Tag Archives: VLPRA

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 →

Videos, Retreat, first day @ LCC 2014-02-27



They talked in detail about the

Naylor boat ramp and park.
The discussed

animal shelter renovations for 2015 and 2016.
And of course their paving list.
Surprisingly, they actually considered whether ownership
along the road right of way should be taken into account
in deciding whether to pave or not.
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall said he had been surprised
to learn that many county citizens did not want their roads paved.

Here’s
the agenda and some
still pictures.
Here are

the raw videos
so you can see for yourself.



Videos, Retreat, first day

Annual Retreat, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),

Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 February 2014.

They’re back at it this morning, and Gretchen is there videoing.

-jsq

Videos: New judge, river gauge, park deed, personnel costs, pest control, and retirement @ LCC 2013-08-27



Unanimous approval for
a third no-bid contract this month for Lovell Engineering, this time for

for a sports complex in Hahira,
but surprisingly
the
opaque pest control bids
were tabled indefinitely.
Also unanimously approved were
three new fine-processing positions for the Clerk of Court,
the
Little River stream gauge,
The special presentation was for
the retirement of Gene Roberts from Public Works.
No mention of the previous morning’s presentations by
Judge John Kent Edwards Jr.

asking for a new State Court Judge
or

about fines moving from Sheriff to State Court.
Dr. Michael Noll said

Moody AFB once again couldn’t get access
to the site for the Moody Family Housing the Commission already approved,
despite the sinkhole on the adjoining land.

Here’s

the agenda, with links to the videos and a few notes.
See also

videos of the previous morning’s Work Session.

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 →

Importance of transparency, due diligence, and communication –Michael G. Noll @ LCC 2013-08-27

Received yesterday on

VSU professors write to USAF consultant about Moody Family Housing @ LCC 2013-08-27. -jsq



Thanks for posting this John.

One should note that the VDT was absent at

the LCBOC meeting on
August 13, when the

county commissioners approved the rezoning
request. This approval came after

we presented our concerns and
before


the period given by AFCEC for public comments
in regard to the

Environmental Assessment (EA) expired. No mention in the VDT on
August 14 about any of it, since no VDT reporter was present.



In regard to the EA and the possibilities to submit comments, it
should also be noted that

the phone number listed in the public announcement was incorrect.
Thus, any attempts to contact Mr. Allen
Richmond, the AFCEC representative, with this published phone number
were unsuccessful. We eventually received the correct phone number
with the help of Moody AFB personnel. While we were able to speak
once with Mr. Richmond and establish email contact, his ability (or
willingness?) to communicate was limited.

Moreover, we asked Mr. Allen Richmond on August 12 if we Continue reading →

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

Fine collection moving from Sheriff to State Court @ LCC 2013-08-26



Could you have guessed what this was about from the agenda item?
Why do we the taxpayers of this $130,000 or $173,000 have to guess?
They vote tonight about what was proposed
at the

26 August 2013 Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

6.c. 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.
The Sheriff’s office, in attempting to comply with state law,
decided it didn’t want to continuing handling fines.
There’s a piece of new legislation proposing to
have the Clerk of Court process and retain all the relevant information;
Judge Edwards thinks it will pass next year.
This requires shifting funding from the Sheriff’s office
to the Courts.
But it will simplify processing (and presumably costs)
by not having it go through both Sheriff and State Court.
Meanwhile, Judge Edwards is not aware of any other county
that still does this processing through the Sheriff’s department.

Here’s

Part 1 of 2: Continue reading →

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 →

Third no-bid contract for same firm proposed this month @ LCC 2013-08-26

This time
the County Engineer said Lovell was the only qualified


consultant for an ecological and environmental study
(because of what requirement we don’t know),
for a land swap (for what we don’t know),
not funded by the county (funded by whom we don’t know).
You the taxpayers and people potentially affected by any
ecological and environmental problems: do you think you might
want to know?
They vote tonight about what was proposed
at the

26 August 2013 Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

6.a.

Environmental Engineering Services for GDOT Land Deed for Parks and Recreation

Invisible County Engineer Mike Fletcher said he had received a proposal
from Lovell Engineering Services for the
62.49 acre tract
just north of the existing skate park Parks and Rec owns
and just north of the old rest area.


The county Tax Assessors maps don’t show any tract of that size
near that location, but they Continue reading →

Videos: Moody, Moody, acre, water, and SPLOST VII @ LCC 2013-08-13



The

big item was a public-private partnership for units to be rented only to
military personnel, built on top of the same soil as has a sinkhole
next door.
They also approved a no-bid contract for
a drinking water treatment plant upgrade near the Alapaha River,
plus another no-bid contract for Lovell Engineering, for
wastewater treatment.
And they’re so confident SPLOST VII will be approved
by the voters (even though they never held a town hall or public hearing)
that staff is going to ask the state

to continue collections in January;
plus Gretchen pointed out that
if citizens knew what was in SPLOST they might be more willing to vote for it.
Including maybe even
the woman who noted that since garbage trucks
are coming down her road it needs to be fixed.

Here’s

the agenda,
with links to the videos and a few notes, including a few links to related posts.



LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →