{"id":21499,"date":"2020-01-10T09:56:47","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T14:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=21499"},"modified":"2020-01-10T13:04:23","modified_gmt":"2020-01-10T18:04:23","slug":"cities-and-lowndes-county-settle-service-delivery-dispute-lcc-2020-01-08","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2020\/01\/cities-and-lowndes-county-settle-service-delivery-dispute-lcc-2020-01-08.html","title":{"rendered":"Cities and Lowndes County settle service delivery dispute @ LCC 2020-01-08"},"content":{"rendered":"

Update 2020-01-10:<\/strong> Not quite settled. Valdosta still has to agree to it.<\/p>\n

\nThese must be golden words indeed, to have been worth the hundreds of thousands of legal fees expended over them:<\/p>\n

\n
    \n
  1. In regards to water and sewer services:\n

    \nThe Parties’ current water and sewer service areas are delineated on
    \nthe service area maps attached to the DCA Forms for water and sewer
    \nservices approved herewith.<\/p>\n

    \nAll existing intergovernmental agreements of the Parties regarding
    \nthe provision of water and sewer services shall remain in effect.\n<\/p>\n

    \nAny request for an extraterritorial extension shall be negotiated by
    \nthe requesting Party and the affected Party. Approval of the
    \naffected Party shall not be unreasonably withheld.\n<\/p>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    \nThe wording is
    \n“based on trust,”<\/strong> said Commissioner Clay Griner.
    \n“Where’s the document?” responded Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker?
    \n“It’s on your ipad,”
    \nclarified Chair Bill Slaughter.<\/p>\n

    \nAs the County Clerk proceeded to hand out paper copies, Griner elaborated:<\/p>\n

    \n

    \nAnd it’s all based on trust.
    \nIt’s us trusting, the County Commission trusting the City Council,
    \nwhichever municipality it is, to do the right thing.
    \nThe city council has to trust the County Commission to do the right thing.
    \nAnd the citizens to trust all of us to sit down and do the right thing.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    \nAfter the county didn’t put anything for the citizens to see on the county website
    \nabout this Wednesday morning meeting until <\/p>\n

    less than 24 hours before the meeting.<\/p>\n

    \nAfter the Commissioners didn’t trust the Chair to negotiate for them
    \nwhen Clay Griner convened a meeting
    \n
    \nback in February when county Commissioners met with city council members of the cities but not their mayors<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    \nThat meeting resulted in an agreement on one item, I believe about this Service Delivery Strategy (SDS), which is to say distribution of taxes among Lowndes County and the five cities within it, Valdosta, Hahira, Remerton, Dasher, and Lake Park.
    \nI’m told by a Valdosta City Council member that the county repudiated that February
    \nagreement in writing a few days later.<\/p>\n

    \nLast night the new Mayor of Valdosta, Scott James, said he had convened or participated in I think he said six or nine meetings on this subject before he
    \nwas even the mayor.<\/p>\n

    \nPictured on the left is Walter G. Elliott, the alleged County Attorney, whose firm was paid for that litigation.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

    \n\"[Lowndes<\/a>
    \n
    Lowndes County Water \/ Sewer System<\/a>
    \n
    PDF<\/strong><\/a>\n<\/p>\n

    \nThe maps were not attached to the agenda<\/a>
    \nalong with this one
    \n
    \nagenda item<\/a>, but the map above is from the
    \n
    \nCommunity Assessment, Greater Lowndes 2030 Comprehensive Plan<\/a>,
    \nso it gives some idea of the subject water and sewer areas.
    \nThe current county water and sewer lines are supposedly in the
    \n    VALOR Live Map<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    \nHere are images of the one
    \nagenda item<\/a> that was attached to
    \nthe     agenda<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    \n Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia,
    \n    \"[HISTORY,<\/a>
    \n
    HISTORY, FACTS, ISSUES<\/a>
    \n
    PDF<\/strong><\/a>\n<\/p>\n

    \nPlease follow the
    \n
    \nlink<\/a> for the PDF.
    \nUsually I transliterate these things into plain text in a blog post,
    \nbut I’ve got better things to do today.<\/p>\n

    \n\"[2.<\/a>
    \n
    2. In regards to water and sewer services<\/a>
    \n
    PDF<\/strong><\/a>\n<\/p>\n

    \nI will transcribe this paragraph:<\/p>\n

    \n

    \nOn December 31, 2019, Commissioners Evans, Griner, and Orenstein met
    \nwith Valdosta Council Members Sonny Vickers and Andy Gibbs. During
    \nthat meeting, they agreed on the following alternative Special
    \nProvision for water and sewer services:\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    \nApparently those are the people we have to thank for finally resolving this very expensive and long-running contention.
    \nCommissioner Scottie Orenstein specifically credited Council Andy Gibbs for the simplicity of this new language.
    \nSo, thank you Joyce Evans, Clay Griner, Scottie Orenstein, Sonny Vickers, and especially Andy Gibbs.<\/p>\n

    \nCommissioner Demarcus Marshall wanted to know if the new wording handled the previous points raised by Commissioners and county citizens.
    \nThe alleged County Attorney answered, “Yes.”
    \nSo apparently the key to trust is one word from the one person who profited the most from the protracted litigation.<\/p>\n

    \nCommissioner Marshal moved to approve the document.
    \nCommissioner Joyce Evans seconded.
    \nAll voted aye.<\/p>\n

    \nHere’s
    \n
    \na LAKE video playlist:<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

    \n