[0:00] i'll call the meeting to order if you
would please rise i'm going to call on
[0:03] commissioner marshall for the invocation
and the pledge
[0:10] still we'd like to thank you for this
day that you blessed us with a beautiful
[0:13] day in our county
like thank you uh for
[0:17] the position to be able to make a
difference in our communities with a
[0:20] mission to be able to make decisions and
best interests are the citizens of our
[0:23] district your lord we'd like to thank
you for the many blessings you've sowed
[0:27] on us and our family we like thanks to
the blessings it sold on the staff
[0:32] created to continue to shine and bless
and guide them to be the best
[0:36] interest of this
citizenry in our county we pray for our
[0:40] elected officials at the
local state and federal levels and their
[0:44] law we pray and would like that special
prayer for those uh suffering from
[0:48] mental illness those types of suicide
those who
[0:52] are just depressed suffering from
coverage and dear lord i like also
[0:57] special prayer for those teenagers who
were in the wreck earlier this week
[1:01] thank you for their recovery and
blessing them to get to see another day
[1:05] last of all we'd like to continue to
thank you for all the mercy and grace
[1:09] that you blessed us with on a day-to-day
basis even when we don't and do not
[1:13] realize it
all these blessings and i thank you and
[1:17] jesus in our prayers amen amen
pleasure
[1:22] through the flag
[1:28] one nation under god
indivisible with liberty and justice
[1:44] thank you miss marshall
uh first off we've got some folks we
[1:49] like to recognize we've got the class of
leadership lounge 2021
[1:55] if there's any of those members that's
in the audience if you would please
[1:59] stand up and be recognized
[2:02] there we go good thank y'all
[2:08] you know each class of leadership
lounges always claim that it's the best
[2:12] class ever
this class will be able to claim it's
[2:15] the longest class ever so
congratulations on staying in there i
[2:19] know it's been a tough
uh process
[2:22] certainly would covet and everything the
interruptions that you've had but as you
[2:26] probably know certainly with the time
that you have had there is a tremendous
[2:31] amount that you'll be learning about
this community as you go through that
[2:34] process i thank you for doing it i hope
you do enjoy it but as well i would also
[2:39] encourage anyone in the community
that really wants to understand how
[2:44] their community operates how it
functions then leadership lounge is one
[2:49] of the best opportunities that you'll
ever have to be able to get that good
[2:52] understanding
it does take a commitment and these
[2:56] folks here that you just recognized has
made that commitment as i said
[3:01] the longest commitment that's been made
so far so again thank you all i'm glad
[3:05] y'all are enjoying
[3:08] all right commissioners inside your
package you'll find your work session
[3:11] minutes of september the 27th
and your regular session minutes from
[3:16] september the 28th as well as the
comprehensive planned stakeholder
[3:20] meeting that was also held on the 28th
if there are no additions deletions or
[3:25] corrections i'll entertain a motion to
approve the minute mr chairman i'm
[3:29] moving through
can we have a motion to approve do we
[3:32] have a second
we have a second any discussion on the
[3:35] motion
hearing none all in favor signify by eye
[3:40] any opposed like sign
hearing none
[3:43] the motion carries the minutes are
approved
[3:47] we'll move now into our public hearing
items our first case is agenda item five
[3:52] a
this is rec 2021-515
[3:58] beaver run subdivision beamless knights
academy road it is currently ea the
[4:04] request is for r10
it will have water and sewer and this
[4:08] involves 10 acres mr dillard thank you
mr chairman good evening commissioners
[4:12] this is again a request to change the
zoning on approximately 10 acres of a
[4:15] 21-acre tract from its current ea to r10
suburban density access is off famous
[4:20] nights academy road and the map
subject property is within the urban
[4:24] service area and depicted as a suburban
character area on the future plan
[4:29] land use map for conference plan
guidance r10 zoning currently is listed
[4:33] as permitted zoning and staff found this
request consistent with the
[4:36] comprehensive plan and the planning
commission recommends approval by
[4:39] unanimous vote 9-0 before you now is a
concept of the proposed subdivision
[4:45] there are 25 lots depicted lot one in
the bottom right hand corner is proposed
[4:49] to be used as a common mailbox area in
green space as well as storm water
[4:53] detention and the proposed ingress
egress there will be shifted farther to
[4:58] the west away from hoi lane to provide
greater separation
[5:03] any questions for mr dillard
okay we'll move into the public hearing
[5:08] portion of the meeting is there anyone
in the audience that would like to speak
[5:12] in opposition to this request
anyone that would like to speak in
[5:16] opposition
hearing none is there anyone that would
[5:20] like to speak in favor of this request
please come forward and state your name
[5:24] and address for the record please
[5:28] david 24 22 bemis road val oscar mr
diller did a great presentation but i
[5:34] just like got any questions
[5:37] any questions for mr glade
thank you mr blood
[5:45] okay if there's no one else in support
of this then we'll close the public
[5:49] hearing portion of the meeting and i'll
turn it back over to the commissioner
[5:52] for your consideration
mostly approval do we have a motion to
[5:56] approve do we have a second second i
have a second any discussion
[6:02] hearing none i'll call the vote all in
favor signify by i
[6:06] any opposed like sign
hearing none motion carries
[6:12] agenda item 5b this is rez 2021-16
[6:19] farms it is located at 59.99 valve dale
road it is currently ra the request is
[6:26] for r1 it will have well inseptics
uh and this involves
[6:32] 98.95 acres mr dillard thank you mr
chairman again this was requested to
[6:37] take the property from its current
residential agricultural zoning to r1
[6:41] low destiny residential in order to be
subdivided at a greater density of
[6:44] approximately 73 lots according to the
applicant's uh
[6:48] letter of intent the preliminary site
plan is attached for your consideration
[6:52] with proposed four-bedroom homes with
two and three-car garages and average
[6:55] tile sizes of 1900 square feet or more
of the proposed lots approximately 20 or
[6:59] greater than one acre minimum and a
community pool common area is proposed
[7:02] within the development
subject property does possess road
[7:06] frontage on valdel road
overall planning found the request
[7:09] inconsistent with the comprehensive plan
and the trc reviewed the application and
[7:12] noted any development would require soil
evaluation by the department of public
[7:15] health for well and septic and adherence
to supplemental engineering students for
[7:19] properties containing or adjacent to
wetlands
[7:22] the planning commission recommended
denial of the request by a split vote of
[7:24] seven to two
you'll note here on the proposed site
[7:27] plan
that i believe lot 60 in the upper
[7:31] uh upper third here
middle cul-de-sac is the one proposed
[7:34] for the development of a community pool
okay
[7:39] there's any questions for mr dillon
you said
[7:43] that you've done the uh calculations in
20 lots or larger than one
[7:48] yes or based upon this preliminary cycle
[7:54] any other questions
[7:58] okay hearing on then we'll move into the
public hearing portion of the meeting
[8:02] is there anyone in the audience that
would like to speak in opposition to
[8:06] this request please come forward and
state your name and address for the
[8:09] record please
yes sir my name is chuck dunman i live
[8:12] at 5930 valedale road i live directly
across from the proposed development
[8:17] i'm not going to waste your time on
track account we can all agree by now
[8:22] even using mr greiner's uh mathematical
formula for population growth with
[8:26] traffic count 3 916 49.50 and 19
is probably 6 000 by now
[8:33] um 73 one acre lots an acre is roughly
200 feet by 200 feet
[8:40] state law dictates that a well cannot be
within 50 feet of a set tank cannot be
[8:45] within 100 feet of a drain field
the septic tank drain field cannot be
[8:49] within 10 feet of a building foundation
or property line or within 15 feet of an
[8:54] embankment stream or weapon
so that's going to be some interesting
[8:58] mathematical calculations taking place
there on that property
[9:02] i'm also curious is the perk test going
to be done on all 73 lots prior to
[9:06] construction
because i'm wondering how those tests
[9:10] would react if
you have active drain fields on adjacent
[9:14] lots
and obviously me being on the downhill
[9:16] side of this development we all know
what goes downhill
[9:20] so i have a concern from that from an
environmental standpoint
[9:23] storm water
storm water law dictates that a
[9:28] development cannot force more water onto
an adjacent property than what currently
[9:33] existed
pre-development up to a 25-year storm
[9:39] a 25-year storm is
7.68 inches of rainfall in a 24-hour
[9:45] period
there are two drainage points
[9:49] for the entire 98 acres
one goes through my neighbor's property
[9:53] and into a five-acre pond and a 12-acre
pond that four of us property owners
[9:58] share
the other drainage point goes through my
[10:01] property
when i bought this land in 1994 and went
[10:06] through the dnr permitting process to
build a 12 acre pond
[10:10] a 36 inch
drainage structure was used to control
[10:14] the elevation of our pond
um and uh
[10:19] and and also i use the 36 inch pipe to
go through to access my property across
[10:26] the other drainage dish that goes
through my property when valdelle road
[10:30] was widened a few years back
that pipe was replaced with a larger
[10:35] diameter price without a downstream
study being done
[10:40] but so what i want to tell you is that
um when the engineer looks at the
[10:44] retention pond and needed to develop
this property they by law have to do
[10:49] what is called a downstream analysis
which means he's got to see what is
[10:55] downstream from where he's turning this
water loose which means now he has to
[10:59] use the 36 inch pipe is his control
he can't use what's at the root
[11:05] um the reason this is the law is not
just a quick design criteria i want to
[11:10] remind you this is a lifetime commitment
this is a maintenance law this law
[11:16] exists as long as the development is
there
[11:19] so if this pond ever silts in
and it can no longer retain the 25 year
[11:24] storm in the quarters with law
whoever owns that development at that
[11:28] point in time whether it's the county or
the developer
[11:31] somebody's got to dig out the pond
so i just want you to be aware of that
[11:35] scenario
the comprehensive plan
[11:39] i came to the public marine
hearing a couple of weeks back and i
[11:43] must say i learned a lot from both sides
mr ornstein you stated that everyone
[11:47] wants to live in the north end of the
county i understand your statement but
[11:51] is that fair to the current landowners
why does the potential buyer's wants
[11:56] take precedent over current homeowners
and homestead
[12:00] your job is hard but it should never be
hard to be fair
[12:04] i have a suggestion that would eliminate
most of your issues with zoning and
[12:08] could be done with somewhat of a clear
conscience
[12:10] draw a circle three miles around the
city of valdosta city limits and start
[12:14] your development which is what the
comprehensive plan basically says
[12:18] and when you're within ninety percent of
development expand your circle
[12:22] this way you're impacting all taxpayers
of lowndes county equally and that would
[12:27] be fair
the way this way it doesn't look like
[12:31] you're overburdening one particular sex
sector of the county
[12:35] mr griner if the population numbers are
going to be where you predict then this
[12:39] report will have to go in this direction
at some point why not now
[12:43] the hot comprehensive plan calls for
urban development stay close to urban
[12:46] areas and to maintain and protect the
integrity of our rural areas
[12:50] a 73 lot subdivision is an urban
development trying to be placed in the
[12:55] middle of a rural area
we live eight miles outside of the
[13:00] valdosta city limits and one mile south
of the cook county line
[13:04] how far do i have to be out to maintain
my rural status
[13:09] please be cautious of the precedence you
can set tonight when all of your checks
[13:13] and balances the county has implemented
encourage you to deny this request
[13:18] thank you for your time
one question one question
[13:25] hey
ladies
[13:27] how close
how close is this property to a higher
[13:31] probably four miles
four miles yes
[13:36] okay
[13:40] all right is there anyone else would
like to speak in opposition to this
[13:43] request
mr please come forward and state your
[13:46] name and address for the record
and after this speaker i will allow one
[13:50] more speaker
in opposition i think we
[13:53] understand where everybody's at
um
[13:58] and my driveway is exactly across from
where the kansas city substitution would
[14:03] be
and i appreciate what he just said but
[14:06] i'm coming from more of my investment as
a citizen of pay higher
[14:11] and jim and i've developed two
businesses downtown and the reason why
[14:15] we moved to bowdale was the character of
the neighborhood
[14:18] and i think part of planning for the
mission is to either enhance the
[14:22] character of the neighborhood or to at
least protect it so i just want to read
[14:26] something because i'm not eloquent of
just speaking
[14:28] uh the situation is a repeat of an
attempt to have the same property zoned
[14:32] a year or so ago the arguments against
rezoning have not changed since that
[14:36] time to think that this piece of land
will be divided into one acre plots with
[14:41] separate wells and septic tanks
additional pressure on schools emergency
[14:45] services fire and police departments is
daunting
[14:48] we understand that there's a plan to
poor lane bowdale we certainly don't
[14:52] want to become another beams road while
a high-ranking school administrator
[14:56] supports growth in this area of the
county and so do we
[15:00] we have talked with local administrators
and teachers and they're stretched
[15:03] belong beyond their limit right now
in addition an environmental study would
[15:08] need to be done to find an impact on the
aquifer
[15:11] to our knowledge there are no small
houses mobile homes or even slots the
[15:14] size of this proposal on valedale road
between mcmillan road to the cook county
[15:19] line as pointed out prior
the professional planners which are
[15:24] lowndes county employees have posted no
in the last two proposals just drive out
[15:29] there and look and there is a reason
people are wanting to come
[15:32] but
is that just simply to expand the digest
[15:35] zoning is a tool for protection to
property owners or it should be
[15:40] this type of zoning
uh degrades will certainly do suggest
[15:44] significant damage not only to adjacent
properties to those that are further
[15:48] removed down the road on valdez we would
request that the powers in lown county
[15:52] retain current zoning on bowdale from
mcmillan road to lowndes county kirkland
[15:56] adhere to your master plan and recognize
and follow the advice of your
[16:00] professional planners on the lowndes
county staff
[16:04] we just don't want politics to be played
on a very serious serious thing thank
[16:08] you
[16:11] all right one more speaker
please folks just let's not have any
[16:15] applause or any comments or anything
like we're trying to do the businesses
[16:19] we need to do and i would appreciate it
is there anyone else that would like to
[16:22] speak in opposition to this request
john you were halfway down the aisle
[16:28] before i even asked so is there anyone
else that would like to speak in
[16:31] opposition to this request
all right john
[16:35] take your name and address for the
record please hi john quarterman 65 65
[16:40] quarterman road and i got to say i'm
gratified to see the planning commission
[16:44] and the staff are recommending against
this rezoning
[16:48] because this is this proposal is one
logical outcome of what the previous
[16:54] commission and previous staff started
back in 2007
[16:58] when the commission rezoned for nelson
hill
[17:02] and then ran water explicitly up
fouldale to nelsonville
[17:07] since then the commission and the staff
have been
[17:10] approving more subdivisions pushing the
water lines farther up
[17:15] paving roads to connect the subdivisions
and what's going to happen when these
[17:20] septic tanks start to fail if if you
unfortunately approve this
[17:25] then we'll hear an outcry we've got to
have county water extended all the way
[17:28] to this subdivision which will put
further pressure
[17:32] on all the landowners nearby because
their taxes will go up
[17:37] and um
i can tell you something else that will
[17:40] happen if you plug a subdivision like
this in the middle of an agricultural
[17:43] and farming area because i've got one
grandfathered in next to my west field
[17:48] which we planted in longleaf pine also
back in 2007
[17:53] and what we get is every time we burn
those trees somebody from the
[17:57] subdivision calls the county fire
department get used to it i'm going to
[18:01] call them again i'm going to burn again
this winter
[18:04] and they dump their trash over the fence
into my trees because they think it's
[18:08] just empty land
and they trespass and they leave trash
[18:13] and they poach and they run their
four-wheelers that's what you're gonna
[18:17] get if this thing gets approved
this is why character areas matter
[18:22] this is why the subdivision should be
denied this is why
[18:27] the character area should stay the same
as it is
[18:31] this is why there's no need for
an extra million dollar water main to
[18:36] close a loop that's already closed
and this is why the county commission
[18:41] should be looking forward to preserve
the rural character of the rural parts
[18:45] of the
of the county
[18:48] not just for this generation of these
people
[18:52] but for their descendants seven to seven
generations owned so please deny
[18:58] this rezoning thank you
[19:02] okay
all right is there anyone in the
[19:05] audience that would like to speak in
favor of this request
[19:09] please come forward and state your name
and address for the record please
[19:16] richard coleman 109 south ashley street
i'm here
[19:21] i represent gw farms and um i'll try to
be brief as i can
[19:28] um
as we said it's 98 acres and of course
[19:32] it'll be 72 acres will actually be
developed in the in the in the front of
[19:35] the property
there's approximately 25 acres it'll be
[19:39] left and it'll be of course
it's
[19:44] the detention pond and it'll be as well
a uh it's undisturbed wetlands and those
[19:49] will be there next to the detention pond
and that's in the front
[19:52] um
now there also will be 72 lots and not
[19:57] 73 lots in the back which is lot 60 will
be a pool area dedicated so that lot
[20:03] will be taken out
um i will mention a little bit about the
[20:07] traffic
on the valedale road when i attended the
[20:11] planning commission meeting i did
mention also that this property is on
[20:15] the west side of the road
and therefore at least when traffic
[20:19] turns coming out of the subdivision
it'll be turning to the right it won't
[20:22] be crossing
uh the road at least going to work in
[20:25] the mornings
um
[20:28] the traffic count i had mentioned at the
planning commission meeting as well that
[20:32] there was a the traffic count was three
thousand with a six thousand capacity
[20:37] but
i called uh and
[20:39] and uh
got a lot of objection to that and i
[20:43] called chad macleod
um and just to find out exactly what
[20:48] that was and that is actually 4 000
uh 260 uh vehicles a day and he
[20:54] explained to me that this 6 000 capacity
is not really
[20:59] capacity is not the right word
he said what what he explained to me was
[21:03] that 6000
is simply a classification
[21:07] and that's a classification that the
county would use then to say okay
[21:12] we've got to do something with this uh
road we've either got to uh
[21:18] make some turn lanes or widening or stop
lights or whatever
[21:24] and of course it is a it is a major uh
he explained to me this is a lot of
[21:28] things a major collector
arterial road is what it is so so it's
[21:34] not a
it's not a little country road anymore i
[21:37] don't believe
[21:40] and of course it is moving
toward development lowndes county is
[21:44] moving that way it will just me even if
you turn down this development it'll be
[21:48] a matter of time before uh that road
will need some will reach that capacity
[21:53] i think everybody agrees with that
um
[21:56] and if you take 4 000 260 vehicles
and you considered two cars
[22:03] for each house
and i'm just
[22:06] thinking out loud
you got two cars each house and each
[22:10] each car goes to valdosta
every day and comes home every day i
[22:15] mean
if you say that then you've got
[22:18] a 144 added to the traffic count
and if you drive that into 4260 that's a
[22:25] 3.38 percent
increase in the traffic on valhalla road
[22:30] which is rather
minimal uh i know that's a conclusion
[22:34] that
appears to be rather minimal
[22:38] i also discussed with chad the
intersection
[22:41] at valdel and north in
valdez north valdosta road
[22:46] where where the traffic comes in and had
you know stopped by that stoplight and
[22:50] he
he said that they're working on that and
[22:54] have been working with d.o.t and and you
all probably already know that there's
[22:58] gonna instead of that one lane going
across over to um
[23:02] uh 41 041 they're gonna they're trying
to figure a way to make it turn to the
[23:06] left so there'll be two turning lanes
going into valdosta and he also said
[23:12] that right now they're just working on
they've got to figure out how long the
[23:15] lanes need to be or whether the media in
there and the budget and all of that
[23:20] they all consider getting prices
etcetera
[23:25] as far as the water
runoff was an issue
[23:29] of course the
detention pond and the natural
[23:33] area is intended to keep the water
within the subdivision and it is right
[23:42] again no comment please
and if you look at that map it does it
[23:47] is kind of in the middle in other words
the houses are all built will be
[23:50] developed around that
with that uh
[23:53] coming that direction
at any rate um
[24:00] so actually i mean
if you if you if you could actually
[24:04] maybe make an argument that the
subdivision may
[24:08] may solve some of the water runoff
issues on any davis property
[24:12] um
[24:16] we've heard about septic tanks and and i
didn't hear it tonight but we heard
[24:20] earlier that those septic tanks may
contaminate neighbors wells all of that
[24:25] and certainly uh
the county uh
[24:29] we'll give you about another half a
minute if you can go ahead and wrap it
[24:32] up okay all right so
we
[24:36] tend to do that i'll make the last uh a
couple one two quick points and that is
[24:41] the uh
as everybody knows the inventory for
[24:44] housing is very low in lowndes county
and right now i was told it's 60 percent
[24:47] lower than normal
and it uh certainly we need housing uh
[24:52] there's a great need at moody
um
[24:55] and um
we understand that the uh of course is
[24:58] another uh
thing that i'd like to say very quickly
[25:02] and that is we understand jobs are
important to lowndes county and of
[25:05] course if you you've got a lot of jobs
that go to subcontractors if when houses
[25:10] are built you've got
painters and you've got framers and
[25:13] you've got all of these people
electricians and everybody else
[25:16] everybody's aware of and
and in this particular case the
[25:20] contractor that will build
uh these houses has built 565 houses in
[25:25] the past years with 96 million spent in
lowndes county
[25:29] and that's all right so i'll stop
thank you sir
[25:35] is there anyone else that would like to
speak in favor of this request
[25:40] please come forward and state your name
and address to the record please
[25:50] hi i'm steve doherty
i've been listening to what some owner
[25:55] or landowners around their site
and hey it's something to think about
[26:01] i know that i've lived in an area i live
north of moody moody this grew like
[26:06] everything but one thing that i can
stand here and stay or we don't say
[26:11] clowns county stop growing don't grow no
more
[26:15] we cannot stop lowndes county from
growing it's going to grow
[26:20] what are we going to do as people in
lounge camp we're going to use our head
[26:26] i heard individuals say about water and
surf
[26:30] i think my opinion my son is builder
licensed bill
[26:34] i thank our
uh
[26:36] special paper uh
down here that proves sexy fantasy well
[26:41] wells no that does that i think they do
an excellent job they go each side
[26:48] and they do a study on it hey i don't
know what that study is they know who it
[26:53] is they give you the approval or
disapproval of that study that is
[26:58] something to think about if there's
something wrong with that land then
[27:02] they're going to
deny putin well in second tank there all
[27:06] right
let's let them
[27:10] make that decision for i don't know
what it is i can't stand here and say
[27:15] hey no this can't be done they know
let's do what lowndes county needs
[27:21] lounge county is growing
let people have jobs let people work
[27:27] and let's don't stop browns county works
hey
[27:30] anyone can say in my area
i invite anyone to come to my area and
[27:36] look it in
i've got 20 acres of land and i'll stand
[27:39] here today i'll give it to somebody if
they want to build on me
[27:43] i'll give it to them
and that ain't okay i won't see lowndes
[27:47] counties grow
and we need to be wise about it and open
[27:51] up some subdivisions because there's
people i have called today
[27:55] someone's coming in lounge county to
steal a hundred houses this coming year
[28:00] and what are you going to do
stay out of browns county no invite him
[28:05] to come in because we need the money and
i appreciate it
[28:09] okay we'll allow one more speaker is
there anyone else that would like to
[28:13] speak in favor of this request
anyone that would like to speak in favor
[28:19] hearing none will close the public
hearing portion of the meeting and
[28:22] commissioners i'll turn it over to you
for your consideration
[28:28] is um
coffee drinks being paid for their
[28:35] apartments on the
west west side
[28:42] and i had a question i know the ones
representing the farm i just want to
[28:46] miss the market just hang on just a
minute that's good
[28:50] that's all you need okay i'm sorry then
go ahead i noticed the sign still has
[28:54] for sale on the on the sign up there
pending this independence disapproval or
[29:00] have anyone else made an offer on the
property that's what i was going to ask
[29:04] i do not know that
[29:08] did anyone else make an offer on the
property
[29:14] yeah
just hold up
[29:17] the market we don't need to get in back
in with no i'm closed the public portion
[29:22] of the meeting
i want to know basically had anybody
[29:25] else been given an opportunity to
purchase the property well i think they
[29:28] have it's been for sale for quite a
while
[29:31] so yeah
someone's had the opportunity to buy it
[29:33] i think you can certainly assume that
i think that sign's been up here for
[29:37] quite a while
because i don't know i don't know what
[29:41] vital for what purpose is what i've been
trying to think of yeah i can't answer
[29:46] that and probably the owner is the only
one that could really answer that
[29:50] and i don't think the owners here
we
[30:05] we have spent
hours and money on a uldc document
[30:10] and on the conference plan
and that's what we need to do is follow
[30:15] that lead
[30:20] so are you putting that in the form of a
motion don't make that money
[30:24] okay so we have a motion to deny
we'll have a second
[30:31] motion dies for the lack of a second
okay
[30:35] that'll entertain a motion
mr chairman i move we approve the
[30:38] v-zoning from ra to
r1
[30:42] okay we have a motion
to approve from ra to r1 with the
[30:48] um
condition
[30:50] that has 20 foot
buffer
[30:54] between the road between bowdale road
and the
[30:57] first property owners
[31:02] okay so we have a motion
do we have a second
[31:07] okay
maybe we have a second we have a motion
[31:10] in a second i'll call the vote we'll do
it by show of hands all in favor signify
[31:14] by raising your right hand
[31:18] okay three in opposition
same
[31:24] pretty soon
three two three
[31:29] okay so the motion cares
[31:34] all right we'll move on then to agenda
item 5c
[31:37] and this is rec 2021-17
and we'll give everybody a chance
[31:43] anybody that wants to leave we'll give
them a chance to do just
[31:51] that voted for you scotty you are part
of our fishery
[31:57] ma'am
ma'am order please
[32:01] come on
[32:41] all right we'll move on then to agenda
item 5c and this is rec 2021-17
[32:49] jeffrey atkinson
4365
[32:53] williams road
it's currently r1 the request is for ra
[32:58] it has well and septic and it involves
eight acres mr dillard thank you mr
[33:03] chairman commissioners again this
request is from r1 to ra in order for
[33:07] the applicant to provide dog training
services in a more rural setting which
[33:11] is only allowed in the ea and ra zonings
subject properties in the urban service
[33:16] area and suburban character area and ra
zoning is listed as recommended zoning
[33:21] trc had no objectionable comments and
the applicant is working through the
[33:24] state department of agricultural
agriculture contains the necessary
[33:28] licensing and permits to operate a
kindling training facility staff finds a
[33:31] request consistent with the conference
of plan and the planning commission
[33:34] recommends approval by unanimous vote
9-0
[33:38] any questions for mr dillard
okay
[33:42] we'll move into the public hearing
portion of the meeting is there anyone
[33:46] in the audience that would like to speak
in opposition to this request
[33:51] anyone that would like to speak in
opposition
[33:54] hearing none is there anyone in the
audience that would like to speak in
[33:57] favor of this request
anyone that would like to speak in favor
[34:03] hearing them will close the public
hearing part of the meeting and
[34:06] commissioners i'll turn it back over to
you for your consideration mr chairman
[34:10] motion to approve this request
here we have a motion to approve the
[34:14] request do we have a second
second we have a second
[34:19] okay in a discussion on the motion
hearing none i'll call the vote all in
[34:24] favor signify by eye
any opposed like sign
[34:29] hearing none the motion carries
agenda item 5d is rec
[34:36] 2021-18 the villages
located at b on bemis road is currently
[34:42] a pd and this is a pd site plan
amendment it has water and sewer and
[34:46] this involves three acres mr dillard
thank you mr chairman again this is an
[34:50] amendment to an approved pd site plan
that was approved back in 2020 the
[34:55] original site plan uh listed 25
single-family homes it has since changed
[35:00] hands by developers and is now being
requested for 11
[35:05] duplex homes this is consistent with the
current the growth pattern out there as
[35:09] there are four existing duplexes
immediately to the north as well as a
[35:12] multi-family compound
the subject property is within the urban
[35:16] service area and neighborhood activity
center and pd is a recommended zoning
[35:20] for that character area the trc had no
objectional comments and the glpc
[35:23] considered it and recommends approval by
a vote of nine to zero
[35:27] okay any questions for mr dillard okay
we'll move into the public hearing
[35:32] portion of the meeting is there anyone
in the audience would like to speak in
[35:35] opposition to this request
anyone that would like to speak in
[35:39] opposition
hearing none is there anyone in the
[35:42] audience that would like to speak in
favor of this request
[35:46] anyone that would like to speak in faith
hearing none we'll close the public
[35:50] hearing portion of the meeting and
commissioners i'll turn it back over to
[35:53] you for your consideration
listen to approval if we have a motion
[35:57] to approve the request and we have a
second
[36:00] of a second any discussion
hearing none i'll call the vote all in
[36:05] favor signify by eye
any opposed like sign
[36:10] hearing none motion carries
[36:13] agenda item 5e is rec 2021-19
this is the lounge county board of
[36:21] commissioners on behalf of frank
wetherington's living trust
[36:25] 4224 bowdale road
currently pd the request is for ra it
[36:31] has well in septic and it involves five
acres mr dillard thank you mr chairman
[36:36] uh this is a pd property that was
rezoned back in 2020 as part of the
[36:40] landing subdivision it was since amended
in 2021 back in july if you recall
[36:45] and the updated site plan excludes this
particular portion as well as the one to
[36:49] the south which will be our next case
you note the property here on the
[36:52] original site plan and has now been
excluded
[36:56] it is part of a rural residential
character area and the request is to
[36:59] return it to ra
which was the prior zoning to the pd and
[37:03] to remove the pd restrictions from this
property as it's no longer included in
[37:06] the subdivision trc had no objectionable
comments and the planning commission
[37:10] recommended approval by unanimous vote
any questions from mr dillard
[37:16] okay we'll move into the public hearing
portion of the meeting is there anyone
[37:19] in the audience that would like to speak
in opposition to this request
[37:23] any anyone that would like to speak in
opposition
[37:27] hearing none is there anyone that would
like to speak in favor of this request
[37:31] anyone that would like to speak in favor
hearing none i'll call i'll close the
[37:35] public hearing portion of the meeting
and commissions i'll turn it back over
[37:38] to you for your consideration
mr chairman
[37:42] we have a motion to approve the request
do i have a second
[37:46] we have a second in a discussion
hearing none i'll call the vote all in
[37:51] favor signify by eye
any opposed like sign
[37:56] hearing none the motion carries
agenda item 5 f is r e z
[38:03] 2021-20
this is lounge county board of
[38:07] commissioners on behalf of harold and
gina war
[38:10] located at 4154 valedale road
it's pd the request is for ra it has
[38:17] well in septic and involves 2.9 acres mr
dillon thank you mr chairman again this
[38:22] is the similar to the previous case in
that this subject property is now not
[38:27] part of the landing subdivision
as a result of july 2021 rezoning case
[38:33] you can see the particular details here
it is now 2.9 acres and again rural
[38:38] residential character area ra is listed
as recommended crc had no additional
[38:42] objectionable comments and the planning
commission again recommended approval
[38:45] plague as well
[38:48] any questions for mr dillard
hearing none
[38:52] i'll entertain a motion i'm sorry public
hearing
[38:56] is there anyone in the audience that
would like to speak in opposition to
[38:59] this request
anyone that would like to speak in
[39:02] opposition hearing none is there anyone
that would like to speak in favor of
[39:06] this request
anyone that would like to speak in faith
[39:09] hearing none we'll close the public
hearing and commissioners i'll turn it
[39:13] over to you for your consideration
[39:18] mr chairman i'll move we approve this
request okay we have a motion to approve
[39:22] the request do i have a second
second
[39:25] a second any discussion on the motion
hearing none i'll call the vote all in
[39:30] favor signify by eye
any opposed like sign
[39:35] hearing none the motion carries
agenda item five g is r e z 2021-21
[39:44] this is lounge county board of
commissioners on behalf of valdez states
[39:48] on bowdale road it as well as a this is
a pd amendment it has water and sewer
[39:54] and this involves 56 acres mr dillard
thanks sir again this is an update to a
[39:59] previously approved site plan uh from a
development standpoint again there were
[40:03] some
issues with covet as far as timelines
[40:06] and normal operation of services
again future is a suburban character
[40:11] area pd is recommended you see the
property does contain wetlands to the
[40:15] south this was the previously approved
site plan you'll note some minor changes
[40:19] between this plan
and the approved plan or the updated
[40:22] proposal here presumably in the location
of the green space and a few minor
[40:25] changes to the cul-de-sac industry
infrastructure
[40:28] the trc had no additional comments and
the planning commission recommended
[40:31] approval by again unanimous vote 9-0
thank you mr dylan any questions for mr
[40:37] dillon
hearing none we'll move into the public
[40:40] hearing
portion of this agenda item is there
[40:44] anyone in the audience that would like
to speak in opposition to this request
[40:48] anyone that would like to speak in
opposition
[40:51] hearing none is there anyone that would
like to speak in favor to this request
[40:56] anyone that would like to speak in favor
hearing none i'll close the public
[40:59] hearing portion of the meeting and
commissioners i'll turn it back over to
[41:02] you for your consideration
[41:09] okay we have a motion to approve do we
have a second
[41:14] we have a second any discussion
hearing none all in favor signify by eye
[41:20] any opposed like sign
hearing on motion carries
[41:27] agenda item 6a is the abandonment of a
portion of salem church road known as
[41:32] county road number 68
and wells road known as county road
[41:37] number 68 and county road 69 mr mccloud
yes sir the county has received a
[41:43] request to abandon a portion of salem
church road and wells road
[41:48] the portion of salem church road
begins at the intersection of old
[41:52] valdosta road and goes to the
intersection of wales road
[41:56] the portion of wales road begins at the
intersection of georgia highway 122
[42:02] to salem church road then north to the
property line of map zero zero zero two
[42:08] parcel zero zero five
owned by the stalwarts
[42:13] georgia statute requires an initial
determination
[42:16] either a that the section of the county
road system has for any reason cease to
[42:20] be used by the public to the extent that
no substantial public
[42:24] purpose is served by it
or b that its removal from the county
[42:28] road system is otherwise in the best
public interest or both
[42:33] if the board makes either or both of
these determinations the statute
[42:37] provides for notice to adjoining
property owners
[42:40] notice to the public by newspaper
publication
[42:43] and the public hearing
a few other notes
[42:47] this request came from plb limited
partnership
[42:51] which now owns the 1228 plus acres which
used to be owned by lakewood farms
[42:58] the request
according to the request i mean the
[43:02] request was signed by all property
owners that have
[43:05] a property that would have access to
their property off of either road
[43:09] where plb limited partnership has
proposed the roads to be closed
[43:14] currently both wales road and salem
church road are used by citizens in the
[43:18] surrounding area
for public use as a shorter means of
[43:22] travel for vehicles and farm equipment
wells road continues going north into
[43:27] cook county and eventually ends at old
valdosta road inside of cook county
[43:32] if the commission decides to close wells
row they turn around would have to be
[43:36] constructed
on the north end of the proposed closed
[43:40] location
the entrance to the little river boat
[43:43] ramp and to the mary turner lynching
memorial landmarker are located at the
[43:48] intersection of wells road and highway
122.
[43:51] if the commission decides to close wells
road staff would recommend keeping it
[43:55] open to a point north of highway 122
so the public can still have access to
[44:00] both
staff would also have to research to see
[44:04] where exactly the georgia d.o.t
right-of-way is located at the
[44:07] intersection to determine the exact
closing location
[44:12] okay commissioners any questions for mr
mccloud
[44:16] all right here you go i'll entertain a
motion just turn our move that we deny
[44:21] the request based on
it isn't that either one of the criteria
[44:25] okay we have a motion to deny do we have
a second second we have a second any
[44:29] discussion
hearing on a call for the vote all in
[44:32] favor signify by
i any opposed like sign
[44:38] hearing none the motion is approved
good night
[44:44] denied i'm sorry
no your motion was possible most
[44:49] for the dial yeah sorry
who's wrong
[44:52] yeah
i'm dealing with a motion
[44:56] sorry
all right we'll move on with agenda item
[45:00] 6b
this is the american rescue plan funding
[45:04] application for utility repairs and
expansion mr tower
[45:08] yes sir the american rescue plan
provides for funding for local
[45:13] municipalities to upgrade their water
and sewer infrastructure
[45:17] lowndes county in conjunction with
carter and sloop has identified several
[45:20] projects that meet this criteria
the total amount of these projects is
[45:24] ten million five hundred dollars
the ground amount we would be requesting
[45:28] would be five
million two hundred fifty 000
[45:32] with a county match of the same amount 5
million 250 000
[45:36] staff recommends approval for carter and
sleep engineer to submit the arp funding
[45:42] application
all right any questions for mr staubel
[45:47] hearing none i'll entertain a motion
[45:52] mr chairman i'll move we approve the
grant application for
[45:57] carter and salute engineering
okay we have a motion to approve the
[46:02] grant application that's estimated by
carter and slough we'll have a second
[46:07] i have a second in a discussion
hearing none i'll call the vote all in
[46:13] favor signify by eye
any opposed like sign
[46:18] hearing none the motion carries
agenda item 7a is the improvement to the
[46:24] historic carnegie library museum mr
mccloud
[46:28] yes sir improvements to the historic
carnegie library museum is an approved
[46:32] project for splost eight
improvements including new roof for the
[46:36] facility including structural work
waterproofing the basement area and a
[46:41] little cosmetic work
the bid opening was held september 21st
[46:46] and staff received one bid from
kellerman construction
[46:50] for 237
168 and 120 days
[46:56] and
miss lover has the contracts for the
[47:01] contractor in her possession
any questions for mr mccloud
[47:08] hearing none i'll entertain a motion
okay we have a motion to approve by ms
[47:13] evans have a second mr weiser baker any
discussion
[47:18] hearing none i'll call the vote all in
favor signify by eye
[47:22] any opposed like sign
here none motion is here it carries
[47:28] agenda item seven i mean agenda item
eight is our final accounting report
[47:34] thank you mr chairman good evening
commissioners
[47:37] over the past couple of months in
accordance with the direction the
[47:40] commission has given staff to explore
opportunities for broadband expansion
[47:45] here in lowndes county we have met with
several providers
[47:49] that there is arp funding that is
available through the state
[47:53] the grant deadline was moved to the end
of october
[47:56] for that and in all of those discussions
that also included jason shaw our public
[48:01] service commission representative um the
most viable
[48:05] grant request that we have received is
from winstream and so staff would like
[48:09] to request permission to move forward as
the lead applicant with winstream this
[48:14] is no financial obligation on part of
the county
[48:17] but we have looked at their plan
extensively they've used dca's map for
[48:22] those without service and those
underserved which means they don't have
[48:25] enough broadband to actually be able to
to get out or for their internet to work
[48:29] very well the the winstream plan does
include 18 900 locations at a total cost
[48:36] of 36.3 million the grant request is for
16.2 million and then one stream plans
[48:42] an investment of 20.1 million there's
also a good not quite as efficient
[48:47] proposal from hargre
for 10 300 locations at a cost of 54
[48:52] million and they plan to split that if
awarded
[48:56] 27 to 27.
the positive thing mediacom also has a
[49:00] proposal we have not seen that the
positive thing for us is that if any of
[49:04] these are approved we are in good shape
these are all great providers their
[49:09] plans are good we've looked at all of
them but the more specific request is
[49:13] from winstream for the county to be the
lead applicant on that grant if you all
[49:17] have no objection
any objection to lowndes county taking
[49:22] the lead
no no this is extremely important to
[49:25] this community
[49:28] thank you commissioner
[49:34] thank you mr chairman we'll take care of
that on october the 5th um staff along
[49:38] with the county attorney and the
chairman attended an accg local option
[49:42] sales tax meeting
the end result is that we are putting a
[49:46] plan in place to gather the research
data that we will need to formulate our
[49:50] proposal related to local option sales
tax and at your february retreat we will
[49:54] have an in-depth report for you on that
so that you can give us some direction
[49:57] and we'll be ready to move forward also
the regional commission's annual
[50:01] appreciation dinner for elected
officials in adel is on october the 26th
[50:07] which would be the normal day of our
next meeting and so the chairman has
[50:12] asked staff to move the regular meeting
to that monday evening so we would have
[50:16] the work session on monday morning at 8
30 and then the meeting on monday at 5
[50:20] 30 so that you all are all available to
attend
[50:24] the the dinner in adel also flu shots a
couple of you have asked about that i
[50:28] checked with hr and they will be
available for county employees at
[50:31] various locations to meet any of our
shift requirements on october the 26th
[50:35] and 28th and then we will also
leave that open at airport medical until
[50:40] the end of november for anyone who would
like to stop by
[50:43] also we're putting together a
communication for the employees i think
[50:46] there'll be some skeptic skepticism
maybe some confusion about the vaccine
[50:51] versus flu shots and so we're putting
together some faqs to hopefully clear
[50:56] that up also the lounge county sheriff's
office and the vassal police department
[50:59] have moved trick-or-treating until
october the 30th so you all might get
[51:03] some questions about that it seems to be
the talk of the town right now
[51:07] so let me know if there's any problems
there and then also i just want to thank
[51:10] everyone for the river cleanup this past
saturday some of you participated
[51:14] certainly engineering and
megan with public information were
[51:19] extremely involved there we had a great
turnout thanks to walls certainly the
[51:23] quarterman's were a great part of that
and we appreciate their partnership
