Tag Archives: USGS

New judge, river gauge, park deed, personnel costs, and pest control @ LCC 2013-08-26



The
request for a new State Court Judge
by Judge John Kent Edwards Jr. took 27 and a half minutes,
plus his

eight minute explanation of fines moving from Sheriff to State Court.
More people might have showed up to hear if anybody had known about
these items.
Commissioners asked a surprising number of questions about them
and about
the
Little River stream gauge
and the
opaque pest control bids.
Of course, then people might have seen

the proposed third no-bid contract to the same firm this month.
They vote tonight.

Here’s

the agenda, with links to the videos and a few notes:

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor


  1. Call to Order

  2. Invocation

  3. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag



  4. Special Presentation

    See

    separate post    .

  5. Minutes for Approval

    As is his custom, Chairman Bill Slaughter directed Commissioners
    to tell the Clerk of any changes, so we don’t know what they are.
    Then he introduced the special presentation
    out of agenda order.

    1. Work Session — August 12, 2013

    2. Regular Session — August 13, 2013
  6. For Consideration



    1. Environmental Engineering Services for GDOT Land Deed for Parks and Recreation

      Invisible Engineer proposed a third no-bid contract for same firm proposed this month;
      see

      separate post      .




    2. USGS Funding Agreement for Hwy 122 Stream Gauge

      This time Emergency Director Ashley Tye said it’s on the Little River,
      why it’s there, how it’s maintained, etc.
      See

      separate post      .




    3. Budget Adjustment — Personnel Costs

      Judge John Kent Edwards Jr. explained that many of the people
      going through his court or paying fines in Lowndes County
      don’t live here; they come off of I-75,
      and now the fine-collecting needs to move from the Sheriff’s office
      to the Clerk of Court;
      see

      separate post      .



  7. Bid-Pest Control Service

    Pest control for an unannounced amount with no bond from one of two
    unannounced bids.
    See

    separate post    .


  8. Reports-County Manager

    County Manager Joe Pritchard requested an Executive Session
    for pending litigation and they adjourned into that.

  9. Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address

Here’s

a video playlist:



Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC)

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 26 August 2013.

Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

-jsq

Gauging the Little River west of Hahira @ LCC 2013-08-26



After the 2009 floods, Lowndes County agreed to help USGS fund a stream
gauge on the Little River west of Hahira.
It’s time to renew that.
They vote tonight about what was proposed
at the

26 August 2013 Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

6.b. USGS Funding Agreement for Hwy 122 Stream Gauge

This time Emergency Director Ashley Tye said it’s on the Little River.



He said during ihe 2009 floods the county only had a gauges on the
Withlacoochee River at Skipper Bridge and US 84, and no way to
monitor the level of the Little River,
so he contacted USGS, who supplied and installed the equipment.
The county since then pays for the maintenance.
If something breaks, USGS comes and fixes it.
He’s also worked with the National Weather Service to establish flood stages
for better warning for residents.
It’s time to renew the funding.

Commissioner Demarcus Marshall wanted to know how many inspections
were carried out by USGS.



Answer: Continue reading →

River gauge, park deed, personnel costs, pest control, and a special presentation @ LCC 2013-08-26

Five minutes for tomorrow morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session?
The mysterious “Special Presentation” might take longer Tuesday.



The last time the river stream gauge funding came up was I think
10 September 2012.
At that time I thought Emergency Director Ashley Tye was referring
to the Withlacoochee River, but he actually didn’t say which river,
and USGS only lists a gauge on the Little River at GA 122,
not on the Withlacoochee.
If the county put agenda packet information online with the agenda,
that sort of confusion wouldn’t be so easy.

