VALDOSTA – Mayor Pro Tem Tim Carroll got his first taste at running a city council meeting Monday.

Part of one at least, as Mayor Scott James Matheson arrived 30 minutes late to the meeting after spending the day in Tifton for newly elected officials training. 

The meeting was postponed from its planned Feb. 6 date because of inclement weather that evening. 

Once Matheson arrived, he resided over a contentious zoning request involving a cell tower.

On Monday, the Valdosta City Council voted unanimously to deny a request from Verizon Wireless to build a new cell tower near the Valdosta Country Club. A 159-foot-tall, monopole tower disguised as a pine tree with fake shrubbery and four antennae, would have been located off Bellemeade Drive near the country club. 

At the Jan. 27 Greater Lowndes Planning Commission meeting, Andy Rotenstreich, representing Verizon, said the location was chosen because of a gap in data coverage, and the country club was the only entity willing to enter into an agreement with the company.

Despite the planning commission’s staff recommending approval of the requests with conditions, members voted 6-3-1 to recommend that the city council deny the request. 

Rotenstreich did not speak at the council meeting, but three other Verizon representatives did attend with two presenting the case for the tower’s construction.

Among those who spoke in opposition, Jane Williams, a retiree living at the end of Bellemeade Drive, and two other residents of the country club spoke again about their concerns over health ramifications, property value and lack of communication with the country club’s board. Around 30 residents remained standing while the three voiced their displeasure to council members. 

After the two sides made their cases, Carroll joked that although he was a Verizon customer, he opposed their cell tower request. He further clarified that he was not denying Verizon outright, only the site chosen for the tower.

Once the vote was finalized and officially denied, a chorus of applause rang from the audience.

The council also appointed a series of candidates to various boards, commissions, authorities and advisory committees. All the nominees were approved unanimously besides an open city seat to the Hospital Authority of Valdosta and Lowndes County. 

John W. Langdale, Jr.’s term on the authority expired and he expressed interest in serving on the authority again, Matheson said. Councilman Ben Norton opened by nominating Cooley Hobdy with Carroll offering a second to the nomination. Next, Councilman Sonny Vickers nominated Langdale and received a quick second. The council split the vote 5-2 in favor of reappointing Langdale, with only Norton and Carroll voting in support of Hobdy.

Other residents appointed were Daniel Bayman of Gud Coffee to the Central Valdosta Development Authority, H. Burke Sherwood to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Land Bank and Kathleen Hodges to the Metropolitan Planning Organization.

During the public to be heard portion of the meeting, Michael Noll, professor of geography at Valdosta State University, and two others voiced their support of the city’s curbside recycling program and their hope that the program remains in place. Around 20 residents in the audience stood up to display their support for the recycling program, as well. 

Mark Barber, city manager, addressed the residents concerned about curbside recycling saying that the council has not discussed eliminating the program and will discuss recycling options at their retreat March 13-14. 

He also spoke about the 200 gallon sewage spill that occurred Monday. He said that the spill, which gushed out of a manhole on the 2400 block of Patterson Street, was caused by a grease blockage from a nearby restaurant. The specific restaurant remained unknown at the time, Barber said. Matheson applauded city employees for responding to the spill within 15 minutes of the reported leak.

In the council comments portion of the evening, Councilman Andy Gibbs expressed his support of the curbside recycling program but added that he wanted to see increased participation by city residents. He noted that residents and city council share the want to improve the city in whatever way, but that frustrations can mount when the city receives undue blame for an event like the day’s sewage spill as it was not the local government’s fault.

Other matters approved during the meeting included a zoning request for a 15,000 square-foot commercial daycare center at 3905 Inner Perimeter Road, a rezoning request to Highway-Commericial status by Pete’s Otto at 401 E. Ann St.