New program for the public to learn about Lowndes County government.
In his County Manager report, Joe Pritchard announced the first
first lunch and learn, which will be a discussion of general government,
noon ’til 1PM, 11 August 2011,
second floor of administrative complex.
“The lunch and learn program will take
various topics,
and allow the public to
meet for an hour,
ask questions,
interact on those particular topics.”
County Clerk Paige Dukes will be conducting this first meeting.
April Duncan was named 2011 Employee of the Year for the State of Georgia
by the
American Public Works Association, and acknowledged by
her employers, the Lowndes County Commission.
She was nominated by Public Works Director, Robin English, who reads the nomination in this video.
Continue reading →
Newsflash: Lowndes County Commission does right thing about rezoning!
Commissioner Raines expressed puzzlement as to what to do
about rezoning for Nottinghill on Cat Creek since he thought
the previous day that there was a deal between
the developer
and the neighbors, but it turned out
there was not.
Commissioner Powell recommended tabling until next meeting so the
developer and the neighbors could try again to work something out.
Speaking for the Nottinghill rezoning request on Cat Creek Road,
Bill Nijem said it was nothing like
Glen Laurel.
Nothing like repudiating your work of last year….
Commissioner Richard Raines thanked Nijem for sitting down with the
neighbors.
Bill Nijem, representative of the applicant, brought forward information
demonstrating his client’s willingness to work with neighbors, in
that lot sizes were increased by 20 percent and that the average lot
size would range from a minimum of 12,000 square feet to 20,000 square
feet. Nijem also reminded commissioners that the applicant was willing to
install any necessary buffers or fences to prevent children from playing
in the neighboring fields and would have water and sewer installed with
his own financial resources.
If somebody puts a subdivision next to your field, beware of trash,
and the same if you buy a lot in it.
For that matter, why do we need more houses?
Some of what I said:
To expand a little bit on that subdivision next to
our west field,
one of the builders continued to push trash into our field
until I had to sue him for trespass in
Superior Court to get him to stop.
I meant to say in Magistrate’s Court.
I called code enforcement multiple times and
they did nothing to help stop it.
Now that there’s a new fire chief perhaps things are better,
but anybody who’s got a field nearby might want to watch for that.
Anyone who hopes to buy houses in the subdivision might want to
watch to see if there are any dumpsters in there,
because the subdivision near us, the trash was buried in the yards;
you can ask anyone who owns one of those lots.
As far as needing houses for Moody, there are usually ten houses
for sale in that subdivision, and roughtly 10 or 15 more that are for rent.
So it’s not clear we actually need more houses.
As far as lot size, this is the same issue as came up last year
with Glen Laurel on Old Pine Road.
…
The room was filled with people
for the same reasons that you’re hearing now.
At that time the commission decided to say ….
Gretchen Quarterman also spoke against the proposition, citing that
extending residential areas further out into undeveloped Lowndes County
would create greater strain on an already tight fiscal operating budget.
Schoolchildren, safety, and farmland: three topics that often seem forgotten in discussions of development.
Opposing the
proposed rezoning for Notthinghill,
neighbor Thomas E. Stalvey Jr. noted
that traffic on Cat Creek Road
is already a problem, and adding a subdivision would make it worse.
He noted that it’s traffic routed down Cat Creek to Moody that
accounts for a lot of it.
He said school children stood out on the road and they were already in danger.
“If we put 49 more houses out there, it’s just going to up the risk.”
Jordan Leman is a student at VSU who had just spoken to the
Valdosta City Council in Citizens to be Heard, at the same
regular session yesterday where they approved putting referendum
about Sunday alcohol sales on November’s ballot.
“…try to get as many college students and as many non-college students
here in Valdosta and Lowndes County
to go out and vote for it or to go register to vote.
…
Get the word out to go vote on Sunday sales.”
Valdosta City Council just passed motion for alcohol referendum —Jordan Leman
Regular Session, Valdosta City Council (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 21 July 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Buying alcohol on Sundays just got one step closer to reality Thursday evening, with the Valdosta City Council’s passage of an ordinance to authorize a referendum for the Nov. 8 General Election.
The referendum will allow voters in the city of Valdosta to decide whether package sales of malt beverages, wine and distilled spirits should be allowed by retailers on Sundays between 12:30 and 11:30 p.m. Currently, citizens can purchase alcoholic beverages on Sundays at local restaurants. This measure, approved by the state of Georgia’s legislature this year, will allow package and grocery stores, and other retailers, to sell alcoholic beverages on Sundays.
The measure passed 5 to 1, with Councilman Robert Yost opposing. Councilman Deidre White was not in attendance.
Somebody finally called a developer’s bluff!
Answering Commissioners’ questions about
his opposition to rezoning for Nottinghill on Cat Creek Road,
Calvin Marshall did what I’ve never seen anyone do before in opposing a subdivision:
he upped the ante.
Commissioner Richard Raines said he would require Nottinghill lots to have:
“Not perhaps, but a fence around the edge of the property.
…
Need to make sure that bicycles and fourwheelers, that children are not playing
in a field that is used to grow crops.”
Seems fair, except that he seemed to be talking about each individual
eventual property owner having to put up a fence, and I can tell you by
experience that that won’t happen without the neighboring landowner
personally insisting to each lot owner.
Unless the Commission insists that county code enforcement actually
enforce such a condition, which would be a good thing for a change.
Then Commissioner Raines asked Calvin Marshall:
“Is it still your position that 12-15,000 square foot lots are OK?”
Neighboring landowner demolishes developers’ arguments; explains agriculture to Lowndes County Comission.
Neighboring landowner Calvin Marshall,
speaking against rezoning for
REZ-2011-10 Nottinghill,
said neighbors,
“We’re not interested in a Bluepool,
We’re not interested in a Chatham Place.
And we’re certainly not interested in what they built out on Val Del Road.
We’ve also looked at what they’ve done with Old Pine,
and we’re definitely not interested in that, either.
Too small lots, small homes.”
That last one is presumably
Glen Laurel,
which had a roomful of neighbors opposing it last year.
Calvin Marshall asked for the Commissioners to deny the Nottinghill
rezoning request.
He also asked:
“The other thing that we asked the developer … what you going to do about
the neighbors that have got a farm on each side?
What kind of buffer are you going to put there?
…
We farm that land, we grow crops,
we run cows,
we run goats,
we run hogs,
and we’re going to continue to do that.
…
We don’t have an answer as to what they’re going to do for a buffer.”
Calvin Marshall continued with the economic argument:
“There’s three or four generations of property owners in this room tonight.
These people go back for three or four generations.
And these people have worked hard.
New program for the public to learn about Lowndes County government.
meet for an hour, ask questions, interact on those particular topics.”
