Tag Archives: Military

Updated Packet for Moody Activitiy Zones (MAZ) @ GLPC Work 2015-11-23

Details of massive revisions to the proposal for changes to the Moody Activity Zoning Districts, sent by County Planner Jason Davenport to the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) and the Lowndes County Commissioners on 11 November 2015, in advance of the GLPC’s 23 November 2015 Work Session and 30 November 2015 Regular Session. He copied LAKE due to an open records request from Gretchen Quarterman. The whole thing is on the LAKE website.

Especially interesting are two slides apparently intended to finally the question on everyone’s mind of which developers are these changes for?

Why are we here?

  • To improve the MAZ Regulations
  • 2012 Rezoning Case & Text Amendment
  • County Leadership (Direction)(lnitial Goal June 2015)
  • County Planner (Implementation and Support)
  • Response to Continue reading →

Videos: Moody MAZ text amendments to ULDC back again @ LCC 2015-10-26

After the County Commission Work Session shown in these LAKE videos, the Planning Commission met Monday evening, and this evening (Tuesday 5:30PM) the County Commission votes, but will table the ULDC amendments.

In addition to all the other items on the agenda and mentioned in the previous post, they went into an Executive Session about Pending Litigation. Who are they suing now? Or who’s still suing them about for example James Road?

Here are links to the LAKE videos of yesterday morning’s meeting, followed by a video playlist.

Moody MAZ text amendments to ULDC back again @ LCC Regular 2015-10-26

The Planning Commission meets Monday evening to consider those ULDC amendments, MAZ-ULDC-text-amendments-001 so county staff will recommend to the County Commission at their Monday 8:30 AM Work Session that they table the MAZ text changes at their Regular Session Tuesday 5:30 PM evening. Meanwhile, the Air Force wants to maintain the road rights of way for Davidson Road and along Grassy Pond. And the Land Bank Authority wants to appoint some more members, acording to “the attached resolution” which of course we the taxpayers aren’t allowed to see without an open records request.

Elected Probate Judge McDowell can appoint a part-time associate judge, but she needs the county commission to approve funding the salary. The DA wants to continue a Victims of Crime Act Victims Service grant.

Annual renewal of health care service provider and Section 125 Plan Document.

Two more Lift Station (sewage) pumps, at Val-Tech new for $20,076.42 and at Whitewater repairs for $13,353.65.

Finally, bids for Disaster Related Debris Removal Proposals required by FEMA, plus the usual beer, wine, and liquor licenses.

All that in Continue reading →

Kings Bay Submarine Base Solar Groundbreaking Tomorrow

Yay Georgia Power! With Gulf Power in Florida and following along. How long until even FPL flips from fossil fuels to the sun?

Kevin McCaney, 25 August 2015, Navy makes largest federal purchase of solar power,

Fourteen Navy installations in California will get as much as a third of their power from solar energy, following the Navy’s agreement to make the largest purchase of renewable energy of any federal entity, an agreement that calls for the construction of a 210-megawatt direct-current solar facility….

With the Mesquite project, last month’s groundbreaking on a 17-megawatt project at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and an upcoming groundbreaking on a 42-megawatt project at Kings Bay, Ga., the Navy is on track to have 1.2 gigawatts of solar power….

A usually reliable source says groundbreaking is tomorrow for Kings Bay Solar.

-jsq

Videos: Moody Family Housing doesn’t want to replace trees it cut down on Val-Del @ ZBOA 2015-08-04

They meet again today 2:30 PM.

Last month, ZBOA voted 5 to 1 to let Moody Family Housing have a reduction of 25% (half of the 50% they wanted) so as to include a requirement of native trees. Gretchen Quarterman made the motion, Paul Alvarado seconded, and Satrina Plyler (filling the unexpired term of Scott Orenstein) voted against.

See for more background.

Here’s a video playlist:


Videos: Moody Family Housing doesn’t want to replace trees it cut down on Val-Del
Regular Session, Valdosta-Lowndes County Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBOA),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 4 August 2015.

