Tag Archives: Weather

Videos: DRC Emergency Services, VSU South Campus Purchase, missing HOA, and Navigability @ LCC Regular 2024-10-23

As Gretchen noted, “There was no work session for this meeting. Shockingly there was discussion.”

The Commissioners and even the County Attorney and County Manager were quite chatty in the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, Tuesday, October 22, 2024, about hurricane debris, and especially about their upcoming $2 million purchase. They also heard from two citizens.

Collage @ LCC 23 October 2024

They revealed in 5.a. Agreement with DRC Emergency Services, LLC that the hurricane debris removal would probably last six months.

In 5.b. Purchase of VSU South Campus Property they revealed that the likely future occupant is is the Board of Elections. They discussed this one item for ten minutes! Unheard of. Good, though.

In 6. Reports – County Manager Paige Dukes estimated about $1.5 million in property damage to Lowndes County assets. Not counting VLPRA, Hospital, and other authorities with their own budgets.

Two citizens spoke: 7. CWTBH: Jesse Bingham of 2563 Naples Lane recounted a tale of multiple developers building wildly different buildings around his house, and still no HOA.

7. CWTBH: John S. Quarterman, speaking for WWALS Watershed Coalition as Suwannee Riverkeeper, talked about the Georgia House Study Committee on Navigability and recommended Commissioners contact statehouse members. See separate post.

Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item, with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist.

Packet: DRC Emergency Services and VSU South Campus Purchase @ LCC 2024-10-22

Update 2024-10-23: Videos: DRC Emergency Services, VSU South Campus Purchase, missing HOA, and Navigability @ LCC Regular 2024-10-23.

The board packet adds the agreements to the agenda for this evening’s Lowndes County Commission Regular Session, 5:30 PM, Tuesday, October 22, 2024.

One agreement details the $3,500 a month for renting for hurricane debris removal the failed subdivision the county bought for $568,971 in February 2022, on GA 122 between Walker’s Crossing and Banks Lake.

The other agreement specifies what the county is buying from VSU for $2,156,000. It says they’re renting part of it back to VSU at least through December, with options for following months through June 2025, for $1 (one dollar) a month.

Collage, Packet, LCC 2024-10-24

The packet does not include a map of the VSU property being purchased, but presumably it’s the same as the lots in that block owned by BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA in this map by the Lowndes County Tax Assessors. At least those properties match the addresses listed in the agreement: 901 N Patterson Street, 903 N Patterson Street, 109-111 E. Force Street, 906-908 Slater Street, and 112 East Gordon. Continue reading →

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

Update 2024-10-22: Packet: DRC Emergency Services and VSU South Campus Purchase @ LCC 2024-10-22.

The agenda is so light the Lowndes County Commission cancelled the Work Session, and are going straight to voting in the Regular Session, 5:30 PM, Tuesday, October 22, 2024.

They’re finally going to get some income for the failed subdivision they bought between Walker’s Crossing and Banks Lake, and they’re buying the old Georgia Power building from VSU for $2,156,000.

Hurricane debris removal rental, VSU South Campus purchase, No Work Session, Regular Session @ LLC 2024-10-22

The “VSU South Campus Property” is the old Georgia Power building at 901 N Patterson Street and apparently most of the rest of the block.

The location of the hurricane debris removal sounded familiar.

DRC Engineering Services, LLC is a hurricane debris removal contractor of the Georgia Department of Transportation. It has asked to use approximately five acres of County owned property located at 7404 Ga. Highway 122 East for hurricane debris management purposes. It has agreed to pay the County $3500 per month for use of the property. The proposed agreement is attached.

Ah, yes, the property the county bought for $568,971 in February 2022 because Continue reading →

Packet: ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn LTD rezoning, adoption of millage rates, USGS stream gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection @ LCC 2024-10-14

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

The TXT-2024-03 ULDC Text Amendments are quite long and detailed. The county still has not published them for the tax-paying and voting public to see. You can see them now, because LAKE got them with an open records request, and now they are on the LAKE website.

