Tag Archives: Safety

Packet: Millages, Opioid Litigation, Hightower Road, SPLOST IX, TREES Act, PFAS Groundwater Claims @ LCC 2025-08-25

Videos: Millages, Opioid Litigation, Hightower Road, SPLOST IX, TREES Act, PFAS Groundwater Claims @ LCC Work 2025-08-25

Only twelve minutes for the Lowndes County Commission to consider millages, taxes, lawsuit claims, and a quit claim, at their Work Session yesterday morning.

Here are LAKE videos of each agenda item, with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist.

Collage @ LCC 25 August 2025

Agenda: Millages, Opioid Litigation, Hightower Road, SPLOST IX, TREES Act, PFAS Groundwater Claims @ LCC 2025-08-25

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Update 2025-08-26: Videos: Millages, Opioid Litigation, Hightower Road, SPLOST IX, TREES Act, PFAS Groundwater Claims @ LCC Work 2025-08-25.

Millages and taxes are the top topics for the Lowndes County Commission this week, plus lawsuit settlements for opioids and PFAS, and a road abandonment quit-claim to the Air Force.

The property tax millage will be set at the rollback rate of 5.051 mills. That is a reduction of 0.232 mills or about 4.4% from the 5.283 rate of 2024. Your property taxes are a product of valuation and millage, minus various exemptions such as for homestead or conservation easements. Since many valuations went up, your taxes may go up.
VLCIA got its rate reduced to 0.823 mills last year, but this year it will be back to 1.00 mill like it always was before for the Valdosta Lowndes County Industrial Authority, aka the Valdosta-Lowndes Development Authority (VLDA).
Same 1.25 mills as always for the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLCIA).
Same as last year: 2.50 mills for the Special District Millage for Fire Services. That’s right, twice VLPRA’s millage, and 2.5 times VLCIA’s millage.

In November you get to vote on the SPLOST IX projects the County Commission is approving this week for the penny Special Local Option Sales Tax. The county has not published that project list, but LAKE already published it more than a week ago:
http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/?p=25175

And those of us who are tree farmers may get some tax relief after Hurricane Helene, from the TREES Act Resolution. This is presumably the same ACCG Summary of the TREES ACT as Lowndes County put in its board packet.

Lowndes County may get some money from settlements for lawsuits about opioids and PFAS.

Agenda: Millages, SPLOST IX, TREES Act, Opioid Litigation, Hightower Road, PFAS Groundwater Claims @ LCC 2025-08-25

The Air Force wants the county to quit-claim the right of way for Hightower Road, which the county already abandoned in 2023. Moody Air Force Base is directly south of it, and the Air Force now owns the field north of it. Included in this post are the maps from the May, 2023, board packet from when the county abandoned that stretch of Hightower Road.
http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/?p=23550

Here is the agenda.

We don’t have the board packet, because I forgot to send in the open records request until today.

It is still mysterious why Lowndes County does not publish its board packets on its own website, like many counties larger and smaller have done for years in Georgia and Florida.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2025, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2025, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Videos: Budget Public Hearing @ LCC 2025-06-23

Update 2025-06-29: Notice: Special Called Meeting to adopt FY 2026 Budget @ LCC 2025-06-30.

The 2024 millage of 5.283 is little more than half the 8.974 it was in 2017. Not counting the 2.5 mils of fire tax on unincorporated Lowndes County since 2021, and of course the 1 mil to the Industrial Authority and the 1.25 mils to Parks and Rec, which have not changed since 2008.

About 85% of the county’s revenues come from taxes. About 57% of that comes from property taxes, and about 31% Local Option Sales Tax (LOST).

Of expenditures, about 41% goes to Public Safety (Sheriff Department, Jail, etc.), about 12% to Juducial (courts), and about 18% to General Government.

Collage @ LCC Budget Hearing 23 June 2025

Commissioner Demarcus Marshall asked how the rising cost of gasoline was dealt with. Finance Director Stephanie Black said there was some leeway built into the budget, but if the price rise exceeds that, at the end of the year, additional funds would have to be allocated.

