October 10, 2017
John M. Sharp Named Deputy Director
John M. Sharp has been named Deputy Director of the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments. He will maintain his current responsibilities as the organization's Division Director of the Transportation and Planning Services Division. 

Originally from Bristol, England, he is a graduate of Oklahoma State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography. While at OSU, he was a member of the Men's Track and Field Team. 

Mr. Sharp, who also holds a Master's Degree in Regional and City Planning from the University of Oklahoma, joined ACOG in 1985. He was named Division Director of Transportation and Planning Services  in 2016. On a daily basis, he oversees a number of programs, projects and planning functions that receive local, state and federal funding. These include the Bicycle and Pedestrian program, which includes the popular Bike To Work Day program; congestion management, which includes traffic counts, incident management, snow routes and crash analyses; maps and data including a GIS resource center; long and short range planning, which includes the current 2040 plan; the Unified Planning Work Program and much more. 

Every month, he provides guidance to numerous ACOG Boards and Committees including the Intermodal Transportation Policy Committee and the Intermodal Transportation Technical Committee. He provides the same for other bi-monthly and quarterly committees including the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and the Areawide Planning and Technical Advisory Committee. In addition, as a member of ACOG's senior staff, he collaborates with executive leadership on the Regional Transit Authority Task Force. 

Mr. Sharp's new areas of responsibility will include assisting the executive director with implementation of policies particularly in relation to human resources and strategic planning.

Mr. Sharp lives on a farm in rural Southeast Oklahoma City with his wife Fran. 

PEOPLE and ECONOMY
Urgent Call For Local Governments To Review Census Addresses
The 2020 Census  Local Update of Census Addresses Operation (LUCA) is the only opportunity offered to tribal, state, and local governments to review and comment on the U.S. Census Bureau's residential address list for their jurisdiction prior to the 2020 Census. The Census Bureau relies on a complete and accurate address list to reach every living quarters and associated population for inclusion in the census. 

  

PEOPLE and ECONOMY
Census Workshop
ACOG, in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau - Denver Region, will host a workshop on the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA), 8 a.m. - 12 p.m., Tuesday, October 31. Online registration via Eventbrite will be available very soon.

For more information, contact Jennifer Sebesta, Program Coordinator, Transportation and Planning Services, ACOG. 

  

9-1-1 ACOG
Teaching Toddlers About 9-1-1
Robin Murray, 9-1-1 Training Manager, 9-1-1 & Public Safety, ACOG, has written a blog post about teaching toddlers about 9-1-1. Learn what you can do to help teach the little ones in your life about 9-1-1. 


COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Panel on Comprehensive Planning
ACOG's Areawide Planning & Technical Advisory Committee (APTAC) will host a four-member panel on comprehensive plans, 9 a.m., Thursday, October 12. Communities featured on the panel include Bethany, Choctaw, Edmond and Midwest City. Guests are encouraged to attend and learn about the community development goals and aspirations of these cities. 

For more information contact Jennifer Sebesta, Program Coordinator, Transportation and Planning Services, ACOG.


GRANTS
Local Foods, Local Places
Communities are invited to apply for a new round of planning assistance from Local Foods, Local Places, a program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The application deadline is October 25. 


GRANTS
Healthy Places for Healthy People
Communities are invited to apply for a new round of planning assistance from Healthy Places for Healthy People, a program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The application deadline is October 25. 


ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Call for Projects: Public Fleet Grants 
ACOG's Public Fleet Conversion Grants program has awarded more than $3 million in Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) funds to help Central Oklahoma public entities purchase clean-fuel and clean-emission fleet vehicles, and alternative fueling infrastructure. ACOG recently released a  Call for Projects . Approximately $350,000 in funding is available. Pertinent dates include:

Applica tion Submission Opening October 2
Application Submission Deadline 4 p.m., November 17
Award Contracts Distributed on or before January 26

For more information, contact Eric Pollard , Clean Cities Coordinator, ACOG.


REQUEST for PROPOSALS
Economic Development Planning
ACOG has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for update of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for Central Oklahoma (CEDS). The CEDS is a locally-initiated planning process designed to provide a mechanism for guiding and coordinating the efforts of Central Oklahoma individuals, municipalities, counties and organizations concerned with economic development. 


ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
$2 Million Grant for Aerospace Sector
The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded a $2 million grant to the Oklahoma City Airport Trust to expand hangars at Will Rogers World Airport. 


COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
REAP Applications Due October 31
Applications for Rural Economic Action Plan (REAP) grants from ACOG are due October 31. These grants require no match and may fund projects such as road and street construction or repair; drainage projects; rural highway improvements; county bridge construction or repair; industrial access road construction or repair and more.

For more information, contact Barbara Hurdman, REAP Coordinator, ACOG.


TRANSPORTATION
Safe Routes To School
The next round of Safe Routes to School grant applications kicks off in January. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation will host a workshop in December. Watch for more details in the November newsletter.


TRANSPORTATION
Recreational Trails Grants
The Recreational Trails Program is a federal assistance program of the Federal Highway Administration. It provides funds to states to develop and maintain recreational trails and trail-related facilities for both non-motorized and motorized recreational trail uses. In Oklahoma, it is administered by the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department (OTRD). 

According to Charlotte Adcock, Assistant Planner - Multimodal, Transportation and Planning Services, ACOG, this reimbursement-type grant program is part of the Transportation Alternatives formula funding. The RTP provides for 80 percent federal share and requires a 20 percent local match. The match may be either in cash or in value of documented contributions. Other sources of federal funds may also be used for the match up to 95 percent of the total project cost.  

The application deadline is 4 p.m., Wednesday, January 31. For more information contact Susan Henry, OTRD.

Regional Transit
Last week, representatives from Del City, Edmond, Midwest City, Moore, Norman and Oklahoma City met in individual meetings with Kathryn Holmes and ACOG staff for the first time since Holmes and Associates was awarded a $420,000 contract to provide technical assistance and planning support for the development of a Regional Transit Authority (RTA) for Central Oklahoma. Many thanks to all the elected officials who attended. They included D el City Councilman Ken Bartlett
Edmond City Councilwoman Elizabeth Waner; Midwest City Mayor Matt Dukes; Norman Mayor Lynne Miller, and Oklahoma City Councilwoman Meg Salyer

Three area city managers also attended including Guy Henson, City of Midwest City;  Brooks Mitchell, City of Moore, and Jim Couch, City of Oklahoma City. 

Dr. Cindy Rosenthal, former mayor of Norman and member of the RTA Task Force also attended along with three area transit administrators including Jason Ferbrache, Central Oklahoma Transporta- tion Parking Authority; Harry Fenton,Edmond's CityLink and Kristapher Glenn, Cleveland Area Rapid Transit. In addition, Randy Entz, Director of Planning, City of Edmond attended as well as Rachel Butler, former Norman City Councilwoman.

Representing the private and nonprofit sectors, respectively were Derek Sparks, Government Relations, Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, and Marion Hutchinson with OnTrac, a nonprofit committed to rail transit in Central Oklahoma.


Recycling  Conference
The 2017 Annual Recycling Conference kicks off in Stillwater, Oklahoma, this Wednesday, October 11. Chaz Miller, Director of Policy and Advocacy, National Waste and Recycling Association, will serve as keynote. The title of his presentation is Communi-
cating With Others About Contamination.


Open Streets
Open Streets returns to South Oklahoma City, 1-5 p.m., Sunday, October 29. The event runs along South Robinson Avenue from SW 29 Street to Wiley Post Park on the Oklahoma River. The public is invited to enjoy local food with healthy choices, fun activities and wellness tips from health professionals. Open Streets is a project of the Oklahoma City-County Health Department. ACOG is a co-founder of Open Streets and among the presenting sponsors. The program helps the public reclaim part of our region's busy streets for non-motorized activities such as walking, bicycling, running, skating and dancing. The primary goal is to get more residents active in our using local parks and sidewalks. 

Association of Central Oklahoma Governments
Office: 405-234-2264  |  enews@acogok.org  |  http://www.acogok.org
4205 N. Lincoln Blvd  |  Oklahoma City, OK 73105
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