Tag Archives: Transparency

Videos: 3 small rezonings: Dasher, Lowndes, Valdosta @ GLPC 2015-08-31

Vice-Chair Jody Hall presided, sounding like he’d been practicing and it paid off at the 31 August 2015 Planning Commission meeting.

Nobody spoke for or against the agricultural rezoning in Lowndes County and the Planning Commission recommended it, but it may be more controversial than it looks now that the Lowndes County Commission agenda item and packet for Tuesday indicates it’s apparently related to that $16,915 the county agreed to pay to upgrade a water line near the Lake Alapaha subdivision.

The owner spoke for the automobile repair shop in Dasher with nobody against, and it was unanimously recommended.

Nobody spoke against the office rezoning in Valdosta. There was some Commissioner discussion of nearby neighborhoods. It was recommended 6-2 for R-15.

Here’s GLPC agenda, with links the the LAKE videos below, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading

Work and Regular Sessions both Tuesday @ LCC Work 2015-09-08

Both LCC meetings Tuesday, plus Development Authority 10AM, Chamber members to be Heard 3:30PM, and Board of Elections 4:30PM, before the Commission votes 5:30 PM.

Update 2015-09-08: LAKE did what the county staff didn’t: turned a mound of paper into electronic format and posted it. The added material is for the Shiloh Road Roundabout (county has to maintain lighting and landscaping) and the bids for the Bevel Creek and Coleman Road lift stations. Except there’s no bid from Xylem for replacing the Coleman Road pump. Did they not bid, or did the Clerk’s office not supply that bid? (Also updated links to other meetings in first line of this post.)

Parcel 0259 034 The Lowndes County Commission will consider a church rezoning on Mullins Road that’s so close to a county water line near the Lake Alapaha development on the Alapaha River that the County staff felt they had to warn the applicant. Bid awards for the utilities extension to Lowndes Middle School is on the agenda as South Perimeter Road Utility Extension, and it appears staff may have outsourced this million-dollar decision to Lovell Engineering. Utilities also wants $38,930.50 for Bevel Creek and $35,144.20 for Coleman Road for new Wilo lift station pumps. Their one-paragraph writeups sound like a good deal with substantial savings, but they reference multiple quotes which were not included. Where are those quotes? (They were on paper; see above.)

The county staff also wants wants a roundabout for Shiloh Road! Next they’ll be wanting speed humps on county roads they’ve made unsafe by paving (don’t hold your breath).

Here’s what LAKE got online for the commission packet and the Lowndes County Commission agenda. See also the LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission meeting.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2015, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2015, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading

3 small rezonings: Dasher, Lowndes, Valdosta @ GLPC 2015-08-31

Parcel 0120A 082 An automobile repair shop in Dasher, a agricultural rezoning in Lowndes County, and an office rezoning in Valdosta, in the GLPC agenda that appeared on the county’s website after Gretchen called to inquire.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park
REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
AGENDA

Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue
Monday, August 31, 2015 * 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing

Continue reading

Videos: Nuisance ordinance, numerous emergencies, small rezoning, and alcohol @ LCC 2015-08-11

They meet again Monday morning; here are videos from when they voted two weeks ago. There was a brief update on the Shiloh Road sinkhole, adding to the previous morning’s report; see also news reports. The rest of the meeting was rather predictable Continue reading

Agriculture, Internet access, and Transportation driving Development @ LCC 2015-08-24

New County Extension Agent Jenna Kicklighter will introduce herself at Monday morning’s Work Session,, they’ll consider a a Beer and Wine License for Dollar General, a new secondary Internet Bandwidth Contract with Mediacom, and the US 41 N widening has already spawned further road paving to promote development:

Lowndes County Engineering has received a proposal Continue reading

$9.40 for a mound of paper @ LCC 2015-08-10

Gretchen made an Open Records request Monday morning and it was available Tuesday 4:37 PM: mostly on paper and less than an hour before the Commission voted.

The rezoning material from the Planning office was sent by electronic mail. The rest cost $9.40 to retrieve on paper. Nevermind in the email earlier Tuesday of the old ordinance from 1992 the county staff demonstrated they can put a paper document on their copier and produce a PDF. They could have done that with the rest of the board packet. Why didn’t they?

The Work Session was Monday morning at 8:30 AM 10 Aug 2015. Gretchen was notified by telephone about 4:30 PM Tuesday 11 Aug 2015. The County Palace closes at 5PM. The Commission met at 5:30 PM Tuesday to vote. So none Continue reading

Videos: Unknown ordinance, numerous emergencies, small rezoning, and alcohol @ LCC 2015-08-10

Here are videos of yesterday morning’s Work Session. This morning, the same day as tonight’s voting Regular Session, we got a few answers to some of yesterday’s questions about the Nuisance Abatement Ordinance:

What 1992 ordinance? Which state law? Where’s the new draft?

Here’s the old ordinance and the new draft. And the memo wrapping the new draft refers to O.C.G.A. §§41-2-7 through 41-2-17. The memo doesn’t seem to say when that Georgia law was updated.

Here’s the agenda. See also the Continue reading

Minutes from 2006, Lowndes County Commission

Minutes aren’t on Lowndes County’s new website back more than a few years. 300x388 DecemberX12,X2006-015, in Loco minutes, by John S. Quarterman, 11 August 2015 Even on their previous website, three sets of minutes were not there. More than four years after Gretchen asked, she asked again, and today we finally got those three. Look who signed those minutes as County Clerk: K. Paige Dukes, the same County Clerk who took four years to return them in response to an Open Records request. Here’s the message, and I’ve linked in those minutes.

-jsq

From: Amanda Smith <asmith@lowndescounty.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2015 16:43:18 +0000
To: “‘land@quarterman.org'” <land@quarterman.org>
Subject: Meeting Minutes

As per your request, I have attached the meeting minutes from 8/8/06, 12/12/06, and 12/20/06. Continue reading

Got one Lowndes County ordinance (nuisance abatement) after five years asking @ LCC 2015-08-10

Back in 2011 the County Clerk didn’t say which May she would provide that list of ordinances…. 300x388 Attest: Inez M. Pendleton, in Noise Abatement Ordinance, by John S. Quarterman, 11 August 2015 Her response of today is below. The old ordinance is so old it’s signed by Inez Pendleton. It’s still in force, though, so shouldn’t it be on the county’s website, along with all the other ordinances in force that also aren’t there? See below for list; also notice the dates I’ve boldfaced. The proposed new ordinance is not readily translatable to plain text; looks like she scanned a paper copy. Both are relevant to today’s Lowndes County Commission meeting. For the minutes she mentioned, see separate post.

-jsq

From: Paige Dukes <pdukes@lowndescounty.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2015 15:42:29 +0000
To: John and Gretchen Quarterman <land@quarterman.org>
Subject: RE: Open Records Request for Ordinances

Good Afternoon Gretchen,

As per your request, please find the attached Continue reading

Unknown ordinance, numerous emergencies, small rezoning, and alcohol @ LCC 2015-08-10

How can we “Know the Laws” as the county’s front page says, if a county ordinance being revised isn’t there and isn’t distributed when the county is about to vote on it Tuesday evening after the Work Session this morning at 8:30 AM?

For the Nuisance Abatement Ordinance the packet agenda sheet says only: Continue reading