Here is what you'll find in this month's newsletter:

Commissioner Leo Kelly, Jr. a Henderson native, serves on the Vance County Board of Commissioners, representing District 5. Prior to entering public service, he served as Dean of Continuing Education at Vance-Granville Community College, retiring after more than 30 years. He has been married for over 50 years and has two adult sons, two daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren. He looks forward to serving as Chair of the Kerr-Tar Board supporting the efforts of the Council of Governments through promoting regionalism on such issues as broadband, workforce development, aging, and economic development.

The next Caregiver's Cup coffee club will be Friday, January 8 from 12:00-1:30 pm at Sadie's Coffee Corner in Henderson. If you provide care for an adult over age 60 and would like to join us for some non-structured social time and a good cup of coffee, join us! Call Austin with any questions at 252-436-2040, ext 6072. Newcomers welcome!

KTAAA staff Austin Caton and Mary Lynn Baldwin attended an event called Health for the Holidays and handed out care packages. Those care packages included adult coloring books, PPE, and flyers advertising KTAAA programs. Other organizations present were Vance County SPCA, Food Lion, and the Health Department. This was also a COVID testing event, and those who were tested received food boxes and PPE packets delivered to their homes. Approximately 200 people were served throughout the county at this event. Austin also attended an event in partnership with Warren County Senior Center and distributed care packages there as well.

The KTRPO joint TAC/TCC will not meet during the month of January. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, February 25, 2021 from 3:00-5:00 pm via Zoom. Further details will be provided to members as the meeting date approaches.

N.C. Division of Environmental Assistance and Customer Service (DEACS) has announced the opening of the 2021 Community Waste Reduction and Recycling (CWRAR) Grant Round. Counties, municipalities, councils of governments, and solid waste authorities are eligible to apply for funding through this grant program.

2021 Priority Projects include:

Grant Proposals are due by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 18, 2021.

The Council of Governments is collaborating with the NC Department of Commerce-Main Street and Rural Planning Center's newest initiative, Community Economic Recover and Resiliency Initiative (CERRI). This initiative is designed to assist small towns and rural communities recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19 and build resilient local economies. The Department will work on creating individualized Community Economic Resiliency and Small Business Support Plans. Presently, the Council of Governments is gathering interest among county and municipal partners regarding this initiative. This process will begin in January and involved site visits to respective communities along with identifying individuals to serve on steering committees. If your community is interested in taking part in the CERRI program, please contact James Cunningham at 252-436-2040 or jcunningham@kerrtarcog.org.

The Federal Transit Authority has awarded the NC Department of Transportation's Integrated Mobility Division a $900,000 grant to help Triangle area communities create plans for development along the S-Line rail corridor. The S-Line corridor is a passenger rail line that starts at the Virginia border, runs through Raleigh and ends at the South Carolina state line.

"We're grateful to be working with cities and towns that understand how passenger rail service can spur economic development," said Julie White, NCDOT's Deputy Secretary for Mutimodal Transportation. "This is a great opportunity to use passenger rail to better connect rural and urban communities. It should serve as a model for future projects."

The following towns contributed matching funds for the grant: Apex, Franklinton, Henderson, Raleigh, Sanford, and Wake Forest. The towns will use the grant money to develop plans for the areas around the rail stations. The plans will explore how the rail stations will bolster economic development in their town centers and enable these communities to plan for connections to bus service, micro transit, bicycle paths and greenways.

Mayors of the towns that contributed matching funds to the grant located in the Kerr-Tar region provided the following comments:

-Franklinton Mayor Art Wright

-Henderson Mayor Eddie Ellington

The NC Department of Transportation is again bringing together art and aviation, as the agency hosts the 2021 North Carolina Aviation Art Contest. This year's theme is "A Friendlier World with Air Sports." Students are invited to grab their art supplies and create artwork that captures the friendlier world that comes from people meeting and sharing their love of sport aviation.

All students who live in or attend school in North Carolina and were born between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2014 are encouraged to participate by submitting their own artwork. Prizes for the top three works will be awarded to the artist and the artist's school in three age groups: Junior (ages 6-9), Intermediate (ages 10-13), and Senior (ages 14-17). Judges will determine winners in each category based on creativity, artistic skill, and adherence to the theme.

The top three entries in each group will be forwarded to Washington, DC to be judged in the National Aviation Art Contest. The national winners' artwork will go on to the Federation Aeronautique Internationale's headquarters in Switzerland for international judging. As an added incentive, the North Carolina Museum of Art will be exhibiting works from the winning students.

Submissions must be postmarked no later than January 19, 2021. Artwork and a Certificate of Authenticity should be mailed to:

NCDOT Aviation Art Contest

NC Division of Aviation

1560 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC 27699-1560

More information about the 2021 North Carolina Aviation Art Contest can be found on the Division of Aviation's website.

*Michelle Selin Park of Berean