Keep Lowndes/Valdosta Beautiful

Seventy-nine thousand tons of plastic debris, in the form of 1.8 trillion pieces, now occupy an area three times the size of France in the Pacific Ocean between... California and Hawaii, a scientific team reported on Thursday. The amount of plastic found in this area, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is increasing exponentially, according to the surveyors, who used two planes and 18 boats to assess the ocean pollution. See more

A post from our Chairman, Dr. Michael Noll: The VDT article poorly describes a rather complex situation, so let me do this in my own words: I joined KLVB less than a year ago and was amazed to learn about all the work the organization has done over the years to make our community a more beautiful place to live in, to teach schoolchildren about environmental stewardship, and to pick up mountains of trash with the help of an armada of volunteers.... Surely, so I thought, no one in their right mind would defund/destroy an organization which not only created beauty where there was ugliness, but where each dollar invested was turned into the equivalent of $2.87. Hence, I wrote such columns as "Recognizing KLVB's legacy" in March and "Keep Lowndes-Valdosta Beautiful fulfills its mission" in June (see below), and I also gave presentations about KLVB's work at the County and the City. In addition, longtime KLVB supporters (from founding members to former volunteers) spoke up on our behalf and/or wrote to members of the County Commission and the City Council. We tried as best we could (or at least knew how to) to find ways to fund our organization so that we can continue our work. Alas, to no avail. This was never about KLVB's performance, an organization that has been regularly recognized for its work and saw its funding increased from $50,000 to $60,000 in 2016. This was also never about money as for each dollar invested in KLVB the ROI equalled $2.87. [In this context it should be noted that the County and the City are still engaged in a fight over a service agreement which has cost taxpayers more than $1 million by now.] It was always about politics and started when our Executive Director, wanting to further serve his community, decided to run for a seat on the County Commission in 2018. This was confirmed to me by Chairman Slaughter when he stated just this past May during a meeting that "you don't bite the hand that feeds you." So, here we are. First, the County, with an operating budget of $124 million and landfill tipping fees to boost, defunded us in July, after they had already cut our funding from $60,000 to $35,000 in 2019. Next, the City, the other entity with the means to fund us (it passed an operating budget of $114 million in June) also decided to look the other way and did not find the political will or courage to support us. Thus, the year 2020 has not only seen the end of curbside recycling in our community, as of Wednesday it has also lost KLVB. Without funding, organizations like KLVB, which need at least one paid staff person to function properly, cannot do their work. What the VDT article rather flippantly and incompletely described was a difficult decision to make and ultimately a very sad day for our community.

https://www.valdostadailytimes.com//article_175c5e5b-9ebd-

https://www.valdostadailytimes.com//article_2be0b57d-b5e6-

In today's Valdosta Daily Times. Please write to our City and ask them to sponsor K.V.B. Thanks! [email protected]

September 3, 2020 Dear Community Volunteers, Businesses, and Organizations, As you know, Keep Lowndes/Valdosta Beautiful (K.L.V.B.) was completely defunded by Lowndes County. In early August we made a pitch to the City of Valdosta and asked them to sponsor what would become Keep Valdosta Beautiful (K.V.B.). We are still trying to sell them on this idea. If you can spare a few minutes, we would very much appreciate it if you could contact our City Council, our City Manager, or... our Mayor, to let them know why you believe they should support our organization. All we ask is that you send them an email prior to their next Council meeting on Thursday, September 10 stating why you believe K.V.B. is an organization worthy of their support and funding. If you can, share any personal experiences you have had with our organization to help us make our case. Also, if you don’t mind, please CC our office on your email. For your convenience, the names and email addresses of our City’s officials are listed below. We are in the fourth quarter with seconds left on the clock, and this is our Hail Mary pass! We need your help now more than ever! - Thanks for your support! City Council Vivian Miller-Cody: [email protected] Sandra Tooley: [email protected] Joseph Sonny Vickers: [email protected] Eric Howard: [email protected] Tim Carroll: [email protected] Andy Gibbs: [email protected] City Manager Mark Barber: [email protected] Mayor Scott Matheson: [email protected] Regards, Aaron H. Aaron Strickland Executive Director Phone: (229) 671-3698 Email: [email protected] 300 North Lee Street, Suite 102 Valdosta, Georgia 31601

Act like an animal.