I’m not sure what’s on their agenda; they publish their minutes online, but apparently not their agendas.
-jsq
It is an enlightening and eye-opening class you should not miss !”According to the city’s writeup about it:
…is designed to give City of Valdosta residents age 21 and older an inside look at how their city operates daily. Participants will be exposed to all city departments according to the following itinerary:
- April 4 Introduction to Class
- April 11 Public Safety and Municipal Court
- April 18 Engineering, Public Works and Utilities
- April 25 Financial Administration, Industrial and Economic Development
- May 2 Community Building and Neighborhood Development
- May 9 Facility Tour and Graduation
Last year’s class was the first,
with 23 graduates.
For Lowndes County residents who do not live in Valdosta, the equivalent is… Continue reading
*COUNCIL COMMENTS 07/08/10 CONTINUED *Continue reading
Councilman Yost stated that Mr. Rhynes asked some good questions earlier about the proposed Travel Ordinance and a mountain has been made out of a mole hill on that subject. The reporter that usually covers the Council meetings did call Councilman Eunice and that was reported in the newspaper. She was asked by Councilman Eunice to call other Council persons to give their view on the Ordinance and what happened at that meeting. She stated that everyone was on their way to Savannah to attend the Conference. Councilman Eunice was also on his way to Savannah when she called. Councilman Yost stated that if she had asked then he would have given her his opinion; however, now that Mr. Rhynes has asked he would give his opinion
Continue readingI was at the last LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING when Chairman Ashley Paulk shared information about the Biomass Project extension being denied and the alleged secrecy surrounding keeping the general public ignorant.
“Because certain people won’t share with you and I think it’s unfair. We were approached about three weeks ago, Mr. (Joe) Pritchard (County Manager) was, by the Industrial Authority, and we were tentatively asked to make a move to ask that they not extend the contract.” (Chairman Paulk!)Chairman Paulk words prove that there is an apparent pattern and practice
While LAKE would be ecstatic if all elected and appointed bodies did their own PR so we didn’t have to, in the meantime, we’re here, and we do what we can, with a little help from everyone involved.
The member who hardly ever speaks at board meetings makes a strong case for openness.
Tom Call called me back about the biomass plant, and we talked about a number of other matters. He remarked that he was not an appointed spokesperson for the Industrial Authority, so this is just him talking.
I asked him about Ashley Paulk’s remarks in the 26 April 2011 Lowndes County Commission meeting. Tom Call said VLCIA was not standing behind any other body, and he clarified what had happened.
He said the biomass plant had been brought to the Industrial Authority by Continue reading
Roy Copeland referred me to VLCIA Chairman Jerry Jennett
for an update about the present status of the biomass plant.
He also had many good things to say about the activism in the community, including this:
Because people in the community are concerned, that makes us better. And sometimes there are good things that come out of disagreement.This opinion is not new from him: he told me many of the same positive things about activism months ago after a VLCIA board meeting. We discussed that there were other things VLCIA does that were worth supporting.
He also said he is in favor of putting the minutes online, Continue reading
He said that Jerry Jennett took the biomass vote off the agenda at last Industrial Authority meeting (April 19) even though Mary Gooding and Roy Copeland wanted the vote to be taken ( a vote that was to oppose an extension of the biomass contract since the biomass incinerator had not met timeline benchmarks like having a buyer, etc). He said that Allan Ricketts, Industrial Authority attorney Steve Gupton, and Jerry Jennett went up to Atlanta to meet with Wiregrass officials and that’s when he (Chairman Paulk) got a call telling him all this and he said he wouldn’t keep quiet about it. He said the three men asked Wiregrass LLC officials to rescind their letter asking VLCIA for an extension on their contract and to substitute a new letter saying they were withdrawing their request for extension (or not going forward to ask for extension).This is in addition to what you can see him on video saying during the meeting. More after this picture of the cast of characters: Continue reading
Please also see our Submissions Policy. Looking forward to your comments.
-jsq
At the Lowndes County Commission meeting last night, Chairman Paulk discussed the biomass plant with Dr. Noll, and said:
There’s more in the video.Certain people won’t share it with you, and I don’t think it’s fair.
We were approached … almost three weeks ago by the Industrial Authority and we were asked to … ask them not to extend the contract. Well, it’s not our contract; we could do that, but … we didn’t.
And then last week the Tuesday of their meeting, I received a call … on my way back fromm Atlanta and they had gone up there to talk to Wiregrass Power, because they’d written a letter asking for an extension.
My understanding was that they asked Wiregrass to write another letter to remove that extension request.
These are things, I think should be public knowledge.
Regular meeting of the Lowndes County Commission, Lowndes County, Georgia, 26 April 2011
Video by Alex Rowell for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
He told me several weeks ago about the commission being asked to vote not to extend. Continue reading