Tag Archives: VLPRA

Subdivisions subsidized by roads, EV charging, VAWA, Soccer complex, Courtroom AV @ LCC 2022-04-11

Update 2022-04-12:
Videos.

Thanks to Joe Brownlee of Georgia Power for getting Lowndes County to agree to
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
at the county palace.

REZ-2022-06 Kinderlou Forest aims to go pretty close to Spring Branch and the Withlacoochee River.

Rezonings, Val Del Road traffic, Electric Vehicle Charging

The agenda item
for
REZ-2022-07 Hayden Park, Camelot Crossing & Val Del Rd
says “BUDGET IMPACT: N/A” for “a mixture of residential and commercial sites for development in various stages.”
Yet the Lowndes County Commission board packet contains 52 pages of traffic study for the intersection of Val Del Road and North Valdosta Road.
Staff notes “Plans for two left-turn lanes from Val Del to North Valdosta Road are anticipated to be complete by 2023.”
The applicant’s Letter of intent says, “Lowndes County has been wise to pro-actively invest in infrastructure here, anticipating and preparing for new growth.” Continue reading →

Videos: Stealth Commission district reapportionment and half million dollar developer giveaway @ LCC 2022-01-25

As expected, the Lowndes County Commission at its Regular Session passed the half million dollar bailout for a developer.

Not expected, they changed the agenda at the beginning of the meeting to approve new Commission district maps
and a resolution supporting them, for immediate transmission to the state.

One citizen wishing to be heard spoke about the never ending noise from the 15 month old Arglass factory.

Amendment, Commissioners, New Districts

Developer Bailout

For

5.k. Property Purchase – Building Valdosta, LLC
County Manager Paige Dukes said staff acted at the direction of the Commissioners, seeming to distance herself and staff from this action.

Reapportionment

I’m guessing the added agenda item was

5.l..

Vice Chair Joyce Evans, presiding over the meeting in the absence of Chair Bill Slaughter, introduced the agenda change for district reapportionment indicating the Commissioners all already knew this was going to happen. Continue reading →

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

Update 2024-10-21:
The county is finally generating some income from that half a million dollar subdivision buyout.

Agenda: DRC Emergency Services and VSU South Campus Purchase @ LCC 2024-10-21.

At yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session,
there was no discussion by the Commissioners about

5.k. Property Purchase – Building Valdosta, LLC,
but new wrinkles did come to some small light.

County Manager Paige Dukes said
“This is a follow up on the Building Valdosta purchase of property we have discussed with you several times…”
In what public meeting did those discussion take place?
She also said the county attorney had worked out an agreement with Building Valdosta, yet that agreement was not in the board packet.
And she remarked, “Any other claims related to this will continue through, um, any process with ACCG that they may have for lost profits.”
She immediately called for

an Executive Session for “Client-privileged communication regarding potential or pending litigation and for the purchase of property.”

Sounds like the county got sued by a developer, or was threatened with a lawsuit, and is resolving that by bailing out the developer with half a million of our tax dollars.

How can any developer who did the slightest due diligence not know that
the subject property on GA 122 east of Bemiss Road is in the Moody Activity Zone (MAZ)?
If that’s not their beef, what is?

Joyce Evans presiding, VOCA/CESF grant, Loch Laurel Road project, Property Purchase — Building Valdosta, LLC

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

No rezonings: Moody AFB, Courts, DA, Safety, Road, Nelson Hill Lift State @ LCC 2022-01-24

Update 2022-01-24:
Board packet and
Why should Lowndes County spend half a million dollars to subsidize a developer? 2022-01-24

The neverending Miller Bridge Road subdivision is not in this Lowndes County Commission agenda for Monday and Tuesday.
For that, see the Planning Commission agenda for January 31, 2022.

But the County Commission agenda does contain
two examples of how taxpayers are subsidizing development in Lowndes Counta.
The $45,742.00 for the
5.d. Nelson Hill Lift Station Pump Upgrade is “Due to growth in the area”: growth the county is actively promoting.

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.

Agenda, Nelson Hill Lift Station

Cost	What
$568,971.00	Property Purchase – Building Valdosta, LLC
$45,742.00	Nelson Hill Lift Station Pump Upgrade
$16,496.88	AT&T Switched Ethernet Circuit Continuation of Service
$631,209.88	Total

Nelson Hill Sewer Lift Station

On the one hand, I commend Lowndes County Utilities for staying ahead of
sewer system demand and thus preventing sewage spills.
On the other hand, look at why the agenda sheet says: Continue reading →

Videos: VLPRA, RV sales, Moody AFB Fire Dept., Tax Assessors @ LCC 2021-09-13

By far the longest item at the Lowndes County Commission Work Session yesterday morning was the

presentation on the VLPRA Master Plan by their consultant David Barth, taking 34 minutes.

Second longest was

8.d. GMASS Commercial Contract for the Tax Asessors office.
Each of these got more than a minute:
the
RV sales expansion item,
and

8.b. Fire and Emergency Services Agreement between Lowndes County and MFAB.

