Tag Archives: Suzan Garnett

Videos: Comprehensive Plan Update, Appointments to VLPRA and Library Board, Road Resurfacing and Widening @ LCC Work 2026-07-27

Update 2026-07-28: Links to three documents cited in the draft Comprehensive Plan.

Update 2026-07-28: Datacenter meeting after Lowndes County Commission Regular Session 2026-07-28.

The draft 2026 Comprehensive Plan Update has appeared on the county’s own website, lowndescounty.com. See below for how that happened.

Below are LAKE videos of the Monday morning Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission, July 27, 2026, with some notes by John S. Quarterman. They vote at 5:30 PM this evening, Tuesday, in their Regular Session.

Don’t forget the second page of the agenda says, “There will be an information sharing session to address data center ordinance considerations following the adjournment of the regular meeting.”http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/2026/07/datacenter-meeting-after-lowndes-county-commission-regular-session-2026-07-28.html”>separate post. More on that in a
Comprehensive Plan Update, Appts to VLPRA and Library Board, Road Resurfacing and Widening @ LCC Work Session 2026-07-27

Monday morning I was experimenting with an external microphone, which does seem to work better, although with quite a bit of hiss.

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

Comprehensive Plan

After the meeting, I mentioned to County Planner JD Dillard and County Attorney G. Walter Elliott that the draft Comprehensive Plan Update is not on the county website, so how can citizens know what to say in the Public Hearing 6.a. 2026 Comprehensive Plan Transmittal? Continue reading →

Packet: Comprehensive Plan Update, Appointments to VLPRA and Library Board, Road Resurfacing and Widening @ LCC 2026-07-27

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Update 2026-07-28: Videos: Comprehensive Plan Update, Appointments to VLPRA and Library Board, Road Resurfacing and Widening @ LCC Work 2026-07-27.

According to page 2 of the agenda, “There will be an information sharing session to address data center ordinance considerations following the adjournment of the regular meeting.” That’s the 5:30 PM, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission, on the second floor of 327 N. Ashley Street, Valdosta, GA.

The draft Comprehensive Plan Update recommends under Intergovernmental Coordination Needs, “Strengthen transparency and communication between officials, staff, and the public”

And under Opportunities & Existing Resources, “Most of the local governments already use their websites and social media platforms to disseminate critical information and educational content.”

What draft Comprehensive Plan Update? The 300-page draft in the board packet for this week’s Lowndes County Commission meeting.

The draft that is nowhere on lowndescounty.com that I can find. So you get to see it only because LAKE got it via an open records request.

The irony.

Collage, Packet @ LCC 2026-07-28

It’s amusing that LAKE is not mentioned in that draft, but multiple LAKE images are used, at least one of them credited in the image itself.

After their Monday morning Work Session, at their Tuesday Evening voting Regular Session, the Lowndes County Commission will reappoint Suzan Garnett to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA) and will appoint to replace Timothy McCoppin one of these candidates: Mr. Brent Moore, Mr. Herb Reinhard, Mr. Timothy McCoppin, and Mr. Broc McDowell.

Recently they appointed William Booth to the Lowndes County Library System Board of Trustees, but since discovered he does not live in Lowndes County. Debra Carruth and Sarah FitzGerald are candidates.

The two usual suspects bid for $5,039,798.50 widening of Hickory Grove Road and Skipper Bridge Road, and Scruggs bid below Reames.

Getting into real money, Resurfacing Batch 1 P.I. # 0020532 will include resurfacing 36 county roads, with a budget of $13,134,000.00.

These road projects are apparently all to be paid for by funds from the Georgia Transportation Investment Act (TIA).

Here is the agenda:

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JULY 27, 2026, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2026, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Videos: Adoption of Budget, Appointments to DFACS, VLPRA, Construction Board, Courts, Prison Details @ LCC Regular 2023-06-27

They approved everything unanimously, the Lowndes County Commission two weeks ago, with another surprise presentation in County Manager Reports.

Collage @ LCC 27 June 2023

They approved the Hotel-Motel Budget Plan and the FY 2024 Operating Budget.

They reappointed Elsie Napier to DFACS, Suzan Garnett to VLPRA, and Tripp Howell to the Construction Board.

They passed a stopgap resolution to delay approving changes to the Unified Land Development Code (ULDC). So there’s no need to approve any changes at the July 11th County Commission meeting.

