Region
a
L News You
Can Use
February 2019
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UPPER COASTAL PLAIN COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS BROADBAND WORKSHOP
Thank you to all the participants of this month’s Broadband Workshop. The
Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments
and the North Carolina Broadband Infrastructure Office hosted a workshop for local and county leaders. Similarly, thanks to the Gateway Technology Offices at the NC Wesleyan campus in Rocky Mount.
The workshop highlighted the importance of broadband infrastructure for rural healthcare, economic development initiatives, K-12 education, and quality of life. Next steps include UCPCOG forming a Broadband Taskforce.
If you want to participate in this important initiative please contact Ms. Angela Stanley at 252.234.5955 or
astanley@ucpcog.org
.
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“
Now is the Time to Prepare for Next Year’s Needs”
UCPCOG’s Planning and Development Services Department reminds leaders and managers that now is the time to consider how our professional staff may assist you in meeting upcoming FY19/20 strategic goals and needs. We are happy to discuss projects, possible funding sources and/or associated costs, timelines and more.
With dedicated expertise, it is important to remember UCPCOG is here to serve as an extension of your staff to serve your needs in many areas including:
Facilitation, Planning & Zoning, Land Use, Revitalization, Water & Sewer Infrastructure, Community Development, GIS & Mapping, Grant Writing, Data & Research, Recycling & Waste Management, Clean Fuels & Fleets, and more. General technical assistance and consulting retainer contracts are also available to meet your budget demands.
Please don’t hesitate to contact any PDS Staff member including Ron Townley, Director, to discuss the coming year and how we may serve you.
rtownley@ucpcog.org
, (252) 234-5965.
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Bailey officials work to spur future growth....
Bailey Chamber of Commerce President Cecil Hawley is not a man who lives in fear.
A retired nuclear engineer and entrepreneur who owns several properties in Bailey, Hawley wants to see the town grow and more businesses succeed. However, he is honest about the challenges Bailey must overcome.
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Lucama to accept water work bids Thursday
Joe Dooley of the Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments told the Lucama Board of Commissioners on Monday that this step was “good news.”
Dooley said the project was bifurcated into two parts, rehabilitation of Well No. 3 and rehabilitation of the water treatment plant.
The project is being funded by a $488,990 loan/grant package from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality that was awarded to the town in December 2017.
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Work on new plants moves ahead in Edgecombe County
Progress is continuing on Triangle Tire's plans to build a massive plant in rural Edgecombe County.
"They're selecting a contractor now," Carolinas Gateway President and CEO Norris Tolson said. "We've got the site ready for 'em. So, when they're ready to build, the site is ready to build on."
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EDA partners with IEDC to provide free economic development expertise to Hurricane Florence impacted communities
The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has partnered with IEDC and is offering communities impacted by Hurricane Florence professional economic developers to help support recovery. Volunteers will be placed in communities for a one-week period to provide specific requested deliverables. Deliverables can range from recovery plans, to finance plans, to downtown revitalization strategies, marketing or branding strategies, or other work. Any community that received a Presidentially Declared Public Assistance Designation as documented in the map available at
https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4393
is eligible to request this assistance. Communities may request more than one volunteer. Since Hurricane Katrina, the International Economic Development Council has been working in disaster-impacted communities and has developed volunteer programs for economic recovery and long-term resilience. IEDC's volunteers are available to assist communities and economic development organizations on economic recovery and resiliency projects in your office for one week at no cost. To learn more about the program, please contact Dana Crater at (910) 833-7020 or
dcrater@iedconline.org
or Hillary Sherman at (404) 730-3013 or
hsherman@eda.gov
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New Report Strengthens Economic Case for Flood-Prepared Infrastructure
From elevating roadways in Nebraska to moving wastewater treatment plants away from flood plains in Iowa, proactive measures before flooding can provide a major return on investment. The report’s findings strengthen the business case for investing in pre-disaster mitigation. Among the opportunities for cost-effective measures is legislation before both houses of Congress to establish a
state revolving loan program
to fund flood mitigation. The program would allow states and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to join in developing low-interest loans for flood mitigation efforts in vulnerable areas by raising roads and foundations above anticipated flood levels or buying out repeatedly flooded neighborhoods, for example.
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Healthy North Carolina 2030
The Healthy North Carolina 2030 project brings together experts and leaders from multiple fields to inform the development of a common set of public health indicators and targets for the state over the next decade. These indicators will serve as the population health improvement plan for the North Carolina Division of Public Health. With a focus on health equity and the overall drivers of health outcomes (health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and the physical environment), these indicators and targets will help drive state and local-level activities, provide a springboard for collaboration and innovation, and develop a new vision for public health in our state to improve the health and well-being of all people of North Carolina.
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NC Medicaid Managed Care Prepaid Health Plan Contract Award
s
Today, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (the Department) announced the entities who have received contracts to participate as Prepaid Health Plans (PHPs) in Medicaid Managed Care when the program launches in November 2019. PHPs were selected based on a thorough and fair evaluation of responses submitted to the Request for Proposal (RFP) released by the Department in August 2018.
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Conferences
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Seminars
Webinars
/
Workshops
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NADO and DDAA 2019 Washington Conference
Please save the date for the NADO and DDAA 2019 Washington Conference, which will be held from March 17-20, 2019 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA.
• To view a draft agenda for the conference,
please click
here.
• To make hotel reservations, please contact Vicki Glass at
vglass@nado.org
or 202-841-8139.
Questions? Please direct general questions about the conference to
Mirielle Burgoyne
. Questions about the conference registration portal can be directed to
Ian Schramm.
The hotel room block is full! The block of rooms for the 2019 Washington Conference at the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Crystal City, VA is sold out. As a result, we have started a waitlist for anyone who needs a room at the Marriott.
If you wish to stay at the conference hotel, please contact Vicki Glass at
vglass@nado.org
or 202-841-8139 and let her know how many rooms you will need and the name(s) of the attendee(s), including their arrival and departure dates.
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Register Today for the second annual
“An Afternoon with the CEDS” workshop
, a half-day, interactive training event on
March 20, 2019 from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. ET in Arlington, VA immediately following NADO and DDAA’s Washington Conference.
At this free workshop, you will have the opportunity to:
• Learn best practices and approaches to Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) planning, development, and implementation
• Hear from EDA staff about the latest news and funding opportunities and share feedback on your experiences with the CEDS
• Discover approaches to infuse economic resilience and diversification strategies into your CEDS
• Problem-solve your CEDS challenges with peers The workshop will be held at the Crystal Gateway Marriott (the same location as the NADO DDAA Washington Conference).
Click here to view the draft agenda and register. A limited number of travel stipends will be available on a first-come-first-served basis to go towards an additional hotel night. Contact Brett Schwartz at
bschwartz@nado.org
with any questions.
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Every Ride Counts: NADTC’s
Information and Education Campaign Webinar
February 20, 2019
3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Eastern/2:00 p.m. Central/1:00 p.m. Mountain/12 noon Pacific
The National Aging and Disability Transportation Center’s
Every Ride Counts
campaign is designed to support local communities’ efforts to promote the availability and accessibility of transportation options for older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers.
The campaign consists of carefully crafted messages and materials that promote different options. The webinar will provide an overview of the campaign, instructions for using the materials to create customized posters, flyers and other campaign materials and include examples of local programs that are using the materials. Join us!
Speakers include:
Virginia Dize, NADTC Co-Director
Joellen Leavelle, n4a Communications Director
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NC's First Responders Emerging Technologies 2019 Technical Expo
The First Responders Emerging Technologies Expo is for first responders with a technical aptitude who work on various tech projects within the agency. There will be sessions offered on drones and public safety, public television support of first responders, virtual reality, and many more.
Event Date: March 19, 2019
Event Address: Hilton Raleigh North Hills, 3415 Wake Forest Road, Raleigh, NC 27609
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319 Nonpoint Source Grant Program
The NC Department of Environmental Quality is accepting proposals for projects that implement a watershed restoration plan (such as stormwater and agricultural best management practices) to restore the water quality of waters impaired by nonpoint source pollution. State and local governments, interstate and intrastate agencies, public and private nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions are all eligible to apply for 319 funding.
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New Funding Opportunity for RERC on Rehabilitation Strategies, Techniques, and Interventions
The purpose of the RERC program is to improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act by conducting advanced engineering research on and development of innovative technologies that are designed to solve particular rehabilitation problems or to remove environmental barriers.
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Rural Business Development Grants
Program Status: Open
Application Deadline: March 29, 2019
What does this program do?
This program is a competitive grant designed to support targeted technical assistance, training and other activities leading to the development or expansion of small and emerging private businesses in rural areas which will employ 50 or fewer new employees and has less than $1 million in gross revenue. Programmatic activities are separated into enterprise or opportunity type grant activities.
Who may apply for this program?
Rural public entities including, but not limited to:
- Towns
- Communities
- State agencies
- Authorities
- Nonprofit corporations
- Institutions of higher education
- Federally-recognized Tribes
- Rural cooperatives (If organized as a private nonprofit corporation)
Why does USDA Rural Development do this?
This program provides grants for rural projects that finance and facilitate the development of small and emerging rural businesses, help fund distance learning networks, and help fund employment-related adult education programs. To assist with business development, RBDGs may fund a broad array of activities.
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Abuse Prevention and Response
According to the Consumer Voice, Recent
news stories
about the sexual assault of a nursing home resident in Arizona has highlighted the need for education, advocacy, and action around preventing abuse of vulnerable individuals.
In a segment on CBS This Morning, Consumer Voice Executive Director Lori Smetanka called for further protections of residents and oversight of nursing home staff.
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Generally, older adults are carrying more debt, including credit card and student loan debt, into retirement than in past decades. One out of every two families headed by adults age 75 or older was in debt in 2016,
more than double the rate
from thirty years ago. Although older adults are less likely than younger consumers to have debt end up in collection, complaints regarding debt collectors and collection practices are frequently among the
top consumer complaints
in this age group.
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BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act Becomes Law
The
Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act
, signed into law on December 31, 2018, will create a national public health infrastructure to combat Alzheimer’s disease, preserve brain health and implement effective Alzheimer's interventions focused on increasing early detection and diagnosis, reducing risk, preventing avoidable hospitalizations and other public health issues.
The BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act will accomplish this by establishing Alzheimer's and Related Dementias Public Health Centers of Excellence, providing funding to state, local and tribal public health departments, and increasing data analysis and timely reporting.
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