Tag Archives: Safety

Videos: Water quality testing, Bids, Leaase, Appointments @ LCC 2020-01-13

Not on the agenda, Chairman Bill Slaughter

at the end of the meeting said Utilities Director Steve Stalvey
had been testing water quality on the Withlacoochee River.
On December 31, bacterial counts were acceptable.
But on January 6, 2020, counts were quite high, so the county made and
posted some warning signs at Knights Ferry, Nankin, and State Line (GA 31) Boat Ramps.


Here is one of the county’s signs, at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp,
with a sign by WWALS Watershed Coalition (Suwannee Riverkeeper)
at the bottom of the other pole with Continue reading →

Bids $1.4 million, insurance $1 million, and $0.4 million lease plus two Appointments @ LCC 2020-01-13

A million dollars for
Paving – Quail Hollow Acres Subdivision
and $0.4 million for
Bid for a 3,000 Gallon Tanker for the Fire Department.
Another million for
2020 Stop Loss Insurance Coverage through Symetra Life Ins. Company.
A quarter million to relocate utilities at I-75 Exit 2 will be paid by GDOT.
And a million in income for a
Lease Agreement with the State Properties Commission for the Division of Family & Children Services (DFACS).

[Page 60]

Page 60

Molly Deese wants to be reappointed to the
Valdosta Lowndes County Conference Center and Tourism Authority.
Incumbents almost always get reappointed if they say they want to,
and the chances of them not reappointing the Vice President and General Manager of Wild Adventures is pretty slim.
Ditto
Dr. Frances Brown on the
Lowndes County Board of Health.

They’re setting the

Special Assessment interest rate “for all paving and utilityassessments that are not paid off within the initial 90-day phase. Unpaid assessments revert to installment agreements which are to be paid over a period of up to ten years.”
New rate: 6.75% for 2020, down from 7.50% for 2019.

They’re setting qualifying fees to run for office, primary or general election: Continue reading →

Videos: River Gauges, Roads, Alcohol, and Fire @ LCC 2019-10-22

The longest items at last month’s voting Regular Session were 3 minutes on 5.b. 2020 Census Resolution (due to discussion about the new initially online methods),
two minutes on 5.l. Tax Assessment for the Lowndes County School District Bonds (it’s about debt service on ESPLOST),
and 1:44 on 5.k. Industrial Authority Bond Issue and Funding (it’s complicated).


The

5.a. FY2020 USGS Joint Funding Agreement,
which adds county funding for the Skipper Bridge Withlacoochee River USGS Gauge
to the Hahira Little River Gauge the county has been funding since 2009,
breezed through.

Below are Continue reading →

Videos: River Gauges, Roads, Alcohol, and Fire @ LCC 2019-10-21

Surprise bonds for the Development Authority and Lowndes County Schools,
and a turn lane for Wiregrass Tech, plus a new Forestry Ranger about fire,
in these LAKE videos of yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session.

The longest item was five minutes about

funding the Skipper Bridge Withlacoochee River USGS Gauge
in addition to the Folsom Bridge Little River Gauge,
by
EMA Director Ashley Tye.
Valdosta apparently discovered that Skipper Bridge is not in the city limits, so Valdosta will no longer fund that gauge.
But the former funding from the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) plus more from Lowndes County will cover it,
if the Lowndes County Commissioners vote for it at 5:30 PM Tonight,
after their discussion yesterday morning.


Georgia Forestry Ranger Randy Spell talked about the use of a vehicle
in the

Rural Fire Defense Cooperative Lease Agreement And MOU.

Second longest was the extremely vague Continue reading →

Packet: River Gauges, Roads, Alcohol, and Fire @ LCC 2019-10-21

Lowndes County is adding funding for the Skipper Bridge Road Withlacoochee River gauge to its traditional since 2009 funding of the Folsom Bridge GA 122 Little River gauge.
That’s $8,300 and $14,200, respectively, with another $5,900 for the Skipper Bridge Gauge from the Suwannee River Water Management District.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) puts in $900 towards each gauge, or $1800 total.
Valdosta still funds the North Valdosta Road US 41 Withlacoochee River Valdosta gauge, and USGS completely funds the US 84 Quitman Withlacoochee River gauge.

[OPTIONS: 1. Approve the FY 2020 Funding Agreement]

OPTIONS: 1. Approve the FY 2020 Funding Agreement

PDF

Details are in the Board Packet now on the LAKE website, received Friday, October 18, 2019, in response to an open records request.

The rest of the Lowndes County Commission
agenda for Monday and Tuesday is dominated by roads:
a resolution on criteria for taking private roads into the county public road system,
and resolutions taking in roads within several subdivisions: Continue reading →

Videos: Jury, Paving, and GEFA in Work Session @ LCC 2019-09-23

The Lowndes County Commission spent nine minutes yesterday morning discussing spending $124,454 and borrowing $1,734,000.
They vote this evening at 5:30 PM.


The county has now gotten up to not just demanding landowners give road right of way to the county, but also

condemning property if they don’t get it donated.

The longest item at less than two minutes was

6.d. Request for Professional Engineering Services Proposals – CDBG.
As Gretchen remarks in the notes, apparently this is in support of Arglas,
the Japanese glass products manufacturer locating on Rocky Ford Road.

Second longest was

7.b. Bid for a Breathing Air System for the Fire Department,
due to a question by a Commissioner.

Below are Continue reading →

Jury, Paving, and GEFA in LCC Packet @ LCC 2019-09-23

Lowndes County staff are proposing to spend
$124,454,
according to all the “BUDGET IMPACT”s board packet:
$48,500 for a

Jury Management System,
$1,469.00 for

Condemning ROW for Howell Lane Paving Project,
$3,500.00 (approx.) for

Second Modification of GEFA Loan Agreement,
and for the Fire Department
$29,195.00 for

a 1/2 Ton Truck and
$41,790.00 for

a Breathing Air System.

[Survey plat: Revised County RoW for Howell Lane]

Survey plat: Revised County RoW for Howell Lane

They propose

to borrow $1,734,000 from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA).

The Lowndes County Commission discusses Monday morning at 8:30 AM. They vote 5:30 PM Tuesday.

[Project Budget]

GEFA Loan Agreement Project Budget

For the first time ever! Lowndes County has returned the board packet before the Work Session.

LAKE sent an open records request Tuesday, and the county actually supplied the packet Friday, with this note: Continue reading →

Videos and packet: Millage, SPLOST VIII, Wastewater, roads, bridges, mosquitos, Construction Board @ LCC 2019-08-12

County Manager Joe Pritchard said Finance Director Stephanie Black has

received a millage report from the Tax Commissioner.
He and she will prepare something from it for the Lowndes County Commissioners for a later meeting.


The board packet is

on the LAKE website,
in response to a LAKE open records request.

Below are Continue reading →

$1.5 mllion on wastewater, SPLOST VIII, roads, bridges, mosquitos, Construction Board @ LCC 2019-08-12

The resolution to reimpose the SPLOST tax as
SPLOST VIII,
was not included with

the agenda for the tax-paying public to see.
LAKE has filed an open records request for the entire board packet.
Perhaps the county will supply it before they vote tomorrow.

[Land Application Site]

Land Application Site

Four bids were received for
LAS and Pump Station Improvements
with the high bid at $3.3 million, and the low at $2.5 million,
but apparently the county negotiated the low bidder,
Doyle Hancock & Sons, down to
$1,520,858.00.
This is “for improvements to the LAS [Land Application Site, aka wastewater spray field], Bevel Creek, Francis Lake, and Coleman Road lift stations.”
The LAS is between Grassy Pond and Pike Pond, a few thousand feet from the GA-FL line, in the Withlacoochee River watershed. Continue reading →

Special Called Meeting to approve SPLOST VIII Projects @ LCC 2019-07-31

You got a notice about this meeting two days in advance,
if you signed up for the county’s alerts, which is twice as long as they usually do.

Special Called Meeting,

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

A special called meeting will be held to adopt the amended SPLOST VIII Agreement.

Date:
July 31, 2019

Time:
8:30 AM

Location:
Board of Commissioners

Administration Building

Address:
327 N. Ashley Street

2nd Floor

Valdosta, GA 31601

[Lowndes Project List]

Lowndes Project List

PDF

Here is Lowndes County’s SPLOST VIII Project List.
The biggest items are water and sewer at $23 million
and sports at $13,274,912,
followed by the historic Courthouse at $12 million.
Note nothing about Continue reading →