Tag Archives: Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority

Industrial Authority working for solar in south Georgia @ VLCIA 2012-12-18

The Industrial Authority is working to find locations for some of the 210 MW Georgia Power got the PSC to shift from biomass to solar back in September. That’s a good next step.

Jason Schaefer wrote for the VDT 23 Dec 2012, Solar power push has Authority working to establish connections,

Since the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) approved Georgia Allan Ricketts, Projects and Existing Industry Manager, VLCIA, 2012-12-18 Power Company’s plan Nov. 20 to add 210 megawatts of solar power to its electrical grid, the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority has been devising strategies to draw solar energy producers to South Georgia.

Georgia Power will issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) from solar energy collection and production companies in early 2013, according to the PSC, and the company will contract with the lowest bidders to purchase their energy and place it on the Georgia Power electrical grid for public consumption.

Georgia Power plans to add 90 megawatts to its grid from distributed generation (small companies producing between 100 kilowatts and 1 megawatt), and 120 megawatts of large utility-scale projects producing up to 20 megawatts each. The company plans to price the solar energy at $0.13 per kWh for distributed generation and up to $0.12 per kWh for utility-scale projects, according to the PSC.

This government-approved commercial push for solar energy could be a boon to sunny South Georgia as well as the greater Valdosta area specifically, and the Authority is prepared to accommodate the solar energy producers they expect.

Andrew Schruijer, Executive Director, VLCIA, 2012-12-18 “I think there’s a very good possibility of solar energy coming to South Georgia,” Executive Director Andrea Schruijer said. “Possibly in the near future.”

There’s more in the VDT story. It’s pretty much what Col. Ricketts also told me after the VLCIA meeting Tuesday a week ago. He asked me if I knew what “distributed” meant. I pointed out Georgia Power’s version of distributed was actually not very distributed, compared to Continue reading →

Same old agenda at VLCIA tonight @ VLCIA 2012-12-18

According to their website (but curiously not their facebook page):

VLCIA logo The Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority’s Regular Monthly Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 18, 2012, 5:30 PM at the Industrial Authority Conference Room, 2110 N. Patterson Street.

I mentioned to a VLCIA board member Friday that the agendas never changed, except for the dates for minutes of previous meetings and of financial statements. I really must apologize! This one also differs from last month’s agenda in three more ways:

old Executive Director’s Report-Allan Ricketts on behalf of Andrea Schruijer
new Executive Director’s Report- Andrea Schruijer
old Adjourn General Meeting into Executive Session
old Adjourn Executive Session into General Meeting
old Adjoujrn General Meeting
new Adjourn General Meeting

That’s right: apparently Andrea Schruijer is in town this time, there’s no scheduled Executive Session, and a typo is fixed.

However, they didn’t change any of the lists of existing or prospective businesses, or meetings attended, or changes to the website, or acreage owned. Because the agenda never lists any of those things, nor anything else of substance. While that sort of secrecy was perhaps useful in trying to sneak in a private prison and a biomass plant, I wonder if it really helps attract high tech business like Richmond County or attract a solar park like Decatur County?

Here’s the agenda.

-jsq

Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority
Agenda
Tuesday, December 18, 2012 5:30 p.m.
Industrial Authority Conference Room
2110 N. Patterson Street
Continue reading →

VLCIA tomorrow, no agenda @ VLCIA 2012-09-25

The rescheduled Industrial Authority meeting is tomorrow, 25 September 2012, 5:30pm, 2110 N. Patterson Street, Valdosta. On their facebook page I asked "Agenda for tomorrow?" Here's their response:

Valdosta Lowndes County Industrial Authority Thanks Mr. Quaterman, The meeting agenda is the same as posted on the website. I'll update the date in the morning, working on our new & improved website project now. Can't wait to unveil our new site. See you tomorrow evening!

While I commend VLCIA (I'm guessing by way of S. Meghan Duke) for responding to an inquiry (even if she didn't get my name right), I do wonder whether, while they're updating the website format, maybe they could add some content to their agendas. Meanwhile, the one she's referring to is the one quoted for last month's meeting.

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VLCIA rescheduled for a week later @ VLCIA 2012-09-25

According to their website:

The Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority Monthly Meeting for September Has Been Rescheduled For Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012 5:30pm Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority Offices

That’s at 2110 N. Patterson Street, Valdosta. They also posted this notice on their facebook page yesterday. No agenda is posted yet.

Here are videos of last month’s meeting.

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Video playlist @ VLCIA 2012-08-21

Here are videos of the 21 August 2012 Regular meeting. of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA). Here's the agenda.

See also Steeda Manufacturing moving into medical parts and new markets.

Regular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Tom Call, Roy Copeland, Chairman, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett, Andrea Schruijer, Executive Director, J. Stephen Gupton, Attorney, Tom Davis, CPA, Allan Ricketts, Project ManagerS. Meghan Duke, Public Relations & Marketing Manager, Lu Williams, Operations Manager,
Videos by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 21 August 2012.

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Steeda Manufacturing moving into medical parts and new markets @ VLCIA 2012-08-21

Dario Orlando, CEO of Steeda Manufacturing, which currently makes performance parts for Mustangs, told the Industrial Authority at its 21 August 2012 Regular Session that Steeda is moving into making medical parts, plus selling to GM, and into new geographical markets.

Here’s Part 1 of 4:

Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 21 August 2012.

Allan Ricketts, VLCIA Project Manager, explained that Steeda had requested a second extension, and an amendment to reduce the requirement of number of jobs from 40 to 30.

We certainly think that is justified in the very difficult economic climate and conditions that we’ve had over the past couple of years, and certainly acknowledging that in that very challenging economic time, we’ve had steady continued growth by Steeda. And so now we’re up to about 23 employees there.

I think it is also significant to note […] that Steeda has now moved its entire manufacturing operation to Valdosta. That move represents about a million five investment in the community. Actually specifically it is $1,480,950 in some very unique manufacturing equipment. I think it is important to understand that some of this manufacturing equipment provides a great resource here that two of the current projects that we are chasing are very interested in.

Here’s Part 2 of 4:

Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 21 August 2012.

Dario Orlando then remarked that things were going very well, and:

We’re expanding into other markets like I’d mentioned before the commencement of the meeting. We’re moving into medical manufacturing because we do have the most advanced manufacturing capabilities here in Valdosta. Furthermore, we’re starting to supply General Motors with performance parts, the GM performance brand. We opened up another company here in Valdosta called LSR Performance.

I was telling Allan this morning… that we’re all going to be looking back at this day. I plan to have a couple of hundred employees here in the next five years.

Then he mentioned a new development, and Roy Copeland reminded him this was an open public meeting. Hint: Continue reading →

VLCIA to sue Sterling Power about biomass site?

I’d heard a rumor that some sort of lawsuit about the biomass site was the subject of some of the Industrial Authority executive sessions for real estate discussions. VLCIA has finally said in public what their position is.

Jason Schaefer wrote for the VDT today, Authority weighs suit for biomass land: Slow progress leads to default, contract argument

The Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority plans to send a petition to Lowndes County Superior Court to sue Wiregrass Power, LLC, for a clear title on the land purchased for the development of a biomass energy plant.

The Authority believes Wiregrass defaulted on a lease agreement to build the plant, placing ownership of the 22.22-acre tract back in their hands, but Wiregrass denies the allegations. This denial casts “a cloud” of suspicion on the Authority that may prevent it from re-marketing the property, according to the petition, leading to the suit.

Sounds like they’re publicizing their intent to try to scare Sterling off without having to sue. I’m for that.

This may explain a flurry of special called meetings they had in May and June 2011.

Continue reading →

VLCIA meets tonight, about what, we can’t tell @ VLCIA 2012-08-21

According to its website:

The Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority’s Regular Monthly Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 21, 2012, 5:30 PM at the Industrial Authority Conference Room, 2110 N. Patterson Street.

Last meeting, VLCIA Executive Director Andrea Schruijer told me the results of the focus groups would be presented this month. Maybe she meant at this meeting. On the VLCIA facebook page, there’s this paragraph from 14 August 2012:

We are excited to present our final Target Business Analysis to the community at the end of August. We took at 360 degree approach to targeting economic development activity concentrating on employment, workforce skill, investment, and innovation to identify clusters of economic activity and developing targeted strategies for economic development.

It links to this (unembeddable) video of Andrea Schruijer talking about cluster analysis. It’s good they’re branching out to new ways of doing PR. It would be even better if they also published agendas and minutes with content.

Here’s the (content-free) agenda for today’s meeting:

Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority
Agenda
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 5:30 p.m.
Industrial Authority Conference Room
2110 N. Patterson Street
Continue reading →

The sun came up on a different world —Julian Assange

Julian Assange of Wikileaks spoke from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London today (video, text):

The next time somebody tells you that it is pointless to defend the rights we hold dear, remind them of your vigil in the dark outside the Embassy of Ecuador, and how, in the morning, the sun came up on a different world, and a courageous Latin American nation took a stand for justice.

The British government made a stunning mistake in throwing away the worldwide goodwill just gained through the London Olympic Games, by actually beginning to storm a sovereign embassy in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations that was observed throughout the Cold War. How could they be so foolish? This man, this reporter and publisher, they think is somehow more dangerous to them than the armed might of the Soviet Union was? This is as if JFK arrested MLK after John Glenn’s first orbital flight (a step which JFK fortunately did not take).

There is something you can do, even when the world is turned upside down:

Continue reading →