Lowndes County and Cities SPLOST Agreement and Project Lists 2025-08-04

Leave a reply

On August 7, Lowndes County told me in response to the LAKE August 4, 2025, open records request:

“Regarding your below open records request, we will have this information ready for you next Thursday, August 14, 2025.”

Meanwhile, a usually reliable source has sent what appears to be the SPLOST IX Agreement and the Project Lists for the county and each of its cities. They are on the LAKE website.

[Lowndes County SPLOST, Agreement and Project Lists, Valdosta, Hahira, Remerton, Dasher, Lake Park]
Lowndes County SPLOST, Agreement and Project Lists, Valdosta, Hahira, Remerton, Dasher, Lake Park

Text and images of the Project Lists are below.

We’ll see if they match what I get from the county on Thursday.

This is what I asked for: Continue reading →

Packet: 2 small rezonings, Comprehensive Plan, USGS Gauges, GDOT for Shiloh Road, Civic Center Hurricane Repair @ LCC 2025-08-11

1 Reply

Lowndes County will hold a 2026 Comprehensive Plan Kickoff on Tuesday, August 12, 2025. According to SGRC, it will be at the beginning of the County Commission meeting. So apparently it’s the Public Hearing in the Tuesday Commission meeting.

USGS is charging more for the gauges at Folsom Bridge on the Little River and Skipper Bridge on the Withlacoochee River.

[Collage @ LCC Packet 2025-08-11]
Collage @ LCC Packet 2025-08-11

The Air Force is going to move the emergency backup Lowndes County water connection to Moody AFB, due to “unforseen conflicts after construction began,” apparently with the railroad and the “electric duct bank.”

The two small rezonings that sailed through the Planning Commission are on this County Commission agenda.

GDOT wants an easement at the Parrott Health Clinic in Hahira. GDOT has agreed to supply more TIA money for Shiloh Road Resurfacing and Bridge Replacement, and there are bids to approve.

There are bids for the Lowndes County Civic Center Hurricane Helene Repairs.

Here is the agenda.

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

See also the LAKE videos of the preceding Planning Commission meeting.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 2025, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2025, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Rome-Floyd SPLOST Committee 2024-12-31

1 Reply

The opaque SPLOST process the Lowndes County Commission is using, in which it just sent an Agreement and a Project List to its cities for approval without the taxpaying citizens ever seeing either, is not the only way.

[Rome-Floyd County, GA, Citizen SPLOST Committee, Less Population than Lowndes, More transparent process]
Rome-Floyd County, GA, Citizen SPLOST Committee, Less Population than Lowndes, More transparent process

Rome and Floyd County, Georgia, have a citizen committee that decides what is on their Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) list. That committee has open meetings and publishes its draft lists.
https://www.floydcountyga.gov/bc-splost

Floyd County, at 100,113 people, has less population than Lowndes County, at 120,712.

If Floyd County can be transparent, Lowndes County can also choose to be transparent. Continue reading →

Video: Special Called Meeting about SPLOST IX Agreement @ LCC 2025-08-04

2 Replies

Update 2025-08-05: Rome-Floyd SPLOST Committee 2024-12-31.

Here is the one LAKE video of the two-minute Special Called Meeting in which the Lowndes County Commissioners unanimously agreed to forward a SPLOST IX Agreement to the cities within the county.

[Collage @ LCC 4 August 2025]
Collage @ LCC 4 August 2025

The tax-paying citizens have not seen this Agreement nor the list of projects on which the county projects $17 million to be spent in Fiscal Year 2026.

According to County Manager Paige Dukes, the County Commission will have to vote again after the cities approve it.

Citizens get to vote on SPLOST IX in the General Election on November 4, 2025.

Today, they unanimously approved sending to the cities, on a motion by Commissioner Scottie Orenstien and a second by Commissioner Michael Smith. Continue reading →

Videos: Four small items, 2 Valdosta, 2 Lowndes County @ GLPC 2025-07-28

2 Replies

Update 2025-08-08: Packet: 2 small rezonings, Comprehensive Plan, USGS Gauges, GDOT for Shiloh Road, Civic Center Hurricane Repair @ LCC 2025-08-11.

The Greater Lowndes Planning Commissioners unanimously recommended approval of all the items before them, some with staff-recommended conditions.

Including the Valdosta Land Development Regulations (LDR), which Valdosta still has GLPC review, even though Lowndes County no longer has GLPC review for its Unified Land Development Code (ULDC).

But see Gretchen’s comments on 6. REZ-2025-13 ENCC.

[Collage @ LCC 28 July 2025]
Collage @ LCC 28 July 2025

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

See also the Continue reading →

Vote on SPLOST IX? @ LCC 2025-08-04

1 Reply

Update 2025-08-04: Agenda: Special Called Meeting about SPLOST IX Agreement @ LCC 2025-08-04.

There’s nothing about this on lowndescounty.com, not in the calendar, not in agendas, not in news.

Yet according to the slides for the June Budget Hearings, the Lowndes County Commission and staff expect to derive $17 million from SPLOST IX in FY 2026.

What projects will this penny sales tax fund? Where is the list for Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) IX? What is this Agreement mentioned in the VDT article?

[Vote on SPLOST IX?, Special Called Meeting 2025-08-04, Lowndes County Commission, Where is the Project List?]
Vote on SPLOST IX?, Special Called Meeting 2025-08-04, Lowndes County Commission, Where is the Project List?

By Staff reports, Valdosta Daily Times, Published 3:23 pm Friday, August 1, 2025, County to meet for SPLOST discussions,

VALDOSTA — The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners will hold a called meeting at 4 p.m. Monday in the Commission Chambers, 327 N. Ashley St., second floor, for the purpose of considering the SPLOST IX Agreement.

-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

Agenda: Special Called Meeting about SPLOST IX Agreement @ LCC 2025-08-04

2 Replies

Update 2025-08-04: Video: Special Called Meeting about SPLOST IX Agreement @ LCC 2025-08-04.

Since LAKE posted the VDT notice of the SPLOST IX Special Called Meeting for this afternoon, an agenda and agenda sheet have popped up on LowndesCounty.com.

They’ve been working on this SPLOST IX Agreement since April, yet they couldn’t discuss it during a regularly-scheduled meeting, nor tell the tax-paying public what’s on the project list?

[Agenda and Sheet @ LCC 2025-08-04, 4 PM, Special Called Meeting, SPLOST IX Agreement]
Agenda and Sheet @ LCC 2025-08-04, 4 PM, Special Called Meeting, SPLOST IX Agreement

Here is the agenda:

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
SPECIAL CALLED MEETING
PROPOSED AGENDA
MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2025, 4:00 P.M.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Packet: Four small items, 2 Valdosta, 2 Lowndes County @ GLPC 2025-07-28

Update 2025-08-04: Videos: Four small items, 2 Valdosta, 2 Lowndes County @ GLPC 2025-07-28.

Crossroads Baptist Church wants to expand at 3001 Country Club Drive and the City of Valdosta is entertaining some LDR text amendments.

The two Lowndes County rezonings are both to bring their properties into conformity or compliance.

These are on the agenda for the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) this evening.

[Collage @ GLPC Packet 2025-07-28]
Collage @ GLPC Packet 2025-07-28

Here is the agenda.

The board packet materials, received in response to a LAKE open records request, are on the LAKE website, with images below.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
~ Lowndes County ~ City of Valdosta ~ City of Dasher ~
~ City of Hahira ~ City of Lake Park ~ City of Remerton ~

Monday, July 21, 2025 5:30 P.M. Work Session
Monday, July 28, 2025 5:30 P.M. Regular Session
Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue, Valdosta, Georgia

Continue reading →

Videos: Appointments to 2 boards, 2 law grants, 2 lift station items, 1 Comp. Plan contract @ LCC Regular 2025-07-22

Two citizens spoke at the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session. Gretchen Quarterman about water wells, including private wells getting contaminated since Hurricane Helene, or running dry, and expenses of testing and well drilling. Commissioners actually discussed afterwards that you can take a water sample and get Public Health to test it.

Keyara Hamilton spoke about Goodwill.

[Collage @ LCC 22 July 2025]
Collage @ LCC 22 July 2025

The Lowndes County Commissioners appointed Scottie Orenstein, Joe Brownlee, and Rob Green to the Lowndes County Development Authority, which apparently never meets. Then they also reappointed Jerome Tucker and Barry Green.

They reappointed Michael Walker and J.D. Rice to the Lowndes County Public Facilities Authority. Then they also appointed Lowndes County Commissioner Mike Smith to succeed Clay Griner, and Andy Griffin to succeed Crawford Powell. They also clarified the when each term will end.

Chairman Bill Slaughter recommended that Commissioners should get a list of boards and their meeting dates and times so they can attend an learn things. This is good advice for citizens in general.

The Commissioners approved everything else unanimously.

County Manager Paige Dukes’s Reports lasted almost ten minutes, including Fire Department people speaking.

Below are Continue reading →

Videos: Appointments to 2 boards, 2 law grants, 2 lift station items, 1 Comp. Plan contract @ LCC Work 2025-07-21

Update 2025-07-25: Videos: Appointments to 2 boards, 2 law grants, 2 lift station items, 1 Comp. Plan contract @ LCC Regular 2025-07-22.

The Lowndes County Commissioners discussed much more than usual, making yesterday morning’s Work Session 44 minutes long.

[Collage @ LCC Work Session 21 July 2025]
Collage @ LCC Work Session 21 July 2025

They vote today at 5:30 PM, which is about now.

Yesterday, the County Attorney weighed in on both the board appointment items.

The Comprehensive Plan update won’t change the Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) that the county and the five cities agreed would last for ten years.

Both of the Juvenile Justice grant items lasted more than 9 minutes.

The longest item was not on the agenda: a report by Jeff Lovell on well issues and river water infiltration.

And we got a clue where the Blue Lake Lift Station is: near I-75 Exit 13.

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

See also the Continue reading →