Citizens came to speak out against potential rezoning and development of 15 acres located on Cat Creek Road from Low Density Residential (R-1) to Suburban Density Residential (R-10) at the regular meeting of the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners Tuesday night.

Four citizens came forward to express their disapproval of the proposal, including Thomas E. Stalvey Jr. who believes further residential construction on Cat Creek Road will endanger the lives of children waiting for school in the morning.

“An accident is going to happen at some time, if we put 49 more houses, it will only increase the chance of an accident occurring,” said Stalvey. “Most of that farmland has been in families for years, and we enjoy our quiet community.”

Gretchen Quarterman also spoke against the proposition, citing that extending residential areas further out into undeveloped Lowndes County would create greater strain on an already tight fiscal operating budget.

Bill Nijem, representative of the applicant, brought forward information demonstrating his client’s willingness to work with neighbors, in that lot sizes were increased by 20 percent and that the average lot size would range from a minimum of 12,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet. Nijem also reminded commissioners that the applicant was willing to install any necessary buffers or fences to prevent children from playing in the neighboring fields and would have water and sewer installed with his own financial resources.

Commissioners ultimately tabled the request to allow the applicant the opportunity to discuss problems that neighbors were having with the proposed development.

Commissioners also heard a request to rezone 34 acres located on Clyattstone Road from Low Density Residential (R-1) to Medium Density Residential (R-21) with four conditions: All lots shall front interior roads unless the total number of new lots subdivided from the subject property is five or less. The subdividing of the subject property into six or more lots will require for the   design, any acquisition of necessary right-of-way, relocation of utilities and construction costs. Other conditions include that the maximum number of lots to not exceed 35 total units those that are on the front portion will be one acre each.

Scott Alderman came forward to speak against the proposal, but not before Lowndes County Chairman, Ashley Paulk, reprimanded Alderman’s actions earlier on Tuesday.

“You were very verbally abusive to one of my employees today,” said Paulk. “I want you to control your emotions and control your temper and don’t make me have to do it for you.”

Alderman believed the land use held no precedent for rezoning

“There’s no high density which is less than one acre, in this area, that is on a dirt road and has no county water and sewer and we believe that is a fair land use issue for your consideration,” said Alderman.

Benita Washington expressed her appreciation for the knowledge she has gained through the rezoning process and asked that commissioners vote in favor of the proposal.

“When I look at the property on Clyattstone Road, it does not look attractive,” said Washington. “I have a vision of beautiful homes nestled in trees and beautiful landscaping to improve the appearance of the area.”

Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the rezoning request.

Before the county manager’s report portion of the meeting, Ashley Paulk took the opportunity to discuss recent treatment he received from local radio station personnel.

“Apparently, I must have a conflict, because of some things that I felt weren’t right at the Parks and Recreation Authority, with contracts, things that were improperly handled on both sides,” said Paulk. “So I was dis-invited to be on Black Crow Radio for the rest of the time, but if anybody does listen to Black Crow, listen to Lee Henderson. I listen to Lee all the time. Hey, Mr. Henderson. We won’t be over there anymore, so you’ll have to listen to Scott James and turn over to the news.”

Paulk had been appearing on Talk 105.9 on the mornings of the county meetings. He said his position on the Authority and the questioning of the legality of Black Crow contracts led to his being banned from the station. Paulk added that it will be his decision, not Black Crow’s, on whether or not he’ll consider returning to their stations once the legal issues have been resolved.

County manager, Joe Pritchard, submitted a report that the existing chiller and two air handlers at the Lowndes County Jail had broken and would require immediate replacement. Total cost for the project is estimated at $196,100, with an additional $5,400 set aside for overtime hours accrued as a result of the air conditioning problems. Pritchard also reminded commissioners that approximately $1 million had been saved in the construction of the new jail, which would be used to pay for these expenses. Commissioners approved the request.

Only one citizen, Dr. Michael Noll, came forward to speak with commissioners. Noll asked commissioners to speak with Industrial Authority board members about the 22.2 acre tract of land that is being considered for purchase by Wiregrass Power LLC. Noll is concerned the company will use the land to pursue previous plans to construct a biomass facility, a proposal which has seen considerable negative community backlash over the last year.

“I think commissioners made this very clear that the Industrial Authority should have been done with this project,” said Paulk. “I don’t think we’ve changed our mind. I can’t speak for the City of Valdosta, but I think they’re prepared to make some moves and make a statement on their behalf in the immediate future. It’s a project that didn’t work and when things don’t work, move on to things that do. That’s my personal opinion.”

District 3 commissioner Crawford Powell offered his insight on the issue, “The issue the Industrial Authority has is they had a contractual agreement on the sale of the property and so they’re trying to work through that but I don’t think there’s any particular excitement on their behalf to continue down that road.”

Commissioners approved the following agenda items:

• The appointment of Evan Schukman as a member of Keep Lowndes/Valdosta Beautiful Board. The term will expire on June 30, 2014.

• The appointment of Linda Floyd to serve on the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Region Four Regional Planning Board. The second appointment was tabled for a future meeting.

• The appointment of Suzan Griner Prince to serve on the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority.

• A consideration to rezone one acre of land from Estate Agriculture (E-A) to Low Density Residential (R-1) located on the northwestern corner of Ben Hill Road and Old Lake Park Road to allow for the construction of a single family dwelling.

• A consideration to renew a yearly contract with the Department of Transportation for the operation of the rural transportation system.

• A consideration to approve the Georgia Emergency Management Agency Performance Partnership Agreement, the Emergency Management Performance Grant Program Response and Recovery Award application, the EMPG Planning and Preparedness Award application and a GEMA initiative to designate Lowndes County as a host site for sheltering evacuees in the event of a natural disaster.

• The applicant withdrew a request to rezone approximately 2.5 acres from Light Manufacturing (M-1) to Residential Agriculture (R-A) due to concerns about providing additional right-of-way space for future roadway modifications.