Commissioner Scottie Orenstein wondered about the fire services budget. FD Black said it is going down 10%, because new fire trucks were moved into a SPLOST line item.

County Manager Paige Dukes said a few words about property assessments that were mailed out by Tax Assessors staff. I think this was about the recent opt-out of the county from the statewide homestead exemption (the county actually has better homestead exemptions).

Almost no citizens attended, and none asked any questions.

Below is the LAKE video of the session, with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist of this Lowndes County Commission presentation at 9AM this morning.

Half a million or zero dollars for the bar Lowndes County bought with no agenda item? 2024-07-09

Did the Lowndes County Commission spend nothing or half a million dollars to buy an old bar in Lake Park? And why did they vote to buy it after an Executive Session, with no item entered on a public meeting agenda?

Where did the money come from? Apparently, it did not come from SPLOST. Since the property is to be repurposed for a fire station, did it come from the special fire tax?

Half a million or zero for the bar Lowndes County bought with no agenda item?, Rascal’s into a fire station

The only times I see Rascal’s appearing in Lowndes County Commission meetings of the past five years is in this week’s meetings of June 9 and 10, 2025, in April 2023, and in March 2025.

April 2023 Liquor license for Rascal’s become Twin Lake Club and Grill

Continue reading →

Videos: Rascal’s, VLPRA & DFCS appointments, two rezonings, Hazard Mitigation, $1 million Custom Pumper, $4.7 million Fire Rescue @ LCC Regular 2025-06-10

Update 2025-06-11: Half a million or zero dollars for the bar Lowndes County bought with no agenda item? 2024-07-09.

In Citizens Wishing to be Heard, Gretchen Quarterman spoke about Transparency and the purchase of Rascals, wondering why Lowndes County Commission approval of that purchase was not a lot more visible, instead of being recorded only in Minutes as a vote that took place after an Executive Session and everybody else had left. See below for more detail.

Kelly Saxon spoke about affordable housing, including asking for a town hall and a telephone contact.

The Lowndes County Commissioners at their Regular Session last night added an item, Chairman – Add agenda item to repair Hahira Health Dept (8b). That’s more than they did for the Rascal’s purchase back in July 2024. More on that in a later post.

Collage @ LCC 10 June 2025

Last night, they unanimously approved all the agenda items, including reappointing the incumbents to the two boards.

Nobody spoke against either of the two rezonings.

For 7.b. Purchase of one (1) Sutphen Heavy Duty Custom Pumper, they mentioned that prices had doubled, and locking in a price now would avoid further price increases.

In her Reports, County Manager Paige Dukes recognized Kellerman Construction and Jimmy Cone for their work on 8.a. Bid – A New Facility for Lowndes County Fire Rescue No. 4.

Earlier, Chairman Bill Slaughter called for Leadership Lowndes to be recognized, but, maybe for the first time ever, there were none present.

Commissioner Demarcus Marshall was absent from this meeting.

Here are LAKE videos of each Work Session agenda item, with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist.

Videos: VLPRA & DFCS appointments, two rezonings, Hazard Mitigation, $1 million Custom Pumper, $4.7 million Fire Rescue @ LCC Work 2025-06-09

Update 2025-06-11: Videos: Rascal’s, VLPRA & DFCS appointments, two rezonings, Hazard Mitigation, $1 million Custom Pumper, $4.7 million Fire Rescue @ LCC Regular 2025-06-10.

The Lowndes County Commissioners didn’t have much to say at their Work Session yesterday morning. They did discuss potential paving of dirt roads under 6.b. REZ-2025-09 All Metal Buildings, 2515 Madison Hwy, ~2 acres, C-G to C-H.

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

Collage @ LCC 9 June 2025

This Fire Station #9 is on James Road: 7.b. Purchase of one (1) Sutphen Heavy Duty Custom Pumper.

Station Locations

This one is in Minneola, near the Stone Creek subdivision: 8.a. A New Facility for Lowndes County Fire Rescue No. 4. In which County Manager Paige Dukes revealed that the county had obtained the old Rascal’s building. That’s at 4875 US 41 South in Lake Park. More later in another post about the somewhat irregular conveyance of that former Rascal’s location to the county.

Here are LAKE videos of each Work Session agenda item, with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist.

See also the agenda and the board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request. Continue reading →

VLPRA & DFCS appointments, two rezonings, Hazard Mitigation, $1 million Custom Pumper, $4.7 million Fire Rescue @ LCC 2025-06-09

Update 2025-06-10: Videos: VLPRA & DFCS appointments, two rezonings, Hazard Mitigation, $1 million Custom Pumper, $4.7 million Fire Rescue @ LCC Work 2025-06-09.

Vincent Miller wants to be reappointed to the Parks and Rec Board. Lynn Orenstein would like to be reappointed to the board of Lowndes County Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS). Samuel Clemons has applied to be on each of those boards.

Plus almost $6 million dollars will be decided this week by the Lowndes County Commission, for a pump truck and a station for Fire Rescue.

VLPRA & DFCS appointments, 2 rezonings, Hazard Mitigation, $1 million Custom Pumper, $4.7 M Fire Rescue @ LCC 2025-06-09

Cost	What
$4,767,660.00	A New Facility for Lowndes County Fire Rescue No. 4
$1,063,876.64	Purchase of one (1) Sutphen Heavy Duty Custom Pumper
$21,000.00	Service Agreement with SGRC to Perform Hazard Mitigation
$5,852,536.64	Total

About the Purchase of one (1) Sutphen Heavy Duty Custom Pumper: Continue reading →

Videos: DBHDD appointments, VAWA, Juvenile Justice, Naylor Tower Top Amp, LMIG Resurfacing @ LCC Regular 2025-04-22

It is mysterious why 7.b. Val Del Rd and N. Valdosta Rd. Intersection improvement was only added in this Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission. They’ve been leading up to it for a long time. Apparently the two bids were only opened the previous day; I thought bid openings were scheduled.

Collage @ LCC 21 April 2025

In this meeting, they talked about that intersection for almost seven minutes, which is very long for this body. The intersection will completely close starting May 27, probably for most of the summer. It will end up with two lanes going north, and three lanes going south: one left only, one left or straight, one right only.

The old US 41 North facebook group has renamed itself to follow this development
https://www.facebook.com/LowndesCoHwy41WideningRoadProjectUpdates

Second longest was Continue reading →

Videos: DBHDD appointments, VAWA, Juvenile Justice, Naylor Tower Top Amp, LMIG Resurfacing @ LCC Work 2025-04-21

Update 2025-04-29: Videos: DBHDD appointments, VAWA, Juvenile Justice, Naylor Tower Top Amp, LMIG Resurfacing @ LCC Regular 2025-04-22.

It took 14 minutes, the Monday morning Work Session. Much of that the Lowndes County Commission spent on the LMIG road resurfacing item and on the two court grant items.

They voted this evening at 5:30 PM: LAKE videos to come.

Collage @ LCC 21 April 2025

At the Work Session, Lowndes County Commissioner Michael Smith volunteered for one of the two posts available on 5.a. Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD), with Juliana Powell having already applied for one of them.

Commissioner Demarcus Marshall wanted to know whether there were any problems with DEI on the 6.a. Acceptance of the VAWA Continuation Grant Award for 2025. Nobody seemed to know, or to address the question.

Commissioner Marshall asked a similar question about 6.b. FY2026 Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant Application. County Manager Paige Dukes said basically that with things changing daily in the federal goverment, nobody knows. Commissioner Michael Smith had a question about service areas.

There was some chit-chat about 6.c. Emergency Purchase – Naylor Tower Top Amp Replacement.

There was some discussion of districts, specific roads, and state funding, after Commissioner Wisenbaker asked to have the list of roads being repaved read out for 7.a. 2025 LMIG Resurfacing Bids (Project #: ENG 2025-01).

Here are LAKE videos of each agenda item, with a few comments by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist. Continue reading →

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange