Tag Archives: Xylem

Videos: Water treatment upgrade because GA-EPD Consent Order, Lift Station Pump Repair, Condemnation along Twin Lakes Road, VAWA, Extension Office, Red Cross @ LCC Work 2026-01-26

The longest items at the Work Session this morning were 11 minutes of 6.a. Extension Office Update By Joshua Dawson and 8 minutes of 6.b. American Red Cross Update By Jacqueline Shoemaker.

If you weren’t there, you can only see them here in these LAKE videos, since the Lowndes County Commission does not publish videos of its Work Sessions.

They vote tomorrow evening at 5:30 PM, on spending $214,412.00 on the Spring Creek plant and $24,400.00 on a sewage pump repair at the Peterson Road Lift Station.

If they don’t make a deal before then, they’ll vote on paying $12,400.00 as a condemnation price to get some road and drainage right of way along Twin Lakes Road.

Plus there’s $26,371.00 cash match for a VAWA grant.

Other items include a resolution to sell surplus water meters and a Special Assessment Rate for 2026.

Collage @ LCC Work 26 January 2026

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: Water treatment upgrade because GA-EPD Consent Order, Lift Station Pump Repair, Condemnation along Twin Lakes Road, VAWA, Extension Office, Red Cross @ LCC 2026-01-26

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Update 2026-01-26: Videos: Water treatment upgrade because GA-EPD Consent Order, Lift Station Pump Repair, Condemnation along Twin Lakes Road, VAWA, Extension Office, Red Cross @ LCC Work 2026-01-26.

No rezonings this week, but plenty of purchases, resolutions, and a grant, on the agenda for the Lowndes County Commission.

Their Work Session is Monday morning, and they vote Tuesday evening in their Regular Session.

The county is under a GA-EPD Consent Order about drinking water. This is revealed by the agenda packet page for 5.a. Spring Creek Water Treatment Plant Design Build Project. Neither the board packet materials nor the ad for bids mentions where this is. However, previous research indicates it’s the well with water tower at 4245 Hattie Pl, Valdosta, GA 31605, near a creek that runs west by Pine Grove Middle School to the Withlacoochee River.

They will vote on spending $214,412.00 on the Spring Creek plant and $24,400.00 on a sewage pump repair at the Peterson Road Lift Station.

The packet materials don’t say where the Peterson Road Lift Station is, either, but it appears to be in the southeast corner of 6201 Peterson Road, east of the I-75 Georgia Visitor Center. The sign on the fence says Roadway Lift Station.

And the county thinks $12,400.00 is a fair condemnation price to get some road and drainage right of way along Twin Lakes Road.

That’s about a quarter million dollars they may approve Tuesday, before even adding in the $26,371.00 cash match for a VAWA grant.

Packet: Water treatment upgrade because GA-EPD Consent Order, Lift Station Pump Repair, VAWA, Twin Lakes Road Condemnation @ LCC 2026-01-26

Cost	What
$214,412.00	Spring Creek Water Treatment Plant Design Build Project
$26,371.00	Approval of the Solicitor General's FY26 VAWA Continuation Grant Application
$24,400.00	Peterson Road Lift Station Pump Repair
$12,400.00	Condemning Right of Way and Drainage Easement for Twin Lakes Road TSPLOST Paving Project; Parcel 3
$277,583.00	Total

Here is the agenda.

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

You may wonder, as I do, why doesn’t the county put its board packets on its own website?

Maybe you’d like to ask your County Commissioners that question.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2026, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Videos: Tourism Authority appointments, rezonings, water repairs, hurricane damage @ LCC Regular 2024-12-10

At their December 10, 2024, Regular Session, the Lowndes County Commission reappointed Rick Williams to the 5.a. Valdosta Lowndes County Conference Center and Tourism Authority, and appointed Amanda Peacock to replace Michael Smith (who was recently elected to join the Lowndes County Commission in 2025)

Collage @ LCC 10 December 2024

There was quite a bit of opposition to 6.a. REZ-2024-18 LSO Invest, 3910 Old US 41 N, ~0.93ac, R-21 to C-C. Previously, GLPC recommended Denial 7:1. Lowndes County Commissioner Scottie Orenstein recused himself. The other County Commissioners unanimously approved this rezoning. Disgruntled citizens filed out, with grumbling and finger pointing at a certain Commissioner.

The applicant withdrew 6.c. REZ-2024-20 Wilson Estate, 5917 Thunder Bowl Rd., ~1.7ac, E-A to R-1.

The Lowndes County Commissioners unanimously approved everything else.

Not on the agenda: Continue reading →

Packet: Tourism Authority appointments, rezonings, water repairs, hurricane damage @ LCC 2024-12-09

Update 2025-01-14: Videos: Tourism Authority appointments, rezonings, water repairs, hurricane damage @ LCC Regular 2024-12-10.

The board packet for the Lowndes County Commission meetings of December 9 and 10, 2024, received in response to a LAKE open records request, is on the LAKE website.

Collage, Packet @ LCC 2024-12-09

See also the agenda and the LAKE videos of the December 9 Work Session.

Plus the packet and LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission Meeting.

-jsq

Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!
http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/donate

Continue reading →

Videos: Tourism Authority appointments, rezonings, water repairs, hurricane damage @ LCC Work 2024-12-09

Update 2024-12-23: Packet: Tourism Authority appointments, rezonings, water repairs, hurricane damage @ LCC 2024-12-09.

Almost an hour might be a record for the Lowndes County Commission Work Session yesterday morning.

Part of that was three Special Recognitions and a twelve-minute Special Report – Ashley Tye and FEMA Deputy Director, none of them on the agenda.

Collage @ LCC 9 December 2024

The longest actual agenda item was 6.a. REZ-2024-18 LSO Invest, 3910 Old US 41 N, ~0.93ac, R-21 to C-C at three and a half minutes. Remember the Planning Commission voted 7-1 to recommend denial, and I hear the underlying applicant is a County Commissioner.

Then the $3,068,176.54 TSPLOST project, 8.a. PI# 0016279 TIA-07 Coleman Road NW Paving and Drainage Improvements Bids, at three minutes.

All others took less than two minutes each.

They vote tonight at 5:30 PM.

Below are LAKE videos of each agenda item (or Special Recognition), with a few notes by Gretchen Quarterman, followed by a LAKE video playlist.

See also the agenda. Continue reading →

Agenda: Tourism Authority appointments, rezonings, water repairs, hurricane damage @ LCC 2024-12-09

The Lowndes County Commission be busy Monday morning at their Work Session and Tuesday evening at their voting Regular Session.

Collage @ LCC 2024-12-09

It will be interesting to see what they do with REZ-2024-18 LSO Invest, 3910 Old US 41 N, since the Planning Commission voted 7-1 to recommend denial, and I hear the underlying applicant is a County Commissioner.

They will vote on two members for the Valdosta Lowndes County Conference Center and Tourism Authority, one reappointment, and one to replace Michael Smith, who was elected to the Lowndes County Commission.

They will also be voting on close to $5 million, most of it in one paving project, of Coleman Road NW, that one using TSPLOST funds.

The other big ticket items are hurricane damage repair, new motor graders, and several kinds of insurance. Continue reading →

Videos: Quarterman Road rezoning unanimously denied; Mt. Zion Church Road rezoning unanimously approved @ LCC Regular 2023-09-12

Update 2023-09-16: by WWALS, Videos: Quarterman Road rezoning unanimously denied @ LCC 2023-09-12.

After five local residents spoke against and nobody for, the Lowndes County Commission unanimously denied the inappropriate 2.5-acre rezoning REZ-2023-04 on Quarterman Road.

Collage @ LCC 12 September 2023

Then after Roy Copeland spoke for the R-21 rezoning REZ-2023-10 on Mt. Zion Church Road and nobody spoke against, the Commissioners unanimously approved that one.

They unanimously approved almost everything else, including appointing Dr. Anthony Johnson to the Lowndes County Board of Health. The Family Medicine Dr. Johnson; not the eye doctor, although we only know that because LAKE filed an open records request for the board packet and published the results.

The exception was 7.b. Hamilton Green Acceptance of Water – Sewer Infrastructure. Continue reading →

Videos: Seven minutes on REZ-2023-04 Quarterman Road @ LCC Work

Update 2023-09-12 The application for the Quarterman Road rezoning, and more petition signatures against it @ LCC 2023-09-12.

The proposed 2.5-acre rezoning on Quarterman Road is inappropriate, as the Planning Commission indicated by their 7:1 vote to recommend denial. The Lowndes County Commission spent almost seven minute on this item.

Tomorrow evening at 5:30 PM, they should deny this rezoning.

Meanwhile, county staff still can not find any record of the 1980s rezoning for the nearby half-acre-lot subdivision.

Collage @ LCC 11 September 2023

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: Board of Health appointment, two rezonings, 4 water, mosquitoes @ LCC 2023-09-11

Update 2023-09-11: Videos: Seven minutes on REZ-2023-04 Quarterman Road @ LCC Work 2023-09-11.

In a busy agenda, the Lowndes County Commission will discuss Monday morning at 8:30 AM and vote on Tuesday evening at 5:30 PM appointing Dr. Anthony Johnson to the Board of Health, four water and sewer items, mosquitoes, and two rezonings.

Collage, LCC Packet 2023-09-11

In their preceding meeting, the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) by a 7:1 vote recommended denial for REZ-2023-04 Chase, 6119 Quarterman Rd, ~18 acres, E-A to R-A, Well & Septic, and GLPC unanimously recommended approval for REZ-2023-10 Copeland, 3728 Mt. Zion Church Rd., ~4ac, E-A to R-21.

Cost	What
$287,786.39	LAS Expansion Clearing & Grubbing
$105,000.00	Meter Backflow Device Purchase
$68,889.40	Bevel Creek Lift Station Pump
$55,194.30	Annual Contract Renewal with VSU for Mosquito Identification and Testing
$516,870.09	Total

Of the half a million dollars in expenditures the Commission they will probably approve Tuesday, more than half is for expansion of the Land Application Site (LAS). Two of the others are also water or sewer projects. They do not list a cost for the other water and sewer project: Hamilton Green Acceptance of Water & Sewer Infrastructure.

Here is the agenda.

The board packet materials, received by LAKE in response to a LAKE open records request, are on the LAKE website. Several requested items are missing. We will ask again.

For the preceding GLPC meeting, see also Continue reading →

Videos: Abandoned Voting @ LCC 2016-05-24

Record low attendance, not record but very short session time, even with a full agenda; at least you can see last month’s last Lowndes County Commission Regular Session in these LAKE videos. They meet again 8:30 AM this morning.

See also the LAKE videos of the May 23rd Work Session. In the May 24th Regular Session, there were still no questions yesterday from Commissioners about that $55,979.00 in two no-bid items.

Commissioner Demarcus Marshall did ask Continue reading →

On the LAKE front

Citizen dialog for transparent process by the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange