Tag Archives: Transportation

Videos: Water, VSU bonds, 3 road abandonments, 1 widening, MIDS bus, Comprehensive Plan @ LCC 2016-10-11

Two weeks ago, County Manager Joe Pritchard announced that Commissioner Joyce Evans is now serving as Vice Chairman, yes, the resolution to approve the VSU bonds was requested by the South Regional Joint Development Authority (SRJDA), and John Stevens is the new VDT reporter. Citizen Shirley Moore said she’d like a connection to county water and sewer. They tabled the Comprehensive Plan update, apparently because the Commissioners wanted to “dig into it deeper”.

The rest was mostly approving what they already discussed the previous morning. They meet again Monday morning.

Below are links to each LAKE video with a few notes, followed by a video playlist.

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Videos: Art, hurricane, engineering reports, VSU bonds, 3 road abandonments, 1 widening, MIDS bus, Comprehensive Plan @ LCC 2016-10-10

The Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline and others already in the county came up in the Comprehensive Plan approval discussion, as you can see in these LAKE Videos from Monday morning; they vote tonight 5:30 PM.

Stephen Spradley and Georgia Forestry were still helping after Hurricane Matthew, but Ashley Tye reported on evacuees, Chad McLeod reported on engineering projects including the Naylor Boat Ramp at the Alapaha River, and Angela Crance reported on an art district; actually Buddy Boswell did that.

They also heard about a self storage rezoning, three road abandonments, a road widening, the annual MIDS bus service renewal, and a county resolution about bonds for another private LLC by the South Regional Joint Development Authority (SRJDA), different from the one with the public hearing October 21st at a private law firm. What does the resolution say? It’s not in the documents with the agenda.

Below are links to each LAKE video with a few notes, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading →

VSU bond resolution, 3 road abandonments, 1 widening, MIDS bus, Comprehensive Plan @ LCC 2016-10-10

Monday morning 8:30 AM, a self storage rezoning, (final?) Comprehensive Plan approval, three road abandonments, a road widening, the annual MIDS bus service renewal, an art district presentation by Angela Crance, a Georgia Forestry presentation by Stephen Spradley, and a county resolution about bonds for another private LLC by the South Regional Joint Development Authority (SRJDA), different from the one with the public hearing October 21st at a private law firm. What does the resolution say? It’s not in the documents with the agenda.


U.S. Air Force Col. Billy Thompson, 23d Wing commander, expresses his gratitude to Continue reading →

Wal-mart sign variance on Bemiss Road, and water and storage in Lowndes @ ZBOA 2016-10-04

2:30 PM today: Wal-mart wants a sign variance on Bemiss Road at Guest Road (see previous LAKE blog post), water and sewage on Bemiss Knights Academy Road, and a self-storage facility on Old US Highway 41 North, make a relatively light agenda for the decision-making Zoning Board of Appeals.

Valdosta – Lowndes County Zoning Board of Appeals

Matt Martin, Valdosta Planning and Zoning Administrator
300 North Lee Street, Valdosta, Georgia
(229) 259-3563

Carmella Braswell, Lowndes County Zoning Administrator
327 North Ashley Street, Valdosta, Georgia
(229) 671-2430

AGENDA
October 4, 2016
2:30 p.m.

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Videos: HEAT on Sheriff finances @ LCC 2016-09-13

Half the meeting (11 1/2 minutes) Tuesday was Commissioners grilling Sheriff Chief Deputy Joe Crow about the cost of High Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic (Heat): how less funding is provided the more successful the program is, and federal funding may go away, leaving the county to foot the bill. Chairman asked for monthly statistical updates. Commissioner Demarcus Marshall moved to approve continuation of the grant, plus a statement in favor of the grant including a disclaimer that the county would “work to preserve” as much of the grant as possible if state funding goes away.

They approved finally fixing the railroad bridge over Old Quitman Highway. and similar but less complicated (no railroad) for the Jumping Gulley Road bridge. Nobody mentioned that the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline proposes to cross Jumping Gulley Road half a mile west of that bridge, and then to open cut through Jumping Gulley Creek just south of the state line.