[51:27] and we look forward to the river cleanup
next year
[51:30] and planning for the holiday season has
officially become so with the work at
[51:35] the historic courthouse we're planning
an alternative for
[51:39] our tree lighting this year will be at
the city and we're looking at some
[51:42] changes in our decorations there
good thank you great report as always we
[51:48] appreciate it
all right we uh we do have some citizens
[51:52] wishing to be heard our first citizen is
sandra jones
[51:58] please come forward
[52:04] and state your
name and address for the record ms john
[52:11] good evening
my name is mrs sandra d s jones i live
[52:16] at 49.40 copies rolled in hey howard
georgia
[52:21] first of all i would like to thank the
board for allowing me to be heard
[52:27] i'm here am i requesting that
taxpayers 65 and older be exempt from
[52:32] paying school taxes in lowndes county
i respectfully request that you
[52:39] contact the lowndes county
and city school boards
[52:43] and discuss this issue with them a round
table discussion
[52:48] on this matter along with a few
taxpaying citizens
[52:53] could get this issue resolved
we have seniors
[52:58] in lowndes county
that are making choices
[53:03] whether to pay taxes
or purchase food
[53:08] a much needed medication
[53:12] is there resolution in place
to assist
[53:16] citizens
that are experiencing hardships
[53:20] concerning paying their taxes
and who is in charge of assisting them
[53:26] most seniors are not looking for a
handout
[53:30] but for a handoff
i realize
[53:34] our outstanding school systems have
budgets
[53:39] that needs to be considered
but i also ask that you consider
[53:44] the needs the needs of our seniors
you as a board can provide that for them
[53:53] by finding a way to exempt our seniors
65 and older from paying school taxes
[54:01] our seniors 65 and older
need your compassion
[54:06] and action on this matter
when can i
[54:11] expect
a response concerning my request
[54:15] one of the things that i looked at when
i was thinking about coming before this
[54:19] board i looked at your mission statement
and it's stated to provide an efficient
[54:25] effective
and responsive local government to all
[54:29] citizens
of lowndes county while maintaining the
[54:33] financial strength to meet any
contingency
[54:37] i ask you to please consider our seniors
i have interviewed several seniors
[54:42] and a lot of them are having difficult
times at this time like i said buying
[54:46] food
purchasing much needed medication
[54:51] and you are our elected officials
sometimes i feel like we cast the
[54:57] seniors out
but let's do something for them
[55:01] please
think about them i had one woman that i
[55:05] interviewed she told me this
she said since my husband passed away
[55:10] i don't get half of the money that we
used to get when he was alive
[55:14] she said i had my separate tank to go
out and i had to buy a freezer
[55:18] she said i don't have any extra money
to pay taxes
[55:22] so please y'all think about those people
that have been paying taxes for 20 30
[55:27] and 40 and 50 years
and now they're not receiving the extra
[55:32] income but taxes are going over
let's do something for them
[55:36] and you all have the power to do that
get with the city
[55:40] you know get with the county and discuss
with them what they can do with lowering
[55:44] their budget you know when i was growing
up i just heard my granddaddy so you
[55:47] need to trim the fat
so maybe they can trim some fat so we
[55:51] can help some of these seniors 65 and
older
[55:54] cut your budget because if the money is
not there then you can't make these
[55:57] extra purchases
but the seniors don't have that luxury
[56:00] they don't have the money
so think about those that are 65 and
[56:04] older
i'm getting there i'm not here yet i'm
[56:08] just speaking on their behalf but please
think about that
[56:12] we have a responsibility to our seniors
think about who's been paying their
[56:17] taxes
one lady told my husband little to be 92
[56:20] years old and he was still paying taxes
oh no no no
[56:24] a change needs to be made
and i thank you all for listening to me
[56:28] i really do and i hope you have a
wonderful evening
[56:32] and where can i hear from you all
oh i'll get with you a little bit later
[56:37] miss jones we don't normally have
dialogue
[56:40] oh that's fine later it's fine and just
to know that you're thinking about what
[56:44] i actually did opportunity but not stay
in touch with me okay i appreciate that
[56:48] and i appreciate it coming from the
commissioner that means a lot the
[56:50] chairman that's in a lot thank y'all
very much thank you
[56:56] all right our
next citizen wishing to be heard is
[57:00] gretchen forderman
[57:04] please come forward and state your name
and address for the record please
[57:11] my name is gretchen quarterman and i
live at 6565 quarterman road um in hay
[57:16] hira and i just want to say uh like
paige did thank you very much for an
[57:20] excellent trash pickup at the rivers and
um throughout the city uh we picked up
[57:24] i'm still waiting on the final uh
tonnage but quite a bit of trash and we
[57:28] had a lot of people helping out and it's
really awesome and the by keeping trash
[57:34] out of the rivers then we have more
people who want to come and use them
[57:37] thank you for not closing wells road
because that's when a very important
[57:41] location for the water trails and we
appreciate that so i just want to say
[57:45] thank you very much and we look forward
to doing it again thanks
[57:51] our next speaker is john quarterman but
i think john your issue was taken care
[57:56] of
[58:02] i'm sorry
oh yes but i want to thank you as well
[58:07] good thank you
for several things obviously for voting
[58:11] not to close wells road thank you very
much
[58:14] and also at trash cleanup um
there were a couple of things that were
[58:20] announced that i hope you don't mind if
i repeat
[58:23] one is i'd like to thank chairman and
the mayor of valdosta for saying they're
[58:27] continuing to work on purchasing the
land at the little river confluence for
[58:31] eventual use as a nature park and for
treatment boat ramp and for agreeing
[58:37] that january 29th that saturday will be
the chairman and mayor's battle from
[58:42] truthville boat ramp
down to
[58:45] spook bridge and today the wagondale
company agreed they're good with that so
[58:49] that's on
so that's a good thing
[58:53] and i wrote up this nice letter about
wells row but now i don't have to talk
[58:57] about it
so
[58:59] also just one other thing we're making
some progress with finding sources of
[59:04] trash upstream
like 80 percent of valdosta is drained
[59:08] by sugar creek
and a lot of that stuff is coming out of
[59:11] parking lots on saint augustine road and
ashley street
[59:15] one of the major parking lot owners
stafford at st augustine in high tower
[59:19] creek has actually modified their
contracts with their contractors so
[59:23] they're keeping it much cleaner so they
should be less coming downstream which
[59:26] means less washing down to
the land between the rivers below troop
[59:30] belt boat ramp so that's good too thank
you
[59:33] thank you
any comments questions
[59:39] mister thank you for what you do i i
certainly is one appreciate it
[59:44] motion to adjourn we're adjourned it's
been a long night