CALEA presentation —Chief Frank Simons @ VCC 25 August 2011 Part 1 of 6:
Regular Session, Valdosta City Council (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 25 August 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Then Police Chief Frank Simons introduced the subject.
5.a) Consideration of an Ordinance for a referendum to allow citizens of
the City of Valdosta to vote on whether to annul and repeal the special
independent school system so that the City of Valdosta public school
system shall become part of the Lowndes County public school system.
This appears to be a pro-forma vote to put the referendum on the ballot.
But you never know what might happen, especially in council comments
or Citizens to Be Heard.
Maybe FVCS will show up.
Jordan Leman is a student at VSU who had just spoken to the
Valdosta City Council in Citizens to be Heard, at the same
regular session yesterday where they approved putting referendum
about Sunday alcohol sales on November’s ballot.
“…try to get as many college students and as many non-college students
here in Valdosta and Lowndes County
to go out and vote for it or to go register to vote.
…
Get the word out to go vote on Sunday sales.”
Valdosta City Council just passed motion for alcohol referendum —Jordan Leman
Regular Session, Valdosta City Council (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 21 July 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Buying alcohol on Sundays just got one step closer to reality Thursday evening, with the Valdosta City Council’s passage of an ordinance to authorize a referendum for the Nov. 8 General Election.
The referendum will allow voters in the city of Valdosta to decide whether package sales of malt beverages, wine and distilled spirits should be allowed by retailers on Sundays between 12:30 and 11:30 p.m. Currently, citizens can purchase alcoholic beverages on Sundays at local restaurants. This measure, approved by the state of Georgia’s legislature this year, will allow package and grocery stores, and other retailers, to sell alcoholic beverages on Sundays.
The measure passed 5 to 1, with Councilman Robert Yost opposing. Councilman Deidre White was not in attendance.
The town of Quartzsite, AZ, population 3,466, is in disarray after a
video showing police hauling away a citizen for speaking at the town
meeting podium went viral. The woman was saying that the town council
had been violating open meeting laws.
It was the second citizen arrested at a Quartzsite town meeting in two weeks.
It is unbelievable that despite all the concerns in our community about
biomass, the Industrial authority is still considering to sell the
land to a company like
Wiregrass Power LLC.
This is the same company
the Industrial Authority once stated
it had no faith in anymore.
This is the same company
that just missed another deadline as stipulated by
their contract. And this is the same company that apparently does not
have the best interest of our community in mind.
The Valdosta City Council could also hold an ethics investigation
of their own appointees to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority,
on the topic of why those appointees are in favor of a project with
demonstrated health hazards to the community.
Short of that, Valdosta could demand transparency from VLCIA:
Continue reading →
VDT is not quite right when it says Only city can stop biomass. The Lowndes County Commission could do it.
According to Ashley Paulk, a few months ago VLCIA approached the Lowndes County government, asking them to ask VLCIA not to extend Sterling Planet’s contract for the biomass plant. Chairman Paulk refused to accept that hot potato and instead laudably told the community what was going on. Yet there was a bit of a good idea in what VLCIA was asking. Lowndes County could pass an ordinance such as VDT is suggesting banning the incineration of human feces.
For that matter, wasn’t the rezoning to build a certain biomass plant according to a certain plan which has no expired? Maybe the rezoning is already null and void and the Commission just needs to declare it so.
Short of that, the Lowndes County Commission could demand transparency from VLCIA:
In a recent Valdosta council meeting, longtime councilman Sonny Vickers
asked if there was any way to put the biomass issue to rest once and for
all. The good news, Councilman Vickers, is that there is and it’s all
in the city’s hands.
The Industrial Authority signed an agreement with Wiregrass Power LLC
which allows the company to purchase the land from the Authority and
proceed with the project on its own. Although the Authority hasn’t
yet voted on the issue, it appears that they don’t have a choice and
may be compelled to honor the agreement.
Compelled? Give me a break!
VLCIA has an attorney, and one of its board members is an attorney.
If they can’t find a way to break a land purchase contract because
conditions have changed, they need new legal counsel.
We saw
part 1,
and now here are the rest of the videos
George Boston Rhynes sent of the Valdosta City Council’s
ethics hearing of 22 June 2011 about Mayor Fretti’s travel expenses.
There was assorted legal wrangling, plus appearances by
Mayor Fretti Ethics Hearing cont. with Taylor, Harris, and Flumerfelt Part 1 of 8:
Mayor Fretti’s Expenses,
Ethics Hearing, Valdosta City Council (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 22 June 2011.
Videos by George Boston Rhynes for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Compliments to Mayor Fretti for saying we will competitively expand the Wiregrass Solar plant!
Responding to
George Rhynes’ point,
I said that while I had recommended moving Citizens to be Heard to the
end of the agenda, it never occured to me that it might get moved
after Council Comments, which did lead to an impression that Council
did not want to hear and did not plan to respond.
I noted that if Council videoed its own proceedings and put them on the web,
that would help make the problem moot.
I’m thinking videos distributed by the City Council itself would probably
get
more citizens viewing them than ones distributed by bloggers like me and
George and by LAKE.
My main point was that, even though Brad Lofton and Col. Ricketts apparently
never told Mayor Fretti, there was a larger solar array in
Continue reading →
The Valdosta Police Department got not only CALEA accreditation but
an award, again for several years running.
Then Police Chief Frank Simons introduced the subject.