Packet: ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn rezoning, millage rates, river gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection: Grove Pointe, Nelson Hill @ LCC 2024-10-14

It’s good the Lowndes County Commissioners decided Tuesday to table those amendments (and the rezoning) until the Planning Commission can review them.

Cost	What
$3,369,213.71	Sprayfield Expansion Phase
$78,392.6.00	Grove Pointe Nelson Hill Watermain Interconnection
$3,025.00	Joint Funding Agreement with USGS for Stream Gauge Maintenance
$3,450,631.31	Total

The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website.

Videos: ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn LTD rezoning, adoption of millage rates, USGS stream gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection @ LCC Regular 2024-10-15

Update 2024-10-17: Packet: ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn LTD rezoning, adoption of millage rates, USGS stream gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection @ LCC 2024-10-14.

As Chairman Bill Slaughter said they would in the preceding Millage Public Hearing, they adopted the roll back millage rate of 7.356 rather than the advertized rate of 7.804. Last year (2023) the rate was 8.778.

The Fire District Millage Rate is continuing at 2.5 mil. The commission plans to continue this rate for 5 years from the start date. This is probably year 3, so apparently 2 more years.

Collage @ LCC 15 October 2024

They actually did table the 5.a. TXT-2024-03 ULDC Text Amendments and the rezoning 5.b. REZ-2024-15 Loch Laurel – Carroll Ulmer so the Planning Commission could hear them at the October 28 meeting and then voted on at the November 12 Lowndes County Commission Regular Meeting.

There was quite a bit of discussion between Commissioners and Lowndes County Manager Paige Dukes and Utilities Director Steve Stalvey about the Sprayfield Expansion. Continue reading →

Videos: Forestry, Weather, ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn LTD rezoning, adoption of millage rates, USGS stream gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection @ LCC Work 2024-10-14

Update 2024-10-17: Videos: Millage Public Hearing @ LCC 2024-10-15.

Only in the Work Session this morning, and if you weren’t there, only in these LAKE videos:

8.a. Reports – Georgia Forestry Presentation (Work Session) by Chief Ranger Kenneth M. Wells
8.b. Reports – EMA Director Ashley Tye on Hurricane Helene

Collage @ LCC Regular 14 October 2024

In regular items, County Planner JD Dillard recommended tabling the ULDC Text Amendments until stakeholders have more time to comment. He referred to the copy Commissioners had in their packet. We the taxpayers and voters do not have a copy.

He also recommended tabling 5.b. REZ-2024-15 Loch Laurel – Carroll Ulmer until the Planning Commission can review it. Which indicates that GLPC did not meet last month, even though there was no announcement that it had been cancelled.

Finance Director Stephanie Black said there would be a Millage Public Hearing at 5PM tomorrow, Tuesday, October 15, before the 5:30 PM Regular Session.

There was discussion in 7.a. Sprayfield Expansion Phase I. Continue reading →

Agenda: ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn LTD rezoning, adoption of millage rates, USGS stream gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection @ LCC 2024-10-14

Update 2024-10-14: Videos: Forestry, Weather, ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn LTD rezoning, adoption of millage rates, USGS stream gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection @ LCC Work 2024-10-14.

The long-quorum-and-hurricane–delayed REZ-2024-15 Loch Winn LTD rezoning will probably be decided Tuesday evening by the Lowndes County Commission. Before that, it will be heard at the Work Session Monday morning 8:30 AM, along with suprise ULDC text amendments, two millage rates, river gauges, sprayfield, and watermain interconnection between two northside subdivisions.

The adoption of the regular and Fire District millage rates will presumbably get presentations much like the last Millage Public Hearing on September 19.

We get a one-paragraph summary of TXT-2024-03 ULDC Text Amendments, but not the actual text.

We would have seen the text in the GLPC packet, but back in June the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission abdicated oversight of ULDC text amendments. And in June, the Lowndes County Commission rubberstamped that abdication.

