Tag Archives: Valdosta City Council

Hahira annexation again, two county, and four Valdosta w. Phi Sigma Kappa @ GLPC 2014-05-27



Return of the

Hahira
rezoning
and
annexation,
down from 66.1 to as 58.09 acres,
even after the

Lowndes County Commission letter of objection of 22 April 2014,
and on Tuesday next week, same time as the County Commission meeting.
A

ULDC amendment request for Special Events and such
and an

LDR amendment request for unspecified reasons.
A

county
rezoning

to agricultural
and
three

Valdosta
use changes:

daycare,


fraternity,
and

commercial office.

Here’s the agenda, which arrived as a PDF actually convertable to text!

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


Tuesday, May 27, 2014* 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing

Continue reading →

Study before Levee –Tim Carroll @ VCC 2014-05-06

Comment

on facebook 10 May 2014 and he told me the same by telephone.

It is clear a full watershed wide study must be completed before any
decisions can be made.


As established in this first study—The
City of Valdosta is the recipient-not the origin- of the flood
waters. While it confirms what we already knew, my job is to try and
keep the ball rolling forward. Engage congressional leaders, secure
funding and find long term, sustainable solutions that benefit all
communities within the watershed basin. A levee by itself is not the
answer.

–Tim Carroll

This was a comment on Continue reading →

Videos: Valdosta City Council Work Session @ VCC 2014-05-06



Here’s the Call to Order.
See
separate post
for details of the Army Corps of Engineers flooding study.
The Work Session continued after that, but Gretchena and I both
had to go to other events, so there’s no video of the rest.

If Valdosta videoed its own meetings, Continue reading →

Videos: Flooding study by Army Corps of Engineers @ VCC 2014-05-06



In these videos of

the initial flooding study
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Valdosta City Council Work Session,
you can see they’re the Corps, all right: they want to build a levee.
They did emphasize that this was just an initial study on
what could be done inside Valdosta, and their main conclusion
was that there was enough need to indicate federal interest,
as in possibilities of getting federal funding for solutions.
City Manager Larry Hanson got the Corps to confirm (several times)
that Valdosta alone couldn’t stop the flooding, since the vast
majority of floodwaters comes from upstream

on the Withlacoochee and Little Rivers.



Later that same evening in response to citizen questions
at the Valdosta City Hall Annex, the Corps clarified more that
they did understand there were issues of impervious surfaces
and development and loss of wetlands and they wanted to
do a much larger study of the entire watershed,
which could take several years to accomplish.
They kept emphasizing that the Suwannee River watershed
is one of the largest in the country, and there are also
flooding problems on the Suwannee River, which could be important
for obtaining federal dollars.

As we already knew, Valdosta has funded projects already started

to move the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) uphill
and to add a force main to prevent manhole overflows.
People

downstream in Florida may be relieved to hear something is being done.

Here’s

a video playlist, followed by images of the Corp’s slides and of the City Council, and some notes.

Continue reading →

Brown Bag Lunch Concerts: last day today



Valdosta Main Street has a

Brown Bag Lunch Concert Series
all this week,
last day today.

Downtown Valdosta fills with live music during lunchtime in May for
the week-long Brown Bag Lunch Concert Series. The free concerts take
place from 11:30 a.m. — 1:30 p.m. on the Lowndes County
Courthouse Lawn with lunches being sold by downtown restaurants.
Bring your friends and family to this free community event and
seeing what downtown Valdosta has to offer.

There you’ll also see some of your favorite candidates for local political office. Continue reading →

Flooding study tonight, twice @ VCC 2014-05-06



Tonight we get to hear twice about the long-awaited
flooding study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers:
once with no citizen input at the Valdosta City Council Work Session,
and then with citizen input at Valdosta City Hall Annex.
Presumably this study will say something about the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), the new

force main to prevent manhole overflows, and
maybe some upstream measures to keep quite as much water from getting there.
This study only addresses issues within the city limits of Valdosta,
not the larger watersheds upstream on the Withlacoochee and Little Rivers
and downstream: that will take more funding.
People

downstream in Florida may be relieved to hear something is being done.

Continue reading →

Valdosta Farm Days starts today



9AM to 1PM

Valdosta Farm Days at the old Lowndes County Courthouse,
first and third Saturdays, starting today.

City of Valdosta Pr 24 April 2014,

Downtown Valdosta Welcomes Back Farm Days,

On market Saturdays, vendors offer a variety of goods for sale such
as locally-grown, locally-raised, locally-produced fruits and
vegetables, plants, herbs, meats, farm-fresh eggs and dairy
products, organic produce, baked and prepared foods, snacks and
coffee. Patrons will also find a variety of artisan and natural
products including products made from recycled goods, birdhouses,
handmade soaps and body products, candles, and honey products. Those
who arrive early to shop have the advantage of beating the heat and
getting the best picks of the season.

The market also serves as a venue to educate the community on
healthy local options. Cooking demonstrations and Continue reading →

One Hahira rezoning and annexation and Two Valdosta Conditional Use Permits @ GLPC 2014-04-28



It seems unlikely the Hahira
rezoning
and
annexation
will go anywhere tonight, due to the

Lowndes County Commission letter of objection of 22 April 2014,
even though that may be based on a misunderstanding.
Hm, somebody wants
to establish a recycling center.
And Langdale Ford wants
to establish a minor automotive repair facility.

Here’s the agenda, which arrived as a PDF actually convertable to text!

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, April 28, 2014* 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing

Continue reading →

Board appointments by Lowndes County



Here’s Lowndes County’s

list of Boards, Agencies & Commissions.
Unfortunately,
unlike

Valdosta’s list,
most of the names in the county’s list have no links to further information,
and there’s no indication of which positions might be open
or how to apply for them.

Update: 4:30 PM 24 April 2014:
And there’s the Board of Elections which is decided by a completely different process with a quicker deadline of 28 April 2014.

We do know there’s a vacancy on the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial
Authority (VLCIA), which presumably will be filled after the upcoming
Special Election May 20th, but the county has given no indication of when.
The only way the county usually announces open positions is when they
appear on the County Commission’s agenda, which usually shows up online
Friday for voting on Tuesday.
For example, the county has appointed: Continue reading →

You can apply to serve on a board or commission



You can apply to be appointed by Valdosta to a local board or authority that
decides or recommends on issues that affect everyone:
do interesting work and serve your community.
Dealine: April 30th.
You don’t even have to live in Valdosta: anybody in Lowndes County can apply.
If you want to run for a city council or county commission
seat someday, this is a good way to start.
And if you want to run for the state legislature or higher office,
that’s the most common path to get there.

Update: 4:30 PM 24 April 2014:
And there’s the Board of Elections which is decided by a completely different process with a quicker deadline of 28 April 2014.

Winnie Wright wrote for WCTV 23 April 2014,

City Of Valdosta Looking To Fill 15 Vacancies In Boards, Authorities, and Commissions, Continue reading →