January 2023

Regional News

Eastern Carolina Council is excited to host a Legislative Breakfast on Monday, January 23^rd at King’s Restaurant, which is at 405 E. New Bern Road / US-70 in Kinston. This will be a great opportunity to talk with your State Legislators and hear about their priorities and vision for the upcoming session. Gathering / a breakfast buffet is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m., and the program will begin at 9:00 a.m.

Duke Energy and Jones-Onslow EMC are generously sponsoring the event, so there is no cost for attending the breakfast. We thank them for their support!

Pre-registration is required, and registration is now open at Eastern Carolina Council Legislative Breakfast (constantcontact.com). Counties and municipalities are invited and encouraged to register elected officials and members of their management team for the event. Please register for the event by January 6, 2023.

We look forward to seeing you there!

ECC Recruiting for a Second Community Planner

ECC continues to recruit for a second community planner. The advertisement is online at ECC Community Planner Advertisement.

Draft Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Plan for the Region Available Online

ECC serves as the Economic Development District for the U.S. Economic Development Administration in the nine-county region. One of the functions that we carry out as part of that role is to create the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for the region, and the draft 2023-27 CEDS has been completed and is available for review at Economic Development Planning – ECCOG.

What is a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, or CEDS? – Simply put, a CEDS is a strategy-driven plan for regional economic development. A CEDS is the result of a regionally-owned planning process designed to build capacity and guide the economic prosperity and resiliency of an area or region. It is a key component in establishing and maintaining a robust economic ecosystem by helping to build regional capacity (through hard and soft infrastructure) that contributes to individual, firm, and community success.

To help develop priorities for the CEDS, ECC requested participation from the community in the development of the CEDS update via an online survey in September 2022. 91 respondents from the region completed the survey. On October 16^th, ECC staff hosted economic developers, planners, and workforce development officials from the region to assist with a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis to help support the development of the 5-year CEDS plan for our region. ECC received feedback from city and county managers on October 17^th. On November 10^th, the Board reviewed the results of the survey/SWOT analysis and the draft priorities.

Approval of ECC’s CEDS will be on the agenda for the January 12, 2023, General Membership Board meeting.

Eastern Carolina Christmas Events

Eastern Carolina Council Area Agency on Aging staff attended and participated in several Christmas events across our region. ECCAAA staff attended events by Duplin Services on Aging, Greene County Senior Center, Jones County Senior Center, Onslow County Senior Services, and Wayne County Services on Aging to lend support to our local providers and the seniors they serve. Participants engaged in socialization, activities, games, dancing, meals, and much more.

A Gift to Seniors During the Holidays

Eastern Carolina Council Area Agency on Aging staff assembled and delivered 500 older adult holiday gift sets to local Senior Centers throughout our region. Senior Center staff handed out these gifts sets to their participants for the holiday season. Gift sets included a pair of winter gloves, Chapstick, candy, and a holiday card.

ECC Now Developing Proposals for Communities that Need 160D Compliance Reviews

Chapter 160D of the North Carolina General Statutes requires that if a local government wants to enforce zoning the local government must have and reasonably maintain a comprehensive plan or land use plan. When Chapter 160D was first adopted under Session Law 2019-111, Section 2.9(c) of that law set a deadline for local governments to get a plan in place: July 1, 2022. The effect of not having a comprehensive plan or land use plan is that, after July 1, the local government will not be able to enforce zoning.

The General Assembly extended the deadline for towns with a population under 1,500. Those towns have until July 1, 2023, to adopt a plan.

ECC is now working with communities (including Vanceboro and Bogue) that are not 160D compliant to review their ordinances and make recommendations to help these communities come into compliance. Each community’s ordinances are different and will take varying amounts of time to review. ECC is developing technical assistance proposals for conducting these reviews based on each community’s ordinances and needs.

Communities that are not 160D compliant are strongly encouraged to contact ECC Executive Director David Bone at 252-638-3185, ext. 3005 or at executivedirector@eccog.org.

