Eight minutes to do your business: yesterday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session.
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall took the day off from his work at the City of Valdosta
to be there.
Not clear the rest of them took it that seriously.
He and at least one other Commissioner did get some questions in.
And they did all show up, at least.
We’ll see if they’re all there for voting this evening at 5:30 PM.
Some interesting questions on the Continue reading
In an interesting version of a revolving door,
county appointee Michael H. McDowell’s KLVB term is expiring,
so is Valdosta appointee Bubba Highsmith’s,
and the county proposes appointing Highsmith.
Highsmith is
a State Farm Insurance Agent.
Also on
the Lowndes County Commission agenda
for 8:30AM Monday morning are:
banking services (looks like
Ameris Bank costs way less than BB&T, and SunTrust even less,
but Ameris has the best interest rate),
a
computer bulk purchase for $54,795.98, yet another
pump purchase,
allegedly for $0 dollars because this is actually for specifications rather than actual purchase.
Typical Application: Residential Pump System, Triple “D” Pump Company
Finally, the tabled-from-last-meeting
Ordinance about Board of Health Rules:
will the Commissioners have had time to read the one copy
the County Manager allows them?
Plus an
alcohol license, Continue reading
The most interesting items were not on
the agenda
of the Regular Session two weeks ago of the Lowndes County Commission Work Session.
The County Engineer had
One more thing: Loch Laurel Bridge Work and Closure 7/16 – 7/23,
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall
reminded everyone the Georgia hands-free driving law was going into effect,
and the Chairman announced
swearing in of the newly un-privatized Probation Officers the following morning.
The longest scheduled item at almost 3 minutes was
New Consoles For 911 Dispatchers,
followed by
Contract With Parks And Recreation Authority,
because both had questions from Commissioners.
The two grant items added the previous morning, for
Accountability Court
and
DUI Court,
sailed through, as did the
Francis Lake Lift Station Repair
and the
LAS Storage Pond Improvements.
Below are Continue reading
Videos of the Lowndes County Commission Work Session two weeks ago.
See
agenda post for background.
The budget got no comments from Commmissioners.
County Manager Joe Pritchard asked for
addition of two grant agenda items, for
Accountability Court
and
DUI Court.
Proponents of each spoke, and both items were added to the agenda
for the next day’s Regular Session.
Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item,
with a few notes,
especially about the
Hotel/Motel Tax
and the still-mysterious
Wisconsin Public Finance Authority Bond Issue,
a rare verbal appearance by Joyce Evans on Continue reading
A
busy morning’s agenda
starts with approving
a new annual budget and related
hotel and motel taxes.
Plus a
Contract with Valdosta Continuing Land Bank Authority.
Parks and Rec is negotiating a $3 million loan from Ameris Bank for improvements to Freedom Park and wants
the county to guarantee its 1.25 mil tax base.
Utilities wants
about $20,000 for impellers and wear rings for the pumps in the
Francis Lake Lift Station and about $275,000 to improve the
Land Application Site (LAS), where they spray sewer waste onto a field
which they then rent out for hay production (the county does not have a wastewater treatment plant).
See also WWALS blog post.
The mysterious
out-of-state apartment bonds
actually get an explanation this time:
The Board of Commissioners is requested to adopt the attached
revised Resolution approving the issuance of bonds by a Wisconsin
Public Finance Authority. A portion of the proceeds of the bonds
will be used for a project located on Old Statenville Road. The
project is a 204-unit multi-family affordable housing development
known as Brittany Woods & Park Chase Apartments.
1150 Old Statenville Road, Parcel 0159D 014,The reason for this revised Resolution is Continue reading
Two weeks ago, they spent the most time (5.5 minutes) on the
two
sections of
5. Proclamation Presentations for National Drug Court Month.
They spent 2.5 minutes on
bids
and almost 2 minutes (almost 5.5 total) on the
wetland credits
for the
North Lowndes Park Soccer Complex.
Third most time was 4.5 minutes on
recognizing retiring volunteer firefighter
Scott Caldwell(?).
The speaker was Chief Ashley Tye, so I guess he’s now the regular county Fire Chief.
They tabled the
Airport Authority appointment
waiting for more information.
Maybe they noticed George Page had also asked the City of Valdosta
to appoint him.
The alleged County Attorney, with his microphone three feet from his face
and pointing 90 degrees away, muttered something about the
mysterious Wisconsin bond issue.
The
Probation agreement
and
Electronic Monitoring Contract
got more than three minutes total.
They spent a bit more than a minute voting on
a law form for the opioid litigation.
The
Hay Lease Agreement Amendment
is a water item, because it’s about the county’s
spray field, also known as its Land Application Site (LAS).
And the
Bevel Creek Lift Station Pump that feeds it.
Final water item:
dates of completion for the
GEFA Loan Agreement; they did provide a clue what that loan was for.
Here are links to Continue reading
Opioid litigation will be added to the agenda
for this evening, although not for voting, as
8.i, Selection of Legal Firm for Opioid Litigation:
Select legal firm,
The Studstill Law Firm and the Blasingame, Burch, Garrard &
Ashley Law Firm have both submitted proposals to represent Lowndes County
in the opioid litigation.
That was the longest agenda item at the Monday morning Work Session.
The
Probation Resolution and Services Agreement,
which
had been tabled two weeks before,
got almost two minutes,
including questions about cost.
Add the minute and a half for the
Electronic Monitoring Contract
and those two items with the same presenter got the longest total.
The two North Lowndes Park Soccer Complex items,
Wetland Credits
and
Bids,
that will massively change Hahira, did not get a total of two minutes.
The
Hay Lease Agreement Amendment
is another water item, because it’s about the county’s
spray field, also known as its Land Application Site (LAS).
And the
Bevel Creek Lift Station Pump that feeds it.
Final water item:
dates of completion for the
GEFA Loan Agreement, whatever it’s for.
The mysterious
Wisconsin Public Finance Authority Bond Issue
is to finance a project on Old Statenville Road in the Valdosta City Limits.
They’re going to reappoint Steve Everett to the
Valdosta-Lowndes County Airport Authority; he did not speak.
And George Page would also like to be considered.
Here are links to Continue reading
What was on
the agenda
for yesterday morning at 8:30 AM
and for voting this evening at 5:30 PM.
They’re going to reappoint Steve Everett to the
Valdosta-Lowndes County Airport Authority.
At the end, the thing that will massively change Hahira:
4.c. North Lowndes Park Soccer Complex – Bids: five of them, ranging from $6.5 to $8.3 million dollars.
From the Invitation to Bid:
The bid package is for
construction of North Lowndes Park Soccer
Complex including all work shown on the Bid Set of Plans, issue date
February 1, 2018, and Specifications, issue date February 1, 2018,
to include but not be limited to the following items: Site clearing
and other items as noted on the plans in order to construct and
install a new 8 soccer field complex with concession and restroom
pavilion, and maintenance building. Additional items to be
constructed include, entrance road extension from the existing park,
parking lot, signage, concrete pavement, fencing, site and field
lighting, utilities, storm drainage structures and basins,
irrigation, landscaping, and furnishings.
Map: Lowndes County Tax Assessors, of
Parcel 0024-003, Lowndes County Parks & Recreation Authority.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MAY 7, 2018, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2018, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
The added agenda item
6e. Emergency Repairs to Rocky Ford Road
got a couple of bids (unusual procedure; different from their
usual no-bid emergencies) passed.
The Chamber sent
Gary Wisenbaker to speak in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard
to ask for (after a very long preamble by John Page)
apparently money from GDOT for a long list (in a letter the taxpayers
did not get to see) of
transportation projects to help “the business community”,
apparently including the truck bypass.
They only appointed six of the seven members of the
Development Authority of Lowndes County,
although a Commissioner did ask about that.
It’s also curious they said all the terms expired right then,
since the Wayback machine has a snapshot of 4 April 2017, which shows three expiring in June 2017 and four already
expired in December 2016.
Apparently they just didn’t bother to appoint anybody to the four slots
that expired in December 2016 until eight months later,
and then they didn’t appoint anybody to one of the 2017 slots.
Below are links to Continue reading
Next to ERCO Worldwide,
one of the few tenants in
VLCIA’s “eight industrial parks”,
SolAmerica is buying land for a solar farm
that will take up most of the rest of the Perimeter East Business Park.
Site Layout submitted by SolAmerica to VLCIA in 14 November 2017 meeting.
Jason A. Smith, VDT, 15 November 2017,
Solar arrays planned for land,
The Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority voted Tuesday to
approve the sale of 27.42 acres for $137,100 to be used for solar
arrays.