Snake Nation Road is getting an emergency $168,928 box culvert repair, which isn’t fast enough for former Commissioner Richard Lee, who Continue reading →

3 Lowndes including wetlands, 2 Valdosta @ ZBOA 2016-09-13

Mostly setbacks, plus lot width, and one about wetlands at the decision-making Zoning Board of Appeals 2:30 PM today.

That wetlands one is about Union Springs Subdivision, which came before ZBOA previously in June 2016 about wells, wastewater, and wetlands, when ZBOA approved a variance 6:0.

Here’s the agenda for today. Continue reading →

Videos: Finally, Wright Road RR Bridge @ LCC 2016-09-12

They vote 5:30 PM this evening on finally fixing the railroad bridge over Old Quitman Highway. As you can see in the videos below of yesterday morning’s Work Session, County Engineer Mike Fletcher said it’s taken long negotiations with CSC and GDOT, ending up with realigning the road to go across the railroad at 90 degrees.

Way back in 2011 this Old Quitman Road bridge was on the T-SPLOST list. Old Quitman Road itself was announced on a striping and citing list 2013-10-08 and on an LMIG resurfacing list 2014-03-24 and 2014-03-25. It was said to be the only road for which the speed limit is being changed 2015-03-23 and 2015-03-24. And they fixed a culvert on private Carter Way before they got to this RR bridge on Old Quitman Road. But now they’re doing it, and they didn’t need T-SPLOST for that after all.

See also Continue reading →

Two subdivisions, 3 road abandonments, 2 bridges, MIDS @ LCC 2016-09-12

This morning at 8:30 AM at the Lowndes County Commission, the two subdivisions from the previous Planning Commission meeting, REZ-2016-16 Livingston Properties, Bemiss Knights Academy Rd and Merriman Ct.

What’s with all the road abandonments these past many months? REZ-2016-17 Grove Pointe Ph 6, Dasher Grove Rd, a public hearing on Abandonment of Strong Road, probably scheduling of one for Abandonment of Unopened Right of Way off of Pikes Pond Road, and finishing up with a Quit Claim Deed for Abandoned Right of Way on Old Miller Concrete Property.

Surveying and engineering for two bridge replacements, on Old Quitman Road and Jumping Gully Road. And the annual renewal of Section 5311 Rural Transportation Program Capital Contract, which is the MIDS on-call bus service, in case you can’t tell from the obscure agenda item.

Plus lots more on the agenda. Will they speed through it all in their usual 15 minutes? They vote tomorrow (Tuesday) evening at 5:30 PM.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2016, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

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Videos: Runner Ernie Andrus, Brookwood again, 3 board appointments, 2 road abandoments, Comp Plan Update, Budget Adoption @ LCC 2016-06-28

For an authority that gets 1.25 mil of your property tax dollars, the Commissioners didn’t even know who was wanting to be reappointed, none of them asked what happened during a year when one of them was apparently serving on that board without a formal appointment, not all of the Commissioners were present even voted, and none of the candidates for any of the board appointments even shhowed up, much less spoke. The Lowndes County Commission at its June 28th 2016 Regular Session also unanimously adopted the budget for what the Chairman repeatedly called “the physical year”, despite only perfunctory public hearings in advance, and no draft budget available on their website for the public to see. After they approved the budget to spend the money (and according to County Manager Joe Pritchard after earlier that same morning the Tourism Authority approved their budget), the Lowndes County Commissioners unanimously approved a hotel/motel tax rate increase. Odd order, eh?

About the 1.25 mil property tax Parks and Rec Authority, the Chairman finally got around to saying Continue reading →

Video: Brookwood Place reappears @ LCC 2016-06-27

Not on the agenda for Monday morning’s Work Session, but added back for Tuesday evening’s Regular Session, the Brookwood Place Subdivision tabled two weeks ago popped up in Reports. Where is it? Who owns it? How did they get it? Who’s the developer? No, really, who’s the developer?

8. Reports – County Manager – the reappearance of Brookwood water
8. Reports - County Manager - the reappearance of Brookwood water

Video. County Manager Joe Pritchard said he was bringing back the trust indenture for “the Brookwood Place subdivision off of Mt. Zion.” He can’t have meant Mt. Zion Road, which is in the southwest part of the county, not near the Valdosta City limits, Continue reading →