VALDOSTA – Service Delivery Strategy negotiations between Lowndes County and its city entities appear to be moving toward a resolution.

SDS negotiations have gone on for nearly five years with the municipalities of Valdosta, Dasher, Hahira, Lake Park and Remerton and county government fighting over duplication of services centering on water and sewer to new businesses.

The majority of cities and counties in Georgia reached an agreement years ago.

Elected officials in both Lowndes County and city offices approved language of the agreement. It does not end the long stand-off between county and city officials but they are one step closer to having a SDS agreement.

In a unanimous vote Monday, Sept. 27, Valdosta City Council approved SDS language involving water and sewer, and county roads.

Timothy Tanner, city attorney, read the language which is based on city/county water and sewer service areas, including some of the following tenets:

– Any party can make a new extension outside of its service area of water and sewer upon approval of the affected party. This extension can be proposed to serve multiple properties and users.

– Approval won’t be unreasonably withheld and will consider interests of the property owner/proposed user, sound engineering practices, applicable regulatory requirements, effective use of public resources, and the charter/enabling act of other parties.

– The requesting entity will include a written request of the property owner(s), or proposed property owner or owners, desiring service by the requesting party, a map of the subject property to which the requesting party desires to provide service, and a statement why the affected party should approve the request considering the foregoing criteria.

– If the affected party withholds approval, its resolution shall state the specific reason(s) for withholding approval considering the foregoing criteria.

– Unless the affected government gives approval, the subject property shall remain in its current service area.

– If the request is approved, Lowndes will submit it to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to update its water and sewer service area maps for the county and its city entities.

– For county roads, county government will pay for the cost of maintenance and operation of unpaved roads, and associated storm water collection and control in the county road system from revenues other than the general fund or incorporated taxpayer property tax revenues.

– Lowndes agrees to provide annual accounting to the cities of the cost of maintenance per mile of unpaved roads in the county road system.

– It also agrees to resurface county roads located within the cities as of Sept. 9, as deemed necessary based on current engineering standards.

Approval of the language, according to Lowndes County Manager Paige Dukes, is accepted by all other city entities — the cities of Dasher, Lake Park, Hahira, Naylor and Remerton.

On Sept. 28, Lowndes County commissioners followed the city’s path in approving the SDS language, however, the vote was not unanimous.

District 5 Commissioner Clay Griner was the only commissioner to vote against it.

Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson said he was excited to hear Lowndes County Commission also approved of the language.

“I think we got this far by taking (the process) away from the lawyers, but now we’ll put it back in their hands,” he said

The cities and Lowndes County have been in a lawsuit over SDS. Tanner said the various entities can forgo the lawsuit should SDS negotiations continue.

Hoping this will be the “last difficult leg,” Tanner said once the SDS agreement is finalized, a packet will be given to the municipalities and the commissioners to view.

Should the groups approve, the agreement will be submitted to DCA. DCA will verify the agreement, Tanner said, and the lawsuit will be dismissed, allowing the SDS agreement to stand for 10 years.