VLPRA, RV sales, Moody AFB Fire Dept., Tax Assessors

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

GMASS for Tax Assessors, Fire, Foam, Moody, RV, Courthouse, Alcohol @ LCC 2021-09-13

Update 2021-09-14:
LAKE videos.

The Tax Assessors having no commercial appraisers left are hiring
GMASS
to appraise commercial properties, for $108,000 over three years.

Four times as much will go to early cleanup work at the historic Courthouse.

Cost	What
$411,125.00	Lowndes County Historic Courthouse Early Demolition and Abatement GMP (Guaranteed Maximum Price)
$108,000.00	GMASS Commercial Contract for Tax Assessors
$519,125.00	Total

This is on
the agenda
this morning for the Lowndes County Commission.
At this Work Session, they have two extra items:
Code Enforcement Appreciation and
VLPRA Adopted Master Plan Presentation by Dr. David Barth (Work Session).

They will vote Tuesday evening, on these and other items including
a Fire Department agreement with Moody AFB, expansion of an RV sales company,
and beer and wine sales.

Alcohol, RV, Tax Assessors contractor

Below is the agenda. Update 2021-09-14: The board packet is on the LAKE website due to a LAKE open records request.

See also the preceding Planning Commission agenda ~~and board packet~~
and LAKE videos.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Videos: Bandit film, air conditioning, insolvent taxes, Fender Road Improvement Project, VLPRA @ LCC 2021-06-08

Just before
adjournment,
County Manager Paige Dukes said the Bandit film continued filming downtown.
She answered Commissioners Demarcus Marshall and Mark Wisenbaker
saying the new millage letters were going out, with the exemption
for the new fire tax,
At the June 8, 2021, Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.

Everything passed unanimously.

Chairman, Finance, Attorney, Griner, Manager, Audience

The

Minutes record the County Manager also said in
Reports:

Mrs. Dukes stated staff will
be meeting with our Southern Marketing Coordinator, with the Georgia Department of Agriculture, Beth
Meeks next week regarding a Farmer of the Year recognition. Additionally, Mrs. Dukes mentioned
State Court Judge, John Edwards, was notified that Judge Melton has sent the last order extending
the emergency order for the courts through June 30th. Lastly, Mrs. Dukes commended Mr. Tye’s
leadership in providing a renewal of our ‘storm ready’ designation in Lowndes County; Mrs. Dukes
asked Mr. Tye to give the commission an update. Chairman Slaughter stated this would not have
happened without the partnerships with emergency management and thanked Mr. Tye for his efforts
and dedication.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item,
followed by a LAKE video playlist. Continue reading →

Videos: air conditioning, Insolvent taxes, Fender Road Improvement Project, VLPRA @ LCC 2021-06-07

Air conditioning, a quit claim, and, by far the longest, those incorrect tax assessment notices were the big items
at the most recent Lowndes County, Georgia, Commission Work Session, June 7, 2021.

Manager and Chairman, Demarcus Marshall, Engineer

See
previous post
for the agenda and the board packet.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.

Continue reading →

Insolvent taxes, Fender Road Improvement Project, air conditioning, VLPRA @ LCC 2021-06-07

The agenda for tomorrow morning’s Work Session and voting Tuesday evening doesn’t actually list the $437,823.30 insolvent tax writeoff as “BUDGET IMPACT”
but it seems like it must affect the budget of Lowndes County, Georgia.

What would you guess would be the biggest insolvency for business closed,
things moved somewhere else, etc.?
Mobile homes? Paving? Real Estate?

Cost	What
$618,767.14	Fender Road Improvement Project
$437,823.30	Insolvent List – Tax Commissioner
$28,842.00	Agreement for HVAC Service for Additional Lowndes County Buildings
$1,085,432.44	Total

Nope.

Insolvent tax writeoffs, Fender Road Improvement

On page 21, Personal Property, GANDER MOUNTAIN COMPANIES has three lines
of base + interest + Penalty + FIFA and in one case they actually paid the base tax.
So the nets for each of the three lines add up as
$16,917.55 + $82,256.20 + $74,203.57 = $173,377.32.
That’s just shy of 40% of the $437,823.30 total.
Maybe big box stores are more of a risk than the county and cities
have been taking into account. Continue reading →

Millage Rate Meeting @ LCC Millage 2020-08-11

The board packet for the Tuesday Lowndes County Commission Regular Session says,
on page 65, which is the

agenda sheet
for

agenda item 6.a. Adoption of Millage Rate:

HISTORY, FACTS AND ISSUES: The Board of Commissioners is required to set the county-wide millage rate for
2020. A public hearing was held prior to this adoption as required. The county-wide millage should be set at
10.851 mills with the County receiving 8.601 mills, the Industrial Authority receiving 1.00 mill and the Parks
and Recreation Authority receiving 1.25 mills. This represents a reduction of 0.087 mills.

I wondered: when was this public hearing?

10.851 mills, 8.601 County, 1.00 VLDA, 1.25 VLPRA. reduction of 0.087 mills.

According to the county’s online calendar, it hasn’t hapened yet, because it’s

5:00 PM that same Tuesday.

So if you’re going to the Regular Session, might as well show up half an hour earlier
for the Millage Rate Meeting.
Chances are, you’ll be the only member of the public there.

-jsq

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