The agenda item says, “9/2024 VDT Advertisements Published (Public Notice)” but I can’t find that in GeorgiaPublicNotice.com.

What is it the county planners and Commissioners do not want the public to see?

ULDC text amendments, Loch Winn rezoning, millage rates, river gauges, sprayfield expansion, watermain interconnection: Grove Pointe, Nelson Hill @ LCC 2024-10-14

Here’s a refresher for where this would be, between Old US 41 North and Val Del Road: Grove Pointe Nelson Hill Watermain Interconnection. Continue reading →

Lowndes County Commission Meetings Cancelled 2024-10-08

the county calendar entry for tonight’s Lowndes County Commission Regular Session says it is cancelled.

No reason was given, but likely it has to do with Hurricane Helene cleanup.

Cancelled: Lowndes County Commission Regular Session 2024-10-08

The calendar entry for yesterday morning’s Work Session does not say cancelled.

But no agenda was posted, so we can probably assume that one was also cancelled.

-jsq

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Cancelled: Millage and Special Called Meetings because Hurricane Helene @ LCC 2024-09-26

A lowndescounty.com news item yesterday says:

Millage Public Hearing Meeting and Adoption Meeting / September 26, 2024 / CANCELLED

The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners is postponing the Millage Public Hearing scheduled for Thursday, September 26, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. as well as the Special Called Meeting for the Adoption of the Millage Rate which was scheduled for Thursday, September 26, 2024 at 5:30 p.m. due to Hurricane Helene.

These meetings will be rescheduled at a later date.

Also yesterday they posted that, “Lowndes County Offices will be closed Thursday, September 26, 2024, and Friday, September 27, 2024 due to Tropical Storm Helene.”

Cancelled: Millage Public Hearing and Special Called Adoption Meeting @ LCC 2024-09-26 County Offices closed Thursday and Friday

That all seems sensible.

And that cancellation announcement resolves the question we posed of how was the Commission to approve the budget, given there was no meeting scheduled for that?

I don’t see a Public Notice anywhere for that Special Called Meeting. Of course, state law merely requires the notice to be sent to the local legal organ of record (The Valdosta Daily Times). The law does not require that the notice actually get posted.

So apparently they cancelled a Special Called Meeting without the public having seen a notice that it had been called.

-jsq

Packet: Family Ties tabled 4-0, Personal Care denied 3-1, Sewer System approved 4-0 @ ZBOA 2024-08-20

Hurricane Debby wrought confusion on the Valdosta-Lowndes Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBOA), causing a controversial variance request to be bumped back weeks or maybe longer.

The board packet materials for that item VAR-2024-07 are somewhat lacking, since there is no WRPDO Site Map for it, and while the Zoning Location Map shows a green area to the left, nothing on that map nor in the text says the green area borders the Little River.

Collage @ ZBOA 2024-08-20

A request for a variance about Family Ties Land Division was tabled because the September ZBOA meeting was postponed for two weeks because of the hurricane. The Meeting Results Summary says “(Tabled 4-0)” but it does not say until when.

According to Terry Richards, Valdosta Daily Times, August 22, 2024, Appeals board denies variance for group home,

— The board voted to table any action on a request for a variance on family ties land division for a property at 7365 Webb Hall Road until a later meeting.

Part of the concern over the variance concerned the timing of advertisement of the meeting. Thursday’s meeting was originally scheduled to be held Aug. 6, but was postponed two weeks due to the threat of Hurricane Debby.

As state law requires a 30-day notice of meetings of this sort, board members were concerned they needed to push action on this matter further out.

There were also concerns as to whether a misprint of an address in a published legal ad would affect the situation.

According to the City of Valdosta’s ZBOA web page “The ZBOA meets the first Tuesday of each month at 2:30 p.m. in the City Hall Annex Building, Multi-Purpose Room located at 300 North Lee Street.” That would seem to mean the next ZBOA meeting will be September 3. But that is less than 30 days from now. So maybe October 1. If that is the date of the October meeting. Continue reading →

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange