Tag Archives: Robert Green

Videos: Appointments to 2 boards, 2 law grants, 2 lift station items, 1 Comp. Plan contract @ LCC Regular 2025-07-22

Two citizens spoke at the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

Gretchen Quarterman about water wells
, including private wells
getting contaminated since Hurricane Helene, or running dry,
and expenses of testing and well drilling.
Commissioners actually discussed afterwards that you can take a water sample
and get Public Health to test it.


Keyara Hamilton spoke about Goodwill
.


[Collage @ LCC 22 July 2025]


Collage @ LCC 22 July 2025

The Lowndes County Commissioners appointed Scottie Orenstein, Joe Brownlee, and Rob Green
to the

Lowndes County Development Authority
,
which apparently never meets.
Then they also

reappointed
Jerome Tucker and Barry Green.

They reappointed Michael Walker and J.D. Rice to the

Lowndes County Public Facilities Authority
.
Then they also appointed Lowndes County Commissioner Mike Smith
to succeed Clay Griner, and Andy Griffin to succeed Crawford Powell.
They also clarified the when each term will end.

Chairman Bill Slaughter

recommended that Commissioners should

get a list of boards and their meeting dates and times so they
can attend an learn things.
This is good advice for citizens in general.

The Commissioners approved everything else unanimously.

County Manager Paige Dukes’s

Reports
lasted almost ten minutes,
including Fire Department people speaking.

Below are Continue reading

Videos: Appointments to 2 boards, 2 law grants, 2 lift station items, 1 Comp. Plan contract @ LCC Work 2025-07-21

Update 2025-07-25:
Videos: Appointments to 2 boards, 2 law grants, 2 lift station items, 1 Comp. Plan contract @ LCC Regular 2025-07-22.

The Lowndes County Commissioners discussed much more than usual,
making yesterday morning’s Work Session 44 minutes long.


[Collage @ LCC Work Session 21 July 2025]


Collage @ LCC Work Session 21 July 2025

They vote today at 5:30 PM, which is about now.

Yesterday, the County Attorney weighed in on

both
the board appointment

items
.

The

Comprehensive Plan update
won’t change the Service Delivery Strategy (SDS)
that the county and the five cities agreed would last for ten years.

Both of the

Juvenile Justice grant items
lasted more than 9 minutes.

The longest item was not on the agenda:
a

report by Jeff Lovell
on well issues and river water infiltration.

And we got a clue where the

Blue Lake Lift Station
is:
near I-75 Exit 13.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item,
with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.

See also the Continue reading

Packet: Appointments to 2 boards, 2 law grants, 2 lift station items, 1 Comp. Plan contract @ LCC 2025-07-21

Update 2025-07-22:
Videos: Appointments to 2 boards, 2 law grants, 2 lift station items, 1 Comp. Plan contract @ LCC Work 2025-07-21.

The Lowndes County Commission this Monday and Tuesday will consider and decide
on many appointments to two boards, and two Juvenile Justice grants.

The county is also outsourcing part of its five-year Comprehensive Plan Update to the Southern Georgia Regional Commission (SGRC), for $30,000.


[Collage @ LCC Packet 2025-07-21]


Collage @ LCC Packet 2025-07-21

Lowndes County is still fixing problems from Hurricane Helene,
this time at the Blue Lake Lift Station.

  • In
    September 2016
    they replaced a pump there for no-bid $43,959.
  • In
    June 2020
    they did a $71,789 no-bid emergency repair there due to corrosion.
  • In

    October 2021

    they applied for
    $700,000
    from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
    for
    “Permanent bypass pumps at lift station” for
    Bevel Creek,
    Whitewater,
    Heart road,
    Blue Lake,
    Highway 84,
    and
    Frances Lake,
    as well as
    $300,000
    for “On-Site Crane/ Hoist lift station” for Whitewater, Frances Lake, and Blue Lake,
    all at the recommendation of Carter & Sloope.
  • In
    June 2022

    they approved an apparently no-bid agreement with Carter & Sloope:

    “The scope of work at the County’s lift station is two-fold. A permanent bypass pump will be
    installed at the following six (6) lift stations: Bevel Creek, Whitewater, Heart Road, Blue Lake,
    Highway 84, and Frances Lake. The bypass pump will serve as the station’s
    backup/redundancy method if the primary pumping failed at any time. The new pump will be
    connected to the existing wet well and force main at the station on a concrete housekeeping
    pad. Where necessary based on location, the pump can be installed in an enclosure to reduce
    sound (i.e. if near a residential neighborhood). Electrical and controls will be installed on site
    with the new pump. Of the 6 stations, the following three (3) will also be retrofitted with an on-
    site crane/hoist system: Whitewater, Frances Lake, and Blue Lake. Those stations need a local
    mechanism for retrieving pumps from the wet well because of their layout and location.”

This time they have bids for the control panel,
but still only one no-bid source for the pump: xylem, Inc.
However, the county is going for repairing the pump this time, for $44,661.

It’s good Lowndes County is fixing its sewer infrastructure before it breaks.
And it’s good they’re bidding at least part of the repairs this time.

Meanwhile, we still don’t know where the Blue Lake Lift Station is.
So far as I can tell, there is no waterbody, road or street, or subdivision
name Blue Lake in Lowndes County.
More on that in a later post.

Cost What
$44,661.00 Blue Lake Lift Station Pump Repair
$43,615.00 Blue Lake Lift Station Control Panel
$88,276.00 Blue Lake Subtotal
 
$30,000.00 2026 Comprehensive Plan Technical Assistance Contract
 
$118,276.00 Total

Here is the
agenda.

The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request,
is
on the LAKE website
.
Images of each page are below.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JULY 21, 2025, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2025, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading

Videos: Development Authority appointment, VOCA grants, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC Regular 2025-01-15

Ms. Terri Lupo was reappointed to the 5.a. Valdosta Lowndes
Development Authority
.

The Lowndes County Commission at their Regular Session of January 14, 2025, also passed everything else unanimously, with little or no
discussion.


[Collage @ LCC 14 January 2025]


Collage @ LCC 14 January 2025

Commissioner Demarcus Marshall did have a question about
7.k.
GEFA Loan DWLSL2023097 for Lead Service Line Inventory
. He also
had a special thanks for Samaritan’s Purse in Commission Comments.

Former Valdosta City Council Alvin Payton, Jr., sat front and
center the entire meeting.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a
few comments by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video
playlist.

See also Continue reading

Packet: Development Authority appointment, VOCA grants, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC 2025-01-13

Update 2025-01-16:
Videos: Development Authority appointment, VOCA grants, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC Regular 2025-01-14

Yesterday morning
Commissioner Mark Wisenbarker wanted to know whether the staff had a list of roads needing striping for

7.g. 2025 Georgia DoT Local Maintenance – Improvement Grant (LMIG) Application
.
Here’s the project list:


[Road paving list and Broadband map @ LCC Packet 2025-01-13]


Road paving list and Broadband map @ LCC Packet 2025-01-13

The map appears to be where Windstream thinks Lowndes County already had broadband in 2021. Continue reading

Videos: Development Authority appointment, VOCA grants, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC Work Session 2025-10-13

The Lowndes County Commission started the Work Session yesterday morning by

welcoming new Commissioner Michael Smith
.
He will vote for the first time at the Regular Session this evening at 5:30 PM.


[Collage @ LCC 13 January 2025]


Collage @ LCC 13 January 2025

Chairman Bill Slaughter praised Terri Lupo, long-time baord member of the

5.a. Valdosta Lowndes Development Authority
,
although he noted there were two other applicants for her expired term.

There was some discussion on

7.f. Emergency Repair – Lowndes County Fire Station #5
.
Fire Station #5 is the one on Bemiss Road. Apparently after the November rain, there was a sewage back up in the fire station that was 3″ deep and everything from the floor to 2′ up the wall had to be replaced, including furniture. Insurance covered some of the cost.

Commissioner Mark Wisenbarker wanted to know whether the staff had a list of roads needing striping for

7.g. 2025 Georgia DoT Local Maintenance – Improvement Grant (LMIG) Application
.
Answer: yes.

They do not yet have a design for the

7.h. Local Bridge Replacement at Jumping Gully Road at Bevel Creek (0019937)
.

There was Commissioner discussion about the prices for the Continue reading

Agenda: Development Authority appointment, VOCA grants, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC 2025-01-13

It’s a busy first agenda of the year for the Lowndes County Commission,
Work Session Monday morning, voting Regular Session Tuesday evening.


[Agenda: VLDA appointment, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, VOCA grants, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC 2025-01-13]


Agenda: VLDA appointment, Coleman Road paving, LMIG, VOCA grants, Water projects, Windstream @ LCC 2025-01-13

Terri Lupo’s term has expired for the Development Authority.
Robert Green and Brice Evans also want to be appointed.
Usually the Commission reappoints the incumbent.

Cost What
$1,300,000.00 Coleman Road NW Paving and Drainage Improvements, P.1.0016279 Supplemental Agreement No. 1
$635,000.00 GEFA Loan DWLSL2023097 for Lead Service Line Inventory
$160,122.00 Bid for Six Compact SUV Vehicles for Multiple Departments
$79,380.00 Emergency Repair – Lowndes County Fire Station #5
$50,000.00 Lowndes County Local Bridge Replacement at Jumping Gully Road at Bevel Creek (0019937)
$45,761.60 Union Road Lift Station Pump Replacement
$33,232.00 Approval of the Solicitor General’s FY25 VOCA Grant Award
$2,303,495.60 Total

The above table, generated by LAKE from the agenda items, is hard to add up because
of items where the BUDGET IMPACT is actually incoming funds from a new source, such as this one: Continue reading

Videos: Appointment to Land Bank Authority, Mutual Aid Agreement, SetterPointe Subdivision, grants, offsite alcohol, data center switches, and failed land sale @ LCC Regular 2024-04-23

With no discussion, the Lowndes County Commission unanimously appointed James Miller to the

Land Bank Authority
. Gretchen note, “I’m guessing that this was pre-discussed because there was no discussion at either the work session, nor at this meeting. How do they decide? It’s a mystery.”

At that same Regular Session of April 23, 2024, they also
approved everything else unanimously.

There was some discussion of how many single-parent families would be affected by the

6.a. FY 2025 Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant
.

Commissioner Clay Griner asked where are the

6.g. North Lowndes Data Center Switches
.
Answer from Aaron Kostyu: “I would be happy to discuss that with you offline,
but it’s probably not best for us to discuss data center locations in a public meeting.”


Jeff Hardy asked in Citizens Wishing to be heard
about the timeline for replacement of the Frank’s Creek Bridge on Shiloh Road and about emergency services.
The Chairman said he would speak to him after the meeting.
Seems to me more citizens would like to know the answers.

No rezonings were on the agenda.


[Collage @ LCC 23 April 2024]


Collage @ LCC 23 April 2024

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item,
with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.

See also the

LAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session
,
and the

agenda and board packet
. Continue reading

Videos: Appointment to Land Bank Authority, Mutual Aid Agreement, SetterPointe Subdivision, grants, offsite alcohol, data center switches, and failed land sale @ LCC Work 2024-04-22

Update 2024-05-10:
Videos: Appointment to Land Bank Authority, Mutual Aid Agreement, SetterPointe Subdivision, grants, offsite alcohol, data center switches, and failed land sale @ LCC Regular 2024-04-23.

At their Work Session Monday morning, April 22, 2024,
the Lowndes County Commission did not reveal which of three applicants they
favor to appoint to the Land Bank Authority.

They breezed through everything else, with few questions,
mostly wanting to know if there would be any surprises, to which the answer was always no.

This one was not anticipated in the original agreement:

5.d. TIA Supplemental Agreement for Hightower Road/Cooper Road NE
.

No rezonings were on the agenda.

They voted the next evening.


[Collage @ LCC 22 April 2024]


Collage @ LCC 22 April 2024

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item,
with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.

See also the

agenda and board packet
. Continue reading

Packet: 3 applicants for Land Bank Authority, Mutual Aid Agreement, SetterPointe Subdivision, grants, offsite alcohol, data center switches, and failed land sale @ LCC 2024-04-22

Update 2024-05-10:
Videos: Appointment to Land Bank Authority, Mutual Aid Agreement, SetterPointe Subdivision, grants, offsite alcohol, data center switches, and failed land sale @ LCC Work 2024-04-22.

At their Work Session Monday morning and voting Regular Session Tuesday evening,
the Lowndes County Commission this week will mostly consider the three applicants
to the
Valdosta-Lowndes County Land Bank Authority
and a variety of grants, plus renewing a
Statewide Mutual Aid Agreement Between Lowndes County and the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, as well as with all the other Georgia counties.


[Collage, Lowndes County Commission Board Packet, April 22,23, 2024]


Collage, Lowndes County Commission Board Packet, April 22,23, 2024

No rezonings are on the agenda.

The one subdivision infrastructure acceptance is as usual listed as Continue reading