Here’s

the agenda:

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Valdosta and Army Corps of Engineers in Flood Risk Management Study

First public update since

May:
Valdosta has had several recent meetings with other governmental groups
and has agreed to co-fund a flooding study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

WCTV has also

picked up
Valdosta PR 23 July 2013,

City Enters Agreement with USACE for Flood Risk Management Study,



The City of Valdosta hosted a Regional Flood Preparedness meeting
with the Georgia Silver Jackets on June 25—a continuation of
discussions that began earlier in the year focused on regional
interests and on maximizing area resources.

Representatives from the cities of Moultrie, Sylvester, Tifton and
Valdosta and from the counties of Lowndes and Turner attended the
meeting to discuss current and future flood monitoring and
forecasting issues throughout the Little River and Withlacoochee
River watersheds. These two watersheds are part of the overall
Suwannee Basin that is approximately 10,000 square miles in Georgia
and Florida.

Among other information shared, Continue reading →

Mosquito trapping and spraying @ LCC 2013-04-23



A logical and systematic plan for mosquito trapping and spraying
is what

Public Works Director Robin Cumbus described at the

23 April 2013 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

She said the county contracts with VSU for trapping and surveillance.
Mosquitoes

trapped either by the county or by VSU are sent to Public Health Atlanta for testing.


Mostly in July, Aug, Sep
This testing is
presumably for

mosquito-borne diseases;
According to

USGS disease maps using CDC data,
there were 15 cases of positive test results for
West Nile virus in Lowndes County in 2012;
that’s 13% of the total of 113 for the whole state.


15 West Nile Cases in Lowndes County in 2012

She continued:

Continue reading →

Valdosta Plans Flooding Discussions


Valdosta is finally announcing the

11 April 2013 watershed-wide flooding meeting organized by
the Army Corps of Engineers.


WCTV yesterday carried a press release from the City of Valdosta;
PR which, oddly, does not appear to be on the city’s website.
I have added a few links. Prominently missing from the PR is any mention
of water quality, the Floridan Aquifer, or sinkholes. -jsq

The City of Valdosta initiated planning discussions recently that
brought together representatives from key local, state and federal
agencies to seek solutions to a regional flood issue.



The 50-year flood event that occurred in late

February,
early

March
2013 was a vivid reminder of the 2009 flood event that significantly
impacted south Georgia. Since 2009, the city has worked to help


identify potential causes and the scope and area of the regional
flooding that occurred. This information has been shared with
various state and federal officials and agencies in the hopes of
gaining their interest and support to work together to address the
regional flooding. Since Valdosta is located

Continue reading →

Watershed meeting organized by Army Corps of Engineers



The

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) didn’t know there was
a large water problem hereabouts, but now they do, and they want
to take a watershed-wide approach, from the headwaters to the Gulf of
Mexico, including both surface water and aquifer issues,
perhaps starting with redrawing FEMA’s flood maps,
and maybe even including once again funding the state water council.



Thursday 11 April 2013 there was a rather large governmental meeting
organized by USACE in response to

the City of Valdosta’s request of 11 March 2103.
Yesterday,

Valdosta City Council District 5 Tim Carroll sent the appended
list of attendees, augmented by a conversation with him on the phone 13 April
and a blog comment by him later that same day on
the original post on the WWALS blog,
in which he also remarked:

Very good preliminary meeting that hopefully will yield real action on
our region wide water issues. Thanks for sharing this info with WWALS.

We know little else, because no media or private citizens were invited.

  • USACE Savannah office: Jeff Morris, Georgia Silver Jackets Coordinator and Beth Williams, Hydraulic Engineer
  • USACE Jacksonville office: David Apple, Chief, Watershed and Restoration Planning Section
  • GADNR: Christopher Hill and Tom Shillock, GAEPD Floodplain Management Unit
  • GEMA: Dee Langley, Planning Program Manager and Terry Lunn, Director, Hazard Mitigation Division
  • GEMA: Gary Rice – Regional Field Coordinator
  • USGS: Brian McCallum, Supv. Hydrologist/ADir and Keith McFadden, Physical Scientist
  • FEMA Region 4: Susan Wilson, CFM, Floodplain Management and Insurance Branch Chief and Janice Mitchell, Insurance Specialist and Lender Compliance

