VALDOSTA – Ten days before her 98th birthday, Jeanette Coody spent Thursday evening advocating for Keep Lowndes/Valdosta Beautiful.

Coody, one of the founding members of KLVB, implored the Valdosta City Council to fund the environmental stewardship organization after Lowndes County commissioners decided to no longer fund it for Fiscal Year 2021.

With obvious passion, Coody zoomed past her allotted three minutes to speak ending with five minutes devoted to keeping the organization active and changing the name to KVB – Keep Valdosta Beautiful.

“I’m a mover and a shaker,” she told the council.

Coody said Aaron Strickland, KLVB executive director, performed his job and is not the reason for the county defund the organization. Working in the community for decades, she said the city could allocate enough money to keep KLVB alive.

“I know you can find a way if you want it,” she said.

Strickland addressed council highlighting KLVB’s impact on the local community. He listed examples of efforts completed in 2019 to help dispel rumors the city benefited less than the county from the organization in the past.

Another resident was not initially given the extended time offered to Coody during the citizens to be heard portion of the meeting but Mayor Scott James Matheson offered two additional minutes for him to speak before council comments. The offer for two extra minutes was declined.

Outside of KLVB, council members approved several agenda items including a rezoning request from neighborhood-commercial to community-commercial for a 0.9 acre property at 2904 Patterson St.

Council members also deemed 0.76 acres of property located behind the Five Points Liquor Store store as surplus. City Manager Mark Barber said Valdosta no longer needs the property for construction and could deem it as surplus. The next step will be deciding if and how to sell the newly minted surplus property, Barber said.

Ultimate Underground was awarded $78,420 as the lowest bidder for city stormwater canal maintenance.

Finally, council members OK’d an $8.5 million loan with the possibility of $500,000 being forgiven from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority for water and infrastructure improvements.