for Moody Housing on Val Del Road (REZ-2013-09) @ LCC 2013-08-13

No geotechnical study was seen from the developer before
drawing the sinkhole buffers shown in the

the Air Force Draft Environmental Assessment
for

the proposed Moody Housing on Val Del Road,
just rezoned as

REZ-2013-09, PDF
courtesy of Prof. Michael Noll of VSU.
You can see sinkholes and wetlands in its maps:

Most of the site area, including all of the Phase I area subject of REZ-2013-09,
is colored for

medium wetland habitat quality: Continue reading →

Geotechnical conditions and maybe sinkholes –Michael Noll @ LCC 2013-08-13

A VSU professor
said he was in favor of the economic benefits,
but geotechnical issues should determine whether

the new Moody Housing on Val Del Road
(REZ-2013-09)
should be built, and those were still unclear,
at

the 13 August 2013 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

Dr. Michael Noll of VSU
said he was speaking because he had been referred to by previous speakers
(Jason Davenport
and
Tom Kurrie), and he was neither for nor against
REZ-2013-09.
Dr. Noll’s neither-in-favor-nor-against position seemed to puzzle
County Engineer Mike Fletcher.
Noll said he and his colleagues had looked at

the Environmental Assessment (EA)
which has been available at the public library
and concluded that they had a number of questions they’d like answered,
and he was sure the developers had similar concerns for safety of the project.

Dr. Noll
said they’d been trying to get a copy of the geotechnical analysis Continue reading →

Phase II of Moody Family Housing already has a sinkhole –Tom Kurrie @ LCC 2013-08-13

Tom Kurrie said Phase I has a structural issue and Phase II of
the proposed Moody Housing has a sinkhole,
at

the 13 August 2013 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

Tom Kurrie spoke for
the rezoning for Phase I,

REZ-2013-09,
first giving something unknown to the County Clerk,
and then saying:

Bill Holland and I are the applicants,
we represent the owner of the property, the Howard Dasher Company,
as well as the developers of the property, Balfour Beatty Communities.

The ubiquitous Bill Holland had spoken the previous morning

in the Work Session.

This time, Kurrie
said the project had been in the makings for over two years.
(Funny how the county didn’t tell us about it until they were ready
to rush it through.)
He said it was for “prestige housing” for base personnel.
He said it was unusual in being 8 miles west of Moody AFB.
He introduced Ron Nestor, Senior Vice President of Balfour Beatty,
and said it was a public-private partnership.
And use would be restricted to Air Force personnel.
We’d already heard about such restrictions at

the Planning Commission.
He said it would be a “gated community”.
We’ll see if that actually happens this time, unlike at
Nelson Hill just up Val Del Road;
you can see both locations on this map:

Kurrie also mentioned professor Noll and geotechnical issues such
as sinkholes, Continue reading →

Sinkholes at proposed Moody Family Housing? –Jason Davenport @ LCC 2013-08-13

County Planner Jason Davenport said he had heard concerns there could be
sinkholes under the proposed new military housing on Val Del Road,
but he recommended approval anyway,
at

the 13 August 2013 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

6.a.

REZ-2013-09 Moody Housing, Val Del Rd R-1 to Residential PD, LC Water & Sewer, ~64 acres

See

Work Session video
for context.

This time, County Planner Jason Davenport said “we have an updated copy on the screen” of the site plan.
He mentioned:

…there has been some communications between the applicant’s
agents and really professor Noll and possibly some other
colleagues at VSU about some of the geotechnical aspects of this site plan
I believe they might speak on the soils and possibly the

karst features
in this area or the sinkholes or potential for that.

Pictured here is the older site plan,
because County Clerk still hadn’t responded to Gretchen’s
Open Records Request of the previous morning.
State law says the county can take three days to respond,
which is great for developers, but not so good for the public.