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Residents press council on litter, apartment conditions and community programs
Summary
At the public-comment portion of Valdosta’s March 12 meeting, residents urged enforcement on overflowing dumpsters, raised elevator and sewer failures at Willan Terrace Apartments and asked for extra patrols after vehicle vandalism; the Southern Georgia Black Chambers updated the council on a CDBG-funded small-business academy.
Several residents used the March 12 public-comment period to press the council on neighborhood quality-of-life issues and to report progress on community programs.
Bobby McKenzie of 2947 Finley Chase Drive criticized the city’s enforcement of litter and unscreened dumpsters, particularly along Lakeland Avenue, saying reports through the city’s ClickFix process have repeatedly produced no effective action. "Dumpsters overflow and go straight into the creek," McKenzie said, urging the council to enforce existing ordinances rather than only publicizing new programs.
Bolivia Corbin, a Willan Terrace Apartments resident, described multiple problems at the property: elevators out of service for about three weeks, repeated sewer failures that have left tenants hesitant to flush toilets, and what she said was a recent spate of vehicle break-ins in which 17 residents’ car windows were broken in one night. She asked the city to consider extra police presence or security surveillance.
Dwayne Johnson, president and CEO of the Southern Georgia Black Chambers, gave a progress report on the city-funded small-business academy (CDBG-supported) being held at Valdosta State University’s North Campus. He said participating entrepreneurs have audited Secretary-of-State compliance, begun strategies with the Small Business Development Center, and built basic QuickBooks accounts as part of becoming "bank ready and audit ready" through the program.
Other public comments included Lewis Gordon’s invitation to a monthly community dinner run in partnership with Councilmember Sandra Tulie (intended to foster neighborhood conversation), and Franklin (who said he represents the city public works) asking for mission and service-quality language to be reinstated in the city policy handbook. The council thanked speakers but the transcript does not record immediate operational commitments in response to those specific complaints.