Those state and national agencies were brought by:

Continue reading →

Water Plant Planning —Henry Hicks @ VCC 2013-03-07


Henry Hicks

Valdosta Utilities Director Henry Hicks gave a detailed history of

flood control

projects
and work on the

Withlacoochee Waste Water Processing Plant
at the Valdosta City Council Meeting last night during the
"Manager's Report" section
of

the agenda.
Several Council members expressed their distaste for the VDT’s recent reporting
on the subject, and thanked Hicks and other city employees for their work.


$40 million already spent
Hicks said

they had spent $4 million on repairs
to the Withlacoochee plant, and that didn't include the $40 million
they'd already spent on upgrades in general.
Also, it took three days to build the berm around the plant in 2009,

and FEMA wouldn't approve any improvements to it.

He said he would

Continue reading →

Video Playlist @ LCC 2012-09-11

After
briefly discussing or at least hearing items at

the previous morning's Work Session,
the Lowndes County Commission voted on them at its Regular Session of
Tuesday 11 September 2012.

Here's

the agenda,
and the copy below has links to the corresponding videos or
previous blog posts.
Here's a

video playlist.




  1. Call to Order
  2. Invocation
  3. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag

  4. Minutes for Approval

    1. Work Session — August 13, 2012
    2. Regular Session — August 14, 2012
  5. Resolutions




    1. Adopt Resolution Appointing an Open Records Officer
    2. Resolution Regarding Review & Approval of Minutes of Executive Sessions

    3. Adopt Resolution accepting infrastructure for Glen Laurel Subdivision Phase II

    4. Adopt Resolution accepting infrastructure for Crestwood Subdivision Phase IV

  6. Appointment — Keep Lowndes/Valdosta Beautiful
  7. Public Hearings




    1. REZ-2012-12 Parker Place, 4842 Parker Place Rd., 0070 015;       3.4 ac., 3 lots, E-A to R-1,
      well/septic

    2. REZ-2012-14 Harris, 6926 Jones Dr., 0139 023,       6.8 ac., 1 lot, E-A to R-A, well/septic

    3. TXT-2012-01 — Primary Intent: Appendix A Land Disturbance & Clean Version of ULDC

    4. Public Hearing Renaming Sandy Creek Drive (CR #1118)

    5. Beer License — Lin's Hibachi — 1078 Lakes Blvd.
  8. For Consideration




    1. Letter of Understanding — Bond Refunding

    2. USGS Funding Agreement for HWY 122 Stream Gauge

    3. Section 5311 Rural Transportation Program Operating Contracts

    4. Declaration of Surplus Vehicles



    5. Brown Bag Ordinance

  9. Bid – Rescue Pumper for Lowndes County Fire Rescue
  10. Reports-County Manager
  11. Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address

-jsq

Video Playlist @ LCC 2012-09-10



Yesterday morning’s County Commission Work Session

started on time!
In addition to the open records and open meetings items,
it included a report from KLVB, two rezonings, typo fixes and date changes
in the ULDC, a vanity road name change, an alcohol license and an
alcohol ordinance change, a USGS river gauge, surplus vehicles,
purchase of a new fire truck, and more!
They vote on all this tonight at their Regular Session, 5:30 PM.
Here’s
the agenda.

5.a. Unsurprisingly,
the County Manager suggested

the County Clerk be appointed the Open Records Officer
now required by state law.
5.b. They also have a resolution before them about

review and approval of minutes of executive sessions,
but of course they don’t allow we the taxpayers to see that
before they vote on it.

They considered adopting subdivision infrastructure for

5.c. Glen Laurel
and

5.d. Crestwood.

6. Videos of the
KLVB report
and of applicant Emily Macheski-Preston
are in a separate blog post.

7. Public Hearings:

Continue reading →