Congratulations to the Town of Pikeville for Regaining Full Financial Control and Hiring a New Town Manager

After 20 months of state control, the Town of Pikeville regained complete control over all its finances on December 6^th from the North Carolina Local Government Commission (LGC). NC State Treasurer Dale Folwell said Pikeville showed exceptional resiliency and resolved to cooperate fully with the LGC. The LGC encouraged Pikeville officials to switch to a council-manager form of government, and the Treasurer believes that has been an essential reform.

On December 5^th, Pikeville welcomed its new Town Manager, Tim Biggerstaff. We welcome Tim to the region!

For more information, visit https://www.carolinajournal.com/pikeville-regains-total-financial-control-from-the-state/.

Top Regional Resiliency Priorities Presented at the Last RISE Stakeholders Meeting held on Dec. 5th

The Eastern Carolina Stakeholders group of RISE (which stands for “Regions Innovating for Strong Economies and Environment”) had its last meeting on December 5^th. The top five priorities presented in the draft report include:

Regional resiliency funding
Regional drainage capacity assessment
Beneficial reuse of acquired properties
Vegetated swales in urban flooding hotspots
Regional resilience staff position

For more information on these priorities, check out the draft report at https://www.rebuild.nc.gov/media/2737/open.

Richlands Approves Agreement for ECC to Provide Subdivision Plat Review Services

At its December 13^th meeting, the Town of Richlands Board of Aldermen approved an agreement for ECC to assist the town with subdivision plat review services. ECC looks forward to assisting Richlands with this service!

Year of the Trail

2023 has officially been designated the ‘Year of the Trail’ in North Carolina! The NC Year of the Trail campaign aims to showcase and celebrate North Carolina’s trails, encouraging ongoing participation, investment, and development among local leaders and legislators. The campaign envisions a future in which each of the state’s counties experience the proven benefits of trails and advocate for their ongoing growth and development. Over the course of 2023, the Great Trails State Coalition will be providing resources to help get more people out on trails, demonstrate how to get more trails in more communities, and promote increased access and equity in trail access, use, and outdoor recreation. For more information on the NC Year of the Trail campaign and how your community can get involved, visit the Year of the Trail website: https://greattrailsnc.com/.

Congratulations to Maysville, Richlands, and Seven Springs for their Successful Rural Transformation Grant Awards!

The NC Department of Commerce announced grant awards for its Rural Transformation Grant program on December 14^th. The following communities in the ECC region received notification of grant awards:

Town of Maysville
Town of Richlands
Town of Seven Springs

More information about the grant awards is available at:

A third window for grant applications is expected to open in the spring of 2023. More information about the Rural Transformation Grant Fund is available at nccommerce.com/transform.

North Carolina Water and Equity Summit: Addressing water infrastructure needs and funding in disadvantaged areas

Sponsored by the Research Triangle Environmental Health Collaborative/NC Department of Environmental Quality

Thursday, January 12, 2023, 8:00 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. in RTP

Available in-person and virtually

The North Carolina General Assembly appropriated close to $2 billion from the state’s share of the American Rescue Plan Act for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater investments. In addition, the federal Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act will provide over $1 billion in funding for North Carolina to supplement existing State Revolving Fund programs. There are focused efforts to ensure that funding is made

available to address the needs of disadvantaged, underserved communities. Stakeholders include community members, local, state, and federal government, and technical service providers.

On January 12^th, there will be a one-day summit involving appropriate stakeholders, thought leaders and experts across North Carolina (state/federal/local government, academia/research, community groups, business) to:

Learn about priorities and concerns of a) communities and b) local governments on projects regarding providing service in disadvantaged areas (as pertains to funding and infrastructure).
Develop resource documents and peer-to-peer networks to educate communities and local governments on next steps or considerations if interested in pursuing a project to provide service in disadvantaged areas.
Provide guidance to NCDEQ in identifying where such projects are needed to communicate funding opportunities to communities and to local governments.

ONLINE REGISTRATION (FREE EVENT)

https://environmentalhealthcollaborative.org/2022-summit-registration/

EVENT HOME PAGE (will be updated as speakers confirmed)

https://environmentalhealthcollaborative.org/2022-summit/

CONTACT: Martin Armes, 919-608-7260, martinarmes@nc.rr.com

Highlighted UNC School of Government Blog Posts

Impending Changes to Bonding Requirements for Finance Officers: Prepare Now For January 1, 2023 and Beyond

(Published 11/23/22) Read here.

Responding to First Amendment Audits: Practical Considerations for Local Governments

(Published 11/30/22) Read here.

Training

Ethics Training for Elected Officials

ECC is once again partnering with Attorney David Baxter of Sumrell Sugg to provide the required ethics training for newly-elected and re-elected local government officials. The training will be held on Wednesday, February 15^th from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at the ECC Offices. A light dinner will be served. If you are interested in signing up for this training, please register here.

UNC School of Government Affordable Housing Seminar at the Riverfront Convention Center in New Bern – Feb.. 28th

The UNC School of Government will have an Affordable Housing Seminar at the Riverfront Convention Center in New Bern on Tuesday, February 28^th from 9:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. This interactive in-person seminar is designed for elected and appointed officials from county, municipal and tribal governments who are setting strategic direction around affordable housing. The seminar will focus on local government support and public-private partnerships for workforce residential housing. Attendees will learn the following:

Strategic approaches to affordable housing
Affordable housing tools and financing mechanisms
How to assess local housing needs
Case studies and exercises
Immediate next steps

This class is a part of the LELA curriculum and is open to all local elected officials, including all county, municipal, school board, and tribal council officials. Those who are earning credits towards the various levels of LELA recognition will receive 6 credits for attending the class.

The class is limited to 36 participants, and the cost of the class is $240. Register for the class at https://www.sog.unc.edu/courses/affordable-housing-seminar-tools-strategies-and-case-studies-local-government-leadership.

Grant Opportunities

$1.5 Billion Available through the 2023 RAISE Grant Program, Now Accepting Applications!

The U.S. Department of Transportation has published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $1.5 billion in grant funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program for 2023. The program helps communities around the country carry out projects with significant local or regional impact. RAISE discretionary grants help project sponsors at the State and local levels, including municipalities, Tribal governments, counties, and others complete critical freight and passenger transportation infrastructure projects.

Half of the FY23 RAISE funding will go to projects in rural areas and half of the funding will go to projects in urban areas. At least $15 million in funding is guaranteed to go towards projects located in Areas of Persistent Poverty or Historically Disadvantaged Communities, and projects located in these areas will be eligible for up to 100 percent federal cost share, as directed by Congress in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. As was the case last year, the Department is encouraging applicants to consider how their projects can address climate change, ensure racial equity, and remove barriers to opportunity.

For the FY 2023 RAISE Discretionary Grants, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is offering a series of webinars that delve into various aspects of the RAISE application process. These webinars will be recorded and are a great resource for prospective RAISE applicants, as the webinars come from the funding source and share the guidance of USDOT.

These webinars will be announced in the coming weeks, please periodically check this webpage.
If interested, you can view the RAISE FY22 Webinar Series here.
There is also a FY23 RAISE Application FAQs webpage here.

The NOFO is available here and you can learn how to apply here. The deadline for applications is 11:59 PM EST on February 28, 2023.

Grant Opportunity - NCDOT Carbon Reduction Program

NCDOTs Transportation Planning Division has issued a call for projects in the Carbon Reduction Program. There is approximately $19 million to spend on these projects across rural communities in the state for the first two years of the program. While many of the details are being worked out, we can provide the following summary:

Projects will be locally administered, meaning whichever community receives the funds is responsible for the delivery of the project.
RPO staff is discussing with NCDOT Divisions in the region to understand their willingness to administer these projects. It should be noted that if the Division agrees to administer the project, there is a 10% cost increase for that service. If the Division contracts that service, it is safe to assume a 25% cost increase.
These are federal funds, so once the funding is received and signed by the local entity, that entity is on the hook for the local match.
Communities interested in these funds should be cautious about inaccurate cost estimates. They will only receive the 80% reimbursement for the funds allocated in their application, any spending at any capacity over the initial amount is the responsibility of the locality (at 100%).
Communities should send project ideas to their RPO staff ASAP so we can send it up the chain for pre-approval. Even if you believe your project may not qualify, go ahead and send it to your RPO staff to see if it will be approved. Staff will send the project concept to TPD, who will clear it with FHWA, at which time the RPO staff will notify the applicant if the project is eligible.
Each RPO has 4 submittal slots for communities between 5,000 and 49,999 in population, and 8 submittal slots for communities under 4,999 in population.
Formal applications are due for this program on March 17^th of 2023, HOWEVER, RPO staff asks that you send project ideas to us by the end of the calendar year so we can get them pre-approved.

NCDOT Safe Routes to School (SRTS) - Non-Infrastructure Grant Program -Call for Applications

North Carolina communities will soon be able to promote the importance of walking and bicycling to school, thanks to a federal grant program.

Community organizations have from today until Feb. 6 to apply for Safe Routes to School grant funding, the N.C. Department of Transportation announced.

“Communities can use the funds to develop creative programs that educate community members about safe driving, walking, and biking practices near schools,” said Ryan Brumfield, director of the Integrated Mobility Division, the unit of NCDOT administering the grants. “This an important way to improve child safety and promote the healthy benefits of walking and biking.”

Visit this website to submit the 2023 Safe Routes to School - Non-Infrastructure - Project Application.

Those eligible to apply for grants include local governments, regional transportation authorities and planning organizations, state agencies, school districts and schools, nonprofit organizations, and tribal governments.

Proposals should be designed around a collaborative program that works to reduce the number of bicycle and pedestrian injuries and fatalities and promotes safety through education, encouragement, and evaluation.

Safe Routes to School is a Federal Highway Administration program that encourages a healthy and active lifestyle by facilitating the planning, development, and implementation of projects and activities that improve safety and reduce traffic, fuel consumption, and air pollution near schools.

Additional information can be found at this NCDOT Connect website.

ARPA Resources

ARP Technical Assistance Provided to ECC Members

Eastern Carolina Council is now able to provide American Rescue Plan (ARP) technical assistance to its members, at no cost to our members, through grant funding support. Carlton Gideon is now the Senior Community Planner for ECC, and his primary focus at this time is to provide American Rescue Plan / Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (ARP/CSLFRF) program technical assistance. If you have a question about ARPA compliance, policies, or reporting, please contact Carlton at cgideon@eccog.org or at 252-638-3185, ext. 3018.

Resources for those New to ARP/CSLFRF

There have been so many changes to the guidance over the past 1.5 years, and we all know many local governments also have experienced significant staff turnover during this time. If you are brand new to ARP/CSLFRF, or just want to make sure you are dotting all your compliance “i’s” correctly, good news: First, it is not too late to make expenditure decisions, change decisions that were made in the past, or correct most compliance deficiencies. Second, there are some tutorial sessions in the new year to catch you up and help you keep on track. Third, The UNC School of Government is working on a comprehensive roadmap/checklist (yes another one) to make sure each unit meets its full compliance obligation for the particular type of expenditures it is using its ARP/CSLFRF funds to make. The first tutorial session will be on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, from 10-12 pm on Zoom. It will be a basic overview of all things ARP/CSLFRF, including an introduction to the various resources (model policies, implementation tools, etc.) No need to register. Just join in for that Office Hours session (see below). The School of Government will repeat this monthly going forward.

OFFICE HOURS

ARP Office Hours for January 2023:

Thursday, January 5, 2023, at 8:30 am
Tuesday, January 10, 2023, 10:00 am-12:00 pm (special Office Hours focused on folks new to ARP/CSLFRF)
Tuesday, January 17, 2023, at 8:30 am
Wednesday, January 25, 2023, at 8:30 am
Monday, January 30, 2023, at 8:30 am

The Zoom link for all sessions is

https://zoom.us/j/91906998701?pwd=eWg0anp1MFJzSFVsU0FIYmduU3ZQUT09

Meeting ID: 919 0699 8701

Passcode: 912104