Tag Archives: Val Del Road

Packet: Two rezonings, Pictometry, Lift Station quit claim, Val Del Estates subdivision infrastructure 2022-10-10

Update 2022-10-31: Videos: Rezonings, pictometry, lift station @ LCC 2022-10-10.

The two subdivision rezonings won’t cost anything, according to the Lowndes County Commission, even though on the same agenda there’s a resolution to adopt infrastructure for another subdivision that the county will then have to maintain, and a quitclain of a sewage lift station in another subdivision.

The only thing for which they do detail costs is aerial mapping of the county as requested by the Tax Assesssors’ office.

Cost What
$39,979.33 years 1-3Eagleview Pictometry Agreement between the Lowndes County Board of Assessors and Pictometry International Corp.
$40,310.67 years 4-6Eagleview Pictometry Agreement between the Lowndes County Board of Assessors and Pictometry International Corp.
$80,290.00Total

All that plus a beer license at the Work Session this morning, to be voted on in the Regular Session at 5:30 PM Tuesday.

[Maps, LCC Packet 2022-10-10]
Maps, LCC Packet 2022-10-10

Here is the agenda. The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website. For the two rezonings, see also the Continue reading →

Videos: Redo rezonings and a citizen paving request @ LCC 2022-09-13

Two weeks agao the Lowndes County Commission at its Regular Session recognized Fire Chief Lloyd Green for finishing second in his age class in a recent road race.

Then they unanimously approved the previously-rejected O’Neal James Road rezoning, after applicant’s attorney Bill Langdale pointed out the code infractions would have to get fixed regardless of the rezoning decision.


[Rezonings and Citizens To Be Heard, Lowndes County Commission Regular Session 2022-09-13]
Rezonings and Citizens To Be Heard, Lowndes County Commission Regular Session 2022-09-13

On the previously-decided Campus Howell Road rezoning, they voted twice to invalidate their previous vote. because first they forgot to hold the public hearing. Twice because the Chairman first forgot to hold the Public Hearing. In the Hearing, several citizens spoke against the rezoning. The actual rezoning decision will be taken somewhere between six and nine months later, after the other Public Hearing held just after this Public Hearing.

In the other Public Hearing, they took no vote, since the vote will be sometime between March and May 2023. The rezoning may also go before the Planning Commission again before then. One citizen spoke against, asking why bother going through the Planning Commission again considering that the County Commission rejected the previous GLPC recommendation. County Chairman Bill Slaughter said GLPC will be asked if that is required for due process. Joshua Knight and Brent Moore spoke for.

All the extraterritorial water and sewer extensions passed, but both the Valdosta ones by split votes.

Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker voted against the Griner Park work, saying it is not a top priority and later they might get more than one bid. It passed anyway.

Everything else passed unanimously.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes, followed by a LAKE video playlist. See also Continue reading →

Videos: GA Forestry, $3 million, redoing 2 rezonings, 3 extraterritorial water and sewer @ LCC 2022-09-12

Update 2022-09-26: Videos: Redo rezonings and a citizen paving request @ LCC 2022-09-13.

Update 2022-09-21: Videos: 6 Remerton, 4 Valdosta, 1 Hahira, 1 Lowndes County cases @ GLPC 2022-08-29.

Other than the seven-minute not-on-the-agenda Georgia Forestry presentation by Lowndes County Chief Ranger Mike Williford, the highest-dollar item got the most discussion: Griner Park, at the corner of Webster and Ashley Street.

There was no discussion of the items about redoing their botched rezoning decision.

They did kvetch about each of the extraterritorial jurisdiction items for water and sewer, alleging it was all somebody else’s fault. But why did the county not catch these earlier?

That was at the Work Session yesterday morning. The Lowndes County Commission voted this evening at their Regular Session.


[Videos and a picture]
Videos and a picture

Some Commissioners seemed unclear on why they were spending so much on Griner Park. Here’s Gretchen’s take: Continue reading →

Packet: redo 2 rezonings, 3 extraterritorial water & sewer, $438,537 RR crossing, $2,542,586 Griner Park @ LCC 2022-09-12

Update 2022-09-21: Videos: 6 Remerton, 4 Valdosta, 1 Hahira, 1 Lowndes County cases @ GLPC 2022-08-29.

Update 2022-09-13: Videos: GA Forestry, $3 million, redoing 2 rezonings, 3 extraterritorial water and sewer @ LCC 2022-09-12.

Update 2022-09-13: County rehab center vote invalid –Valdosta Daily Times 2022-09-12.

Update 2022-09-13: Videos: slides @ LCC Millage 2022-08-23.

Lowndes County will approve spending almost $3 million this week, on a downtown Valdosta park and a railroad crossing, but you wouldn’t know that from the agenda.

[Maps]
Maps

Fortunately, the board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website.

Maybe Lowndes County could put board packets on its own website, like other counties large and small in Georgia and Florida have been doing for many years.

Cost What
$2,542,586.00 Griner Lot Improvements
$438,537.00 Briggston Road Paving Project Agreement with Valdosta Railway, L.P.
$2,981,123.00Total

The county will also redo two rezoning decisions for which the the Chairman previously decided split votes.

Plus three extraterritorial jurisdiction water and sewer requests, one from Hahira for a sprayfield, and two for commercial properties by Valdosta.

And the county is accepting infrastructure for a subdivision, while as usual pretending that won’t cost the taxpayers anything.

Here is the agenda. See also: Continue reading →

Videos: One Valdosta-Lowndes funding, Hayden Park rezoning @ LCC 2022-04-26

At their Regular Session, Chairman Bill Slaughter pulled 7.a. One Valdosta Lowndes Community-Wide Initiative up front on the Lowndes County Commission agenda, because at least one of the OVL VIPs had another meeting: One Valdosta-Lowndes Co-Chairs VSU President Dr. Richard Carvajal and Georgia Power’s Scott Purvis, as well as Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber President Christie Moore. At least one of them left immediately after the Commissioners approved $200,000 total over five years to the Chamber to support OVL.

The County’s audio feed in the back of the room was again not working, so audio is whatever the LAKE video camera could pick up.

[OVL, Hayden Park rezoning]
OVL, Hayden Park rezoning

Commissioners discussed the one rezoning, Continue reading →

Videos: $9 Million Courthouse renovations, Subdivision at N. Valdosta Road & Val Del @ LCC 2022-04-25

Update 2022-05-02: One Valdosta-Lowndes funding, Hayden Park rezoning @ LCC 2022-04-26.

At the Lowndes County Commission Work Session this morning, by far the longest at six minutes: 7.i. Historic Lowndes County Courthouse Rehabilitation Project GMP.

[Courthouse, Hayden Park, OVL, TEqBID]
Courthouse, Hayden Park, OVL, TEqBID

Second longest at four minutes was the back-again contentious 6.a. REZ-2022-07 Hayden Park, ~149 acres, from R-1 to C-G, P-D, and R-10.

Third at two minutes was the $200,000 to 7.a. One Valdosta Lowndes Community-Wide Initiative, presumably mostly for hiring an Executive Director, though one hopes also some funding towards projects like the Troupville River Camp that was top of the list OVL presented to the County Commission back in November. Not clear whether the $200,000 is per year or for the entire five-year project. Vice-Chair Scottie Orenstein said VSU President Dr. Carvajal and Georgia Power’s Scott Purvis will be present at the Regular Session tomorrow evening. Nothing was said about the Chamber, to whom OVL is being handed, being present tomorrow evening.

Commissioner Scottie Orenstein chaired the meeting in the absence of Chairman Bill Slaughter. If the Chairman is back at tomorrow evening’s Regular Session, let’s hope Commissioner Orenstein recuses himself on the appointment of his wife to 5.a. Lowndes County Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) Board. This morning Commissioner Orenstein appeared to speak for the developer on 6.a. REZ-2022-07 Hayden Park, ~149 acres, from R-1 to C-G, P-D, and R-10. Meanwhile, answering a question from Commissioner Demarcus Marshall, Orenstein said nobody had met with the opposition.

Below are Continue reading →

Packet: Back again, Camelot Crossing subdivision, Val Del Estates street acceptance @ LCC 2022-04-25

Update 2022-04-25: Videos: $9 Million Courthouse renovations, Subdivision at N. Valdosta Road & Val Del @ LCC 2022-04-25.

Still listed as “BUDGET IMPACT: N/A” on the Lowndes County Commission agenda for this morning and voting tomorrow evening: REZ-2022-07 Hayden Park, Camelot Crossing & Val Del Rd. Nevermind that the county has spent untold funds on a Lowndes County Traffic Engineering Report: N. Valdosta Road and Val Del Road and will spend more on actually constructing those turn lanes on Val Del Road. Nevermind that just up Val Del Road the county proposed to Adopt Resolution Accepting Infrastructure for Val Del Estates Subdivision Phase III, meaning the county will have to pay to maintain those streets, just like it will eventually for streets in this other Val Del Road subdivision.

For sure, subdivisions should be inside existing water and sewer infrastructure. But it would be nice if the county would tell the public the real costs of every subdivision. Continue reading →

Hahira withdrawn, 4 Valdosta, 3 Lowndes @ GLPC 2022-03-28

The Hahira rezoning was withdrawn by the applicant, but all the other rezonings were heard by the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission last month, including the contentious REZ-2022-07 Hayden Park, Camelot Crossing and Val Del Road, which has already come before the Lowndes County Commission once and is back again today.

[Example rezonings]
Example rezonings

Here is the agenda. The board packet is on the LAKE website, The Valdosta rezoning items were sent by City Planner Matt Martin. The Lowndes County rezoning items were received in response to a LAKE open records request. The county did not send the agenda nor the minutes of the previous meeting, both of which LAKE got off the county website. The county also did not send the Valdosta items, in apparent violation of the Georgia Open Records Act (GORA).

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
~ Lowndes County ~ City of Valdosta ~ City of Dasher ~
~ City of Hahira ~ City of Lake Park ~ City of Remerton ~
Monday, March 21, 2022 5:30 P.M. Work Session
Monday, March 28, 2022 5:30 P.M. Regular Session
Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue, Valdosta, Georgia

Continue reading →

Why should Lowndes County spend half a million dollars to subsidize a developer? 2022-01-24

Update 2022-01-25: Discussion of court grants and Loch Laurel Road project, little of property subsidy @ LCC 2022-01-24.

The $568,971.00 for 5.k. Property Purchase – Building Valdosta, LLC is a markup of $323,971 over the price that property sold for last year, supposedly to protect Moody AFB, even though how is not said and it’s 2.4 miles away. The developer is the same as for the 5999 Val Del Road rezoning last October. And there appear to be more previous subsidies from the County Commission to the same developer.

This current giveaway on GA 122 is on the agenda for this morning’s Work Session and Tuesday evening’s voting Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

Who does it profit? And how does it protect Moody AFB?

[Building Valdosta parcel, Comprehensive Plan with MAZ]
Building Valdosta parcel, Comprehensive Plan with MAZ

After I pointed out to the Lowndes County PIO and Clerk that the county was apparently in violation of the Georgia Open Records Act (GORA) by not returning the board packet within three days, they sent it at 7PM on Saturday. The packet is on the LAKE website. However, the packet includes no information about this item beyond the agenda sheet, which says:

HISTORY, FACTS AND ISSUES: At the direction of the Commission, staff has worked with the County Attorney to prepare a purchase agreement that will provide for Lowndes County to purchase 41.543 acres of property on Highway 122 inclusive of development costs incurred by the current owners and as reflected in the agreement, for the purpose of protecting Moody Air Force Base from encroachment.

It doesn’t say where that 41.543 acres is. But the Lowndes County Tax Assessors online web pages and map find it as 7404 E HWY 122, 2.4 miles north of Moody AFB. Continue reading →

Comprehensive Plan final Public Hearing @ LCC 2021-10-26

Update 2021-11-08: Videos: Comprehensive Plan Update Public Hearing 2 @ LCC 2021-10-26.

Update 2021-10-25: Maps: Comprehensive Plan Final Public Hearing @ LCC 2021-10-26.

We’ll find out at 5:30 PM this Tuesday whether the Character Area Map for Lowndes County will change. Two sources tell me that it won’t for this update of the Lowndes County Comprehensive Plan, except for some tinkery fixes not in the northwest part of the county.

But many of us thought the County Commission might listen to the thousand people who signed a petition against subdivisions farther northwest of Valdosta towards Hahira and GA 122, but two weeks ago the Commissioners approved a subdivision way up Val Del Road almost to GA 122, in the middle of an agricultural and forest area, far out of any appropriate Character Area. So if you care, be there.

[Unfinished Lowndes County Character Area Map, courtesy Lowndes County Planner JD Dillard]
Unfinished Lowndes County Character Area Map, courtesy Lowndes County Planner JD Dillard
PDF

This is all the calendar on lowndescounty.com says: Continue reading →