Gretchen reports from Macon that Lowndes County Commissioner Clay Griner (District 5), Paige Dukes (County Clerk), Joyce Evans (District 1), Scott Orenstein (District 2-elect), and Valdosta City Clerk Theresa Bolden (not pictured)
are all at the
VDT Open Government Symposium in Macon.
Congratulations, Jim Zachary and the VDT, on getting them to show up! Continue reading
Tag Archives: Paige Dukes
When are the two Budget Public Hearings? –John S. Quarterman @ LCC 2014-05-27
We can’t see the draft budget before the Public Hearings, said the Chairman, answering my question after the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session of 27 May 2014.
Video. After congratulating the Chairman on recognizing the poll workers, Crawford Powell for recusing himself on an appointment of himself, and the Commission for the recent Budget Sessions, I asked:
- When are the two Public Hearings required by state law before adoption of the budget?
- When is the second Budget Session mentioned in the Budget Session held earlier that same day?
- Where is the draft budget on the county’s website so the public can see it before the public hearings?
Chairman Bill Slaughter’s answers to me after the meeting adjourned: Continue reading
Secret meeting of Lowndes County Commission and state reps @ LCC 2013-12-20
The VDT report doesn’t say when or where, and doesn’t say whether
Dexter Sharper (District 177) wasn’t invited or chose not to attend.
There’s nothing about this meeting in the online agendas or calendar, even though that calendar lists Pictures with Santa at the Historical Courthouse (12/19/2013).
There is this undated public notice with no agenda:
The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners will meet with members of Lowndes County’s Legislative Delegation on Friday, December 20, 2013, at 4:00 p.m. in the Commissioner’s Conference Room located on the 3rd floor of the Judicial-Administrative Complex, 327 North Ashley Street, Valdosta, Georgia.
K. Paige Dukes, County Clerk
pdukes@lowndescounty.com 229-671-2400
Matthew Woody wrote for the VDT 22 December 2013,
Commissioners host local delegation,
oddly omitting the when and where and much of the why from
the traditional
who, what, when, where, and why of journalism.
The Lowndes County Commission hosted Continue reading
Transparency not a problem –Bill Slaughter @ VLMPO 2013-10-23
Defining away another problem,
like he already did
Internet access,
Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter
said:
I can’t honestly just buy into the real problem of transparency in this community.
This was after numerous people in the room at the
VLMPO Open House on Common Community Vision at Mildred Hunter 23 October 2013
expressed concerns about needs to
video local government meetings and put them online,
and to make various processes more open.
Regarding videoing, Slaughter trotted out former Valdosta Mayor John Fretti’s old chestnut about allegedly in cities where meetings are televised citizens grandstand and the meetings drag on forever. Nevermind that there are numerous ways to do it, such as putting videos on the web and not simulcasting, and in places like Tallahassee that do both not many citizens usually show up. The people I’ve seen grandstanding consistently at local government meetings around here are Continue reading
No contract and no bids for County Attorney, yet 20% raise to $300,000
In response to (a second) open records request, County Clerk Paige Dukes
stated in writing that Lowndes County does not have a contract with the person
referred to in numerous minutes as “County Attorney”, and that
no bids have been entertained for legal services for the county.
According to the budget documents the Clerk referred to,
the county raised the County Attorney’s budget 20% to $300,000 for 2013.
Illustrations below (some with links) were added by me. -jsq
From: pdukes@lowndescounty.com
To: b-ahuntley@hotmail.com
CC: asmith@lowndescounty.com; JPritchard@lowndescounty.com; bswaller@bellsouth.net
Subject: Open Records Request
Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 13:22:08 +0000Good Morning Mrs. Huntley,
In response to your open records request Continue reading
Cancelled: Lowndes County Commission meetings @ LCC 2013-09-24
According to the county’s website:
Lowndes County Commission Meeting Cancelled (9/24/2013)
PUBLIC NOTICE
COMMISSION MEETING CANCELLED
Due to the lack of agenda items requiring immediate action, the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners Work Session on Monday, September 23, and Regular Session on Tuesday, September 24, 2013 have been cancelled.
For questions please call County Clerk, Paige Dukes, at 229-671-2400.
Lowndes County Board of Commissioners
327 N. Ashley St – Commission Chambers, 2nd Floor
Administration Building
Valdosta, GA
5:30 p.m.
VDT starts to catch up about pipeline
Spectra used
Dougherty County Commissioner Ewell Lyle’s question
in answer the Valdosta Daily Times about that natural gas pipeline
from Alabama to Florida.
And notice how they’re saying Tallapoosa County, Alabama now, and not
mentioning
PCB-polluted Anniston, Alabama as the source of the pipeline?
The VDT map conveniently clips Alabama completely out of the picture.
How about we clip Georgia out of the pipeline and install solar power instead?
Matthew Woody wrote on the front page of the VDT today, Pipeline intersects area: Sabal Trail project runs from Alabama to Florida,
Andrea Grover, Public Affairs Representative from Spectra Energy, said that initially the pipe was going to be a closed system, but Spectra Energy decided to turn the pipe into an “open access pipe,” meaning that any area along the pipe could potentially tap into the system to either receive gas from or supply gas to the pipeline. Describing the pipeline as a highway, Grover said it will have on-ramps and off-ramps. They provide the transportation of the gas, and once the pipe is in service, communities are encouraged to work with Sabal.
Dougherty County Commissioner Ewell Lyle suggested letting locals tap it less than a week ago.
Note that weasel word: “potentially”. I could “potentially” tap into the two (2) pipelines that cross my property, but decades they’ve been there and that’s never happened.
When asked about the benefits of the pipe, Grover stated, Continue reading
Tipping fees vs. host fees from Veolia
What is this contract involving tipping fees that Lowndes County declined to produce a copy of? How can it be “adequately maintained in the future”, as former Commissioner Lee put it, if the county doesn’t know what it is?
The minutes for the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners Work Session 11 October 2010 say:
Resolution-Proposed Amendment-March 2007 Greater Lowndes Solid Waste Management Plan, County Planner, Jason Davenport, presented the resolution, adding that the amendment was drafted due to a proposed expansion and reconfiguration of the Evergreen landfill. Mr. Davenport added that the amendment had been reviewed by staff, the Regional Commission and the Deep South Solid Waste Authority. Mr. Davenport further stated that Mr. A.J. Rodgers, ofVeolia Environmental Services, was present to answer any questions the Commission might have regarding the project. Commissioner Lee stated that he was concerned that the contractual relationship that has been in place for quite some time be accurately reflected and adequately maintained in the future. Commissioner Lee then asked Mr. Rodgers if a new cell had been created yet. Mr. Rodgers answered that construction had begun in a cell that had already been approved.
Veolia spelled his name [Andrew] AJ Rogers and identified him as “area manager for Veolia ES Solid Waste Southeast, Inc.” in a 22 March 2011 press release.
But what is this “contractual relationship”? According to a letter from Walter G. Elliott, Lowndes County Attorney, Continue reading
Lowndes County says it doesn’t know who’s on a board to which it appoints members
If you were a county government appointing members to an Authority, wouldn’t you know who the other members were, and what that Authority does? Lowndes County doesn’t seem to know those things about Deep South Solid Waste Authority (SWA).
Here’s the open records request from Brett Huntley of 7 June 2013:
Deep South Solid Waste Authority (SWA)
– List of members of the board, officers, and staff of SWA, who appointed each, and their terms of office
– Charter, bylaws, resolutions, and any other SWA organizational documents
– Agendas and Minutes for the past five years for SWA, and future meeting schedule
Please provide as much in electronic form as possible.
And here’s the response from Paige Dukes 12 June 2013:
This is the same SWA for which the county’s adopted GREATER LOWNDES 2030 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN SHORT TERM WORK PROGRAM (STWP) FY 2012 -2016 says:
4.3.1 –Maintain involvement and membership on Deep South Solid Waste Authority (SWA).
Our county government doesn’t know what this SWA is that it’s a member of?
-jsq
Now with sound! @ LCC 2013-06-10
After the soundless 10 June 2013 Lowndes County Commission Work Session, Gretchen requested, County Clerk Paige Dukes promised and a few days later delivered, sound recordings on CDs of both that meeting and the next day’s Regular Session. LAKE thanks the County Clerk for those recordings. Gretchen has integrated the county sound with the LAKE video recordings and I have updated the Work Session blog post. But what about state open records law?
These CDs demonstrate the county does make recordings of the Commission meetings, at least of sound. The County Clerk told Gretchen the recordings are erased after the Clerk is finished with them. Hm, since such recordings are records of public meetings, wouldn’t that make them public open records? And if they are, wouldn’t destroying them be illegal?
According to state law on the GA Secretary of State’s website:
Continue reading