Tag Archives: Newsome Road

Packet: Airport, Aging, Community Service Board Appointments, $1,677,028.92 LMIG funds from GDOT @ LCC 2025-05-27

The board packet for the Tuesday Work and Regular Sessions of the Lowndes County Commission, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website.

[Packet: Airport, Aging, Service, Board Appointments @ LCC 2025-05-27, $1,677,028.92 LRA funds via GDOT LMIG, Public Works mini-excavator bid]
Packet: Airport, Aging, Service, Board Appointments @ LCC 2025-05-27, $1,677,028.92 LRA funds via GDOT LMIG, Public Works mini-excavator bid

Images of each page of the packet are below.

See also the LAKE videos of the Tuesday evening Regular Session, the LAKE videos of the same morning’s Work Session and the agenda.

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Videos: Airport, Aging, Community Service Board Appointments, $1,677,028.92 LMIG funds from GDOT @ LCC Regular 2025-05-27

Commissioner Joyce Evans was absent at both the morning’s Work Session and the evening’s Regular Session, but they appointed her to two boards anyway.

At the Tuesday evening Regular Session, the Lowndes County Commission approved everything unanimously, including appointing Jeff Sykes to the Airport Authority, and “Miss Evans” to the Aging and Community Services Boards.

County Manager Paige Dukes said the opening on the Community Services Board was because Chairman Bill Slaughter had been appointed to a statewise board, and thus could not continue to serve on a local board.

[Collage @ LCC Regular 27 May 2025]
Collage @ LCC Regular 27 May 2025

Director of Engineering Services Chad McLeod clarified which parts of which roads would be resurfaced if the county gets the GDOT LRA funds.

Finance Director Stephanie Black said it’s a mid-size excavator that Public Works wants, following up from discussion in the Work Session.

County Manager Paige Dukes said Val Del Road work began at North Valdosta Road that day (yesterday) and there’s a county facebook page about it. She indicated a meeting with FEMA and a need to deal with less federal funds and more local preparedness. She also talked about SPLOST IX, the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the civic center, and emergency operations, rattling off a string of dates. Seems like she could provide a written report if she expects people to remember those dates. She did say the bicentennial dates would be updated on the county’s website, although I cannot find them there.

Commissioner Demarcus Marshall Scottie Orenstein wanted to know if there was any update on the animal shelter. Chad McLeod said the RFP was 90% approved.

There were no Citizens Wishing to Be Heard.

Below are LAKE videos of each agenda item, with a few notes by John S. Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist. There are some one-second gaps between videos, because I was using my phone, which does not cycle off and on quickly enough. Plus one towards the beginning of the Minutes item, because I accidentally bumped it off and had to turn it back on.

See also the Continue reading

Videos: Airport, Aging, Community Service Board Appointments, $1,677,028.92 LMIG funds from GDOT @ LCC Work 2025-05-27

Update 2025-05-28: Videos: Airport, Aging, Community Service Board Appointments, $1,677,028.92 LMIG funds from GDOT @ LCC Regular 2025-05-27.

They vote this evening at 5:30 PM in their Regular Session.

Here are LAKE videos of this morning’s Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission. Both the Work and Regular Sessions are being held today, because the Lowndes County Commission observed the Memorial Day holiday yesterday.

[Collage @ LCC 27 May 2025]
Collage @ LCC 27 May 2025

The Commissioners discussed several items, including more than four minutes on 6.b. Updated Debris Removal Contract Pricing with Ashbritt and about three minutes each on 6.a. 2025 Local Road Assistance (LRA) Administration Funds Application and 7.a. Bid for Mini Excavator for Public Works.

Plus there was a staff presentation in 8. Reports – County Manager – 10. Adjournment and County Manager Paige Dukes called for an executive session to discuss real estate.

Below are Continue reading

Agenda: Airport, Aging, Community Service Board Appointments, $1,677,028.92 LMIG funds from GDOT @ LCC 2025-05-27

Update 2025-05-27: Videos: Airport, Aging, Community Service Board Appointments, $1,677,028.92 LMIG funds from GDOT @ LCC Work 2025-05-27.

Both the Work and Regular Sessions will be held Tuesday, because the Lowndes County Commission is observing the Memorial Day holiday today. On the agenda is one more than million-dollar income item, and a couple of outgos, plus three board appointments.

Ben Hogan has also applied, but Jeff Sikes will probably be reappointed to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Airport Authority.

Commissioner Joyce Evans will probably be reappointed to the Southern Georgia Area Agency on Aging and appointed to the South Georgia Community Service Board; nobody else has applied for either board.

[Agenda: Collage @ LCC 2025-05-27]
Agenda: Collage @ LCC 2025-05-27

The county got one bid that met specifications for the Mini Excavator for Public Works: $171,543 by Yancey Bros.

The big dollar item is income to the county: 6.a. 2025 Local Road Assistance (LRA) Administration Funds Application

HISTORY, FACTS AND ISSUES: The Georgia Department of Transportation announced that the Governor and the Legislature included the LRA in the amended fiscal year 2025 budget. The Local Road Assistance (LRA) funds will be distributed using the Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) Application System and will require no matching funds. The fiscal year 2025 LRA formula amount for Lowndes County is $1,677,028.92.

If approved, the LRA funds will be used for the following roads:

  • Newsome Road – 1.76 miles
  • Radar Site Road – 1.82 miles
  • Coffee Road – 1.43 miles
  • Hemby Lane – 0.15 miles
  • Webb Road N. – 1.78 miles

No dollar figure is given for the 1.9% increase on the Updated Debris Removal Contract Pricing with Ashbritt after Hurricane Helene.

Here is the agenda.

We do not have the board packet yet, because Continue reading

Videos: Turnberry, Branham, Peterson Road Lift Station, and Commissioner Comments @ LCC 2016-12-13

24 minutes on REZ-2016-19 Turnberry at Thompson E-A to R-21 which changed to R-1 at the last minute, 14 minutes on Bill Branham’s REZ-2016-23 Copeland Road development, 4 on REZ-2016-24 Martin< 3 on REZ-2016-25 Cain’s Creekside RV Park, and 3 on the Peterson Road Lift Station Rehab, plus almost 5 minutes of Chairman and Commission Comments! Real discussion and revealing their opinions in public? What’s gotten into them? Did they see in advance the VDT’s Sunlight on the horizon?

Yet the Chairman said nobody could ask the audience to stand up on REZ-2016-19 Turnberry at Thompson and while they were waiting for the room to clear before the next item could start, Continue reading

Videos: Health appointment, 7 rezonings, abandonment, Soil Erosion, Wastewater, and alcohol @ LCC 2016-12-12

Bill Branham’s Copeland Road development got six minutes of discussion, the longest in yesterday morning’s Work Session, with others of the seven rezonings also getting discussion, plus, surprisingly, the proposed VOCA grant, because the outgoing DA spoke. They vote tonight at 5:30 PM. I would like to compliment the Commissioners on asking questions and having discussion in the Work Session. Even ever-silent Joyce Evans spoke up about the MIDS on-call bus system grant re-application.

They’re going to reappoint Dr. Randy Smith to the Board of Health. Chairman Bill Slaughter said: “Inside your packets you have a letter from Dr. Grove supporting Dr. Smith.”

But we the citizens, taxpayers, and recipients of health care didn’t get to see that letter. The Chairman went on to recommend Dr. Smith, and I thank him for making that recommendation in public where we could all see and hear it. Dr. Smith is probably a fine board member: that’s not the point. The point is if the public could see these things they might have useful input, not to mention it’s the public’s business the Commission is doing. Similarly Commissioners had a quarterly financial report “before you”, but the public couldn’t see it. If tiny Effingham County can publish its County Commission packets, mighty Lowndes County could to it, too.

Below are links to each of the LAKE videos, with Continue reading

Videos: 7 county cases, 2 city rezonings, an LDR and a CUP @ GLPC 2016-11-28

Seven of these eleven cases are on the Lowndes County Commission agenda this morning after being heard by the Planning Commission two weeks ago.

One item took almost an hour: REZ-2016-19 Turnberry at Thompson Old US41N/Thompson @ GLPC. Two others took almost half an hour each: REZ-2016-24 Martin – 3824 Newsome Road @ GLPC and REZ-2016-23 Branham Project, which was back again from last year and finally passed this time, 6-2. Those were the last of the Lowndes County cases, after which most of the crowd exited the packed house. At the end of the meeting they re-elected their same officers.

Here are links to each LAKE video of the items, in the order Continue reading

Health appointment, 7 rezonings, abandonment, Soil Erosion, Wastewater, and alcohol @ LCC 2016-12-12

Longest agenda in recent memory, for this morning’s Work Session and tomorrow evening’s Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

For the rezonings, see also the LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission meeting. For the abandonment of unopened right of way on Avenue I, see the LAKE videos of last month’s Lowndes County Commission meeting.

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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!

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2016, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2016, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

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7 county cases, 2 city rezonings, an LDR and a CUP @ GLPC 2016-11-28

Eleven cases on the busiest the agenda for the Planning Commission in a long time, with a packed house, plus election of Chair and Vice Chair.

Panorama

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