After the County Commission meeting today, Chairman Ashley Paulk
and I were chatting and he mentioned that starting at the next meeting
everyone with a camera would be moved to the back of the room.
As I went out of the commission chambers, Continue reading
Walter C. Jones wrote for jacksonville.com 5 August 2011, Sunshine law changes to come up in Georgia redistricting session Public records statute is part of redistricting session, says state AG.
Olens unveiled news of the hearing by the House Judiciary Committee while he was participating in a panel discussion hosted by the Atlanta Press Club.Good point.Members of the club offered him suggestions on how to broaden the law to help them get documents from government agencies.
One reporter even suggested extending the open-records requirements to the governor. Current law exempts the governor’s office, but recent occupants have chosen to voluntarily comply in most cases.
Olens said he had to be realistic.
“The problem is I need a majority in the House and a majority in the Senate, and I need to get the bill passed,” he said. “Everyone should be subject to the Open Records Act … but you have to make a decision if you want to improve the law or you just want to whine.”
AP reported more detail back on 1 March 2011, Georgia may change open meetings law: New attorney general offers many changes, tougher penalties Continue reading
Most of Lowndes County’s boondoggle road widening
projects seem to have been bounced off the list.
This one is still on there:
$8 million to widen old US 41 North.
Some of the other projects may also be boondoggles for all I know,
but at least all the ones to widen roads right to the north edge
of the county and thus drive development all the way into
agricultural and forest areas are gone.
Here’s the list:
Continue reading
Lowndes County Clerk, Paige Dukes, provided a PDF of the slides from
the presentation.
They are available
on the LAKE website.
-gretchen
No, not that city council! No, not that county commission! Not even the state board of corrections. (Although some of them might want to try that bureaucratic shoe on to see if it fits.) Here’s who: Continue readingSchuster told the directors that he thought [that organization] was supplying “vague” information and he directed that henceforth the sides meet monthly in his office for updates on the liquidation process. In short, Schuster is learning first hand — just like members, the media and the public at large have learned — that prying information out of [that organization] is usually about as fruitful as trying to squeeze information out of the Kremlin.
Here’s the agenda:Well, shiver me timbers and bless their little hearts! Their new executive director, Andrew Schruijer, remarked at Tuesday’s board meeting that the agenda for that meeting had indeed been posted since Friday. In Citizens to be Heard I readily admitted I didn’t look too hard for it, and expressed astonishment and pleasure at this positive development. Linked from their front page, there’s now an agenda page:Just joking. They don’t publish their agendas!
It has links to agendas for June, July, and August, each with an agenda in PDF. That seems a bit odd for some of those months, when there were several meetings. But, hey, it’s a start!Agenda
Agendas will be posted one day prior to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority regular scheduled monthly meeting.
Here’s the aganda for yesterday’s meeting. That’s in PDF, so here’s a web-readable HTML version:
Continue readingValdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority Agenda Tuesday, August 16, 2011 5:30 p.m. Industrial Authority Conference Room 2110 N. Patterson Street
That’s at 2110 N. Patterson Street in Valdosta. Here’s the agenda:August 16, 2011 Industrial Authority Board Meeting 5:30 pm at the Industrial Authority Conf. Room
Just joking. They don’t publish their agendas! Or their minutes.
-jsq
Received 12 August 2011, with attached PDF. -jsq
Continue readingHi all,
We have some really interesting projects and events this issue. Since school is back in session most are planning for football games and other semester activities. Since we are in the planning mode, please read our article on Community Planning Month in October. We have lots of fun and exciting events for citizens to participate in this year. Our theme is “New Ideas for America’s Future”. Since the youth are our future, we want to extend this invitation to any youth groups that may be interested in government and planning. Please contact us to RVSP for a lunch & learn or tour. We look forward to seeing you there!!
Also, check out an update on the Five Points Project and Tax Incentives for Historic Preservation.
August 2011 Planner’s Post
http://www.valdostacity.com/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=3D4017
Received yesterday. It’s a YouTube video. -jsq
Video by George Boston Rhynes for
K.V.C.I. Keeping Valdosta Citizen Informed
George has written up most of this in K.V.C.I. with pictures and YouTube videos.
Also, I appreciate the shoutout, George, and I’m sure the other people involved with LAKE and this blog do, as well.
-jsq
Continue readingThe LAKE blog has been doing an excellent job of publishing what is happening in various Valdosta and Lowndes County public meetings. I have been attending the Hahira City Council meetings for several months now and decided I would start posting a monthly blog summary of council meetings so Hahira residents will be aware of what is happening in their city. This is not intended to be an official documentation and citizens should depend on the official meeting minutes and/or discuss issues with city officials.
It was announced that a hearing had been advertised to discuss changing the millage rate for the city and it was decided the mileage rate would remain the same with no increase.
The review of bills/budget overages were approved by the council.
Addendum to the summary – Per history records, on Feb. 15, 2011 the Valdosta Daily Times printed an article about a special meeting of concerned citizens and Hahira city officials which discussed several agenda items relating to the city’s trash services. During the meeting citizens were not allowed to speak. Mayer Wayne Bullard recused himself after stating he was employed by All Green Services which could be a