-jsq

Solar power for military bases in Florida: Gulf Power, a Southern Company

Southern Company solar farms at military bases are not just for Georgia anymore; SO subsidiary Gulf Power is building more and bigger ones in Florida.

Gulf Power, Solar Energy Farms,

Gulf Power is partnering with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force to build solar energy farms at three different facilities across Northwest Florida. The projects could be in service as early as December 2016.

“This is an important collaboration between Gulf Power, the Navy and the Air Force,” said Stan Connally, Gulf Power president and CEO. “As military installations seek solutions to promote renewable energy generation, we have worked alongside our military customers to help provide cost-effective solutions — and all our customers will reap the benefit.”

HelioSage and Gulf Power, PRNewsWire, 22 January 2015, HelioSage & Gulf Power Announce 120 Megawatts of Solar in Florida: Landmark projects will span three sites through partnership with Navy and Air Force, Continue reading →

Moody Family Housing doesn’t want to replace trees it cut down on Val-Del @ ZBOA 2015-08-04

2:30 PM today, should developers not have to follow code and put back trees on the unnecessary and environmentally hazardous Moody Family Housing on Val-Del Road? You wouldn’t know who this was by a pretty name like Azalea Commons, or an acronym like ACC Group III Housing, and only the board packet mentions Balfour Beatty, but it’s the same Moody Family Housing in an aquifer recharge zone that already had a sinkhole as admitted by a K Street lawyer to the Lowndes County Commission and told to them and to the Air Force by VSU professors that the Air Force proceeded to ignore in its environmental assessment and the Lowndes County Commission rezoned anyway. Staff recommend 20% “relief” from planting trees. How about the county get some relief from unnecessary sprawl?

They did provide a table of the trees they want to cut down.

Here’s the agenda, which is not on the City of Valdosta website, appearing here courtesy of Continue reading →

Videos: MAZ tabled, Naylor Boat Ramp and Sabal Trail CWTBH @ LCC 2015-07-28

The proposed MAZ changes were tabled for 90 days, they approved everything else, and welcomed new Utilities Director Steve Stalvey again, at the 5:30 PM Tuesday 28 July 2015 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission. Valdosta City Council Sandra Tooley didn’t fill out a form and so didn’t get to speak, but another citizen asked about the Naylor Boat Ramp (answer after the meeting: on schedule for this fall) and about Sabal Trail (answer: none).

See also Continue reading →

Videos: MAZ tabled + 2 small rezonings @ GLPC 2015-07-27

Once County Planner Jason Davenport admitted the MAZ ULDC text amendments weren’t ready (as he had indicated might happen at the same morning’s County Commission Work Session), and the Planning Commission recommended tabling it 4:1, the meeting was very brief, even with the SGRC Transportation presentation (which they weirdly heard after adjourning the meeting, even though it was on the agenda). The David Brown Melody Lane rezoning and the Ron Borders Bemiss Road rezoning flew through to 5:0 unanimous recommendations, with three Planning Commissioners absent.

The county rezoning isn’t on the County Commission agenda yet, and they will probably table the ULDC MAZ item at its meeting 5:30 PM tonight.

See the Continue reading →

Videos: MAZ again, Lake Alapaha, Emergencies, but no Sabal Trail @ LCC 2015-07-27

300x297 Parcel 0181 001, in Davidson Road, by John S. Quarterman, 27 July 2015 The proposed MAZ changes have “absolutely nothing to do with” the 23 acres on Davidson Road that were proposed to be rezoned R-21 back in 2010, after the county paved Davidson Road, said County Chairman Bill Slaughter at yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session. County Planner Jason Davenport said he had hoped to get “on the same page with Moody” before that same evening’s Planning Commission meeting for the MAZ ULDC Text Amendments, but as yet he had nothing to report, and tabling was an option. I don’t think that word “ultimately” means what he thinks it does. See more below about Davidson Road.

Not on the agenda were three, no four, reports:

Like the MAZ changes, also requiring a public hearing Tuesday evening is Continue reading →