Absentee landlords are letting trash get into Valdosta streets and creeks. What is the City of Valdosta doing about it?

Somebody named Gary McMillan reported two Litter issues on December 6, 2022 and January 6, 2023 through Valdosta’s Click ‘n’ Fix app. Both locations are slighlty uphill from One Mile Branch, which flows into Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River, upstream from the proposed Troupville Nature Park.

Trash near Baytree Drive and One Mile Branch map

City Marshalls in each case said they did something, which is good. But they closed out each ticket before reporting the actual outcome.

Both properties are owned by absentee landlords, who also own many other lots throughout Valdosta.

It’s time for the City of Valdosta to enforce its trash ordinances on property owners, especially absentee landlords.

Gary McMillan reported issue 13786041 on December 6, 2022:

Large amount of litter along Baytree Dr. and Jo Ree St. Some trash/litter is associated with a spilling bag of garbage. Much is not associated with the bag, but is typical of this neighborhood.

Baytree Drive and Jo Ree Street 13786041

Tyren Martin (Verified Official)
Tyren Martin assigned this issue to Carlton Richard
12/06/2022

ACKNOWLEDGED Carlton Richard (Verified Official)
Thank you. We will look into the issue. Update**I visited the area today. I am sending the property owners and residents notices in the mail for them to correct the issues.
12/06/2022

Carlton Richard (Verified Official)
The trash in this picture is not there, but there are other areas in that location that I am citing.
12/08/2022

CLOSED Public Works Department (Verified Official)
The Public Works crews went the day after this was reported and picked up litter along the right-of-way in this area. Thanks.
01/03/2023

It’s good that City Marshalls cited somebody, but we don’t know who: renters? Landlords?

And it’s good that Public Works picked up litter. But why did the City Marshalls not require the landlords to do that?

Who owns the lots on the corner of Baytree Drive and Jo Ree Street? Five lots are owned by SFH1 LLC, 650 BARWICK ROAD BLDG G, QUITMAN, GA 31643.

Five lots: SFH1 LLC — Lowndes County Tax Assessors

Five more lots at and near that corner, and three more over by College Street, are owned by DEBORAH’S RENTALS LLC, 650 BARWICK ROAD BLDG G, QUITMAN, GA 31643.

Eight lots: Deborah’s Rentals LLC — Lowndes County Tax Assessor

So that’s thirteen lots owned by LLCs using the same Quitman address.

Other lots around there have other absentee landlords. A few seem to be actually owned by locals.

But it sure seems like Valdosts City Marshalls could make a big difference by getting absentee landlords to follow the city ordinances that require property owners to keep trash from getting off their property.

Gary McMillan on January 6, 2023, reported Issue 13901389:

Incredible amounts of trash, litter and garbage accumulated near the southern dead end of Miramar St. and behind 1217 Wainwright Dr.

1217 Wainwright Drive 13901389

This is all city officials had to say about that:

Tyren Martin (Verified Official)
Tyren Martin assigned this issue to Carlton Richard
01/09/2023

CLOSED Carlton Richard (Verified Official)
The City of Valdosta is currently working with the property owner to correct the issues.
01/09/2023

So did the property owner correct the issues?

1217 Wainwright Drive is just uphill from One Mile Branch, near the notorious Wainwright Drive manhole that has spilled so much sewage.

Map: Baytree Drive, Wainwright Drive, Jo Ree Street in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT)

According to the Lowndes County Tax Assessors Maps, HM Valdosta LLC owns not only 1217 Wainwright Drive, but also all the lots on the east side of Wainwright Drive from Baytree Drive down to One Mile Branch, plus seven more from Baytree Drive east of Miramar Street down to One Mile Branch.

Eleven lots: HM Valdosta LLC —Lowndes County Tax Assessors

According to the Georgia Secretary of State Business Search, HM Valdosta LLC was formed May 13, 2022, and has a principal office address of 131 BUCKWALTER RD, Royersford, PA, 19468, USA.

HM Valdosta LLC Articles of Organization
PDF

HM Valdosta LLC has two organizers. Mandeep Singh gave that same Pennsylvania address. Harpreet Sethi gave this address: 1400 W Magnolia St, Valdosta, GA, 31601.

1400 W Magnolia Street: VSU Apartments LLC — Lowndes County Tax Assessors

1400 W Magnolia Street is an empty lot, which is a curious place to list as an address. Its east border is Sugar Creek upstream from Browns Canal, which is upstream from One Mile Branch.

Map: One Mile Branch, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT)

1400 W Magnolia Street does have permits as of October 28, 2022 to build an outbuilding, “AMENITIES BUILDING”. and new construction of “5 APARTMENT BUILDINGS $2,420,000 EACH”. But according to google maps as of January 2023 there are no buildings there. So it seems there were no apartment buildings there in May 2022 when the incorporation was filed for VSU Apartments LLC.

It gets even curiouser when we look at who owns 1400 W Magnolia Street. That is VSU APARTMENTS LLC of 131 BUCKWAITER ROAD, ROYERSFORD, PA 19468. That’s right: the same address as for HM Valdosta LLC.

How deep does this rabbit hole go, of absentee landlords letting trash build up near Valdosta creeks, which flow into the Withlacoochee River?

And how do we find out what Valdosta City Marshalls have done about it?

For more about the trash situation, see:
https://wwals.net/issues/trash

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

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