Remember, the public has hardly seen any of the proposed ULDC changes, while the County Manager announced two weeks ago that “tomorrow we have the stakeholder meetings at 12:30 and 2 PM that I mentioned to you yesterday, with permits and inspections, and that is all going fantastically well, and I’m interesting in getting the feedback from our development community so we can make any changes that they may need prior to going live July 1.” Curious how the county government is not so solicitous of feedback from the general public as it is of feedback from “our development community”.

In response to a question by Commissioner Demarcus Marshall, Public Works Director Robin Cumbus clarified that the county since COVID has only been paying for one prisoon detail even though the contract says they can use up to three.

About Reports: County Manager, Gretchen Quarterman remarks: Continue reading →

Videos: Surprise One Valdosta-Lowndes presentation, and executive session to discuss personnel @ LCC Work 2023-06-26

Update 2023-07-10: Videos: Adoption of Budget, Appointments to DFACS, VLPRA, Construction Board, Courts, Prison Details @ LCC Regular 2023-06-27.

Update 2023-06-29: Slides: One Valdosta-Lowndes @ LCC Work 2023-06-26.

People might have come to see if they knew One Valdosta-Lowndes was going to present at Monday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session. Instead, County Manager Paige Dukes announced it during her County Manager Report, and then OVL Executive Director Mary Beth Brownlee presented. Thanks to Mary Beth for sending LAKE her presentation slides.

Collage @ LCC 26 June 2023

At the end of the meeting, the Commissioners held an executive session to discuss personnel. There is only one personnel directly managed by the Commissioners: the County Manager.

The second longest item at 4 minutes was 5. Fire Officer of the Year – Fire Fighter of the Year Recognition.

Next longest at two and a third minutes was 7.a. Lowndes County Accountability Court Grant Approval and Cash Match.

Everything passed unanimously, including the adoption of the FY 2024 Operating Budget and the reappointments to three boards.

Once the county finishes taking over its own permitting, the 6.c. Valdosta Lowndes County Construction Board of Adjustments and Appeals won’t exist, and Lowndes County will have to appoint its own. The new one could have the same county members.

Were you invited to the stakeholder meetings the County Manager announced for “the development community”? Maybe taxpayers and citizens are not stakeholders.

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

Packet: Adoption of Budget, Appointments to DFACS, VLPRA, Construction Board, Courts, Prison Details @ LCC 2023-06-26

Update 2023-06-29: Videos: Suprise One Valdosta-Lowndes presentation, and executive session to discuss personnel @ LCC Work 2023-06-26.

The board packet to go with the agenda for this week’s Lowndes County Commission meetings is on the LAKE website, received in response to a LAKE open records request.

Collage, Board PacketT @ LCC 2023-06-26

LAKE videos of the meetings will follow.

-jsq

Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!
http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/donate

Agenda: Adoption of Budget, Appointments to DFACS, VLPRA, Construction Board, Courts, Prisoners @ LCC 2023-06-26

Update 2023-06-27: Packet: Adoption of Budget, Appointments to DFACS, VLPRA, Construction Board, Courts, Prison Details @ LCC 2023-06-26.

Monday morning at 8:30 AM the Lowndes County Commission will review at its Work Session items that it will vote on in its Regular Session Tuesday at 5:30 PM.

Collage @ LCC Agenda 2023-06-26

Items include the Adoption of Fiscal Year 2024 Operating Budget, and a Budget Plan for Hotel Motel Proceeds for Fiscal Year 2024.

A stopgap resolution is proposed until the changes to the Unified Land Development Code (ULDC) are ready.

Also on the agenda are re-appointments to three boards,

Plus two items that the agenda says cost money:

Cost	What
$147,954.00	7.b. Annual Contract Renewal with the State of Georgia Department of Corrections
$25,139.00	7.a. Lowndes County Accountability Court Grant Approval and Cash Match
$173,093.00	Total

Here is the agenda.

LAKE has sent an open records request for the board packet. However, when Lowndes County someday puts its board packets on its own website, as many counties larger and smaller, in Georgia and Florida, have been doing for years, nobody will have to play this silly open records game just to get board packets.

Meanwhile, for the ULDC changes, see the Planning Commission board packet.

For the budget, see the LAKE videos from the Budget Work Session, the slides from that meeting, and Videos: Not a Public Hearing, even though advertised as one, Presentation @ LCC Budget 2023-06-20.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JUNE 26, 2023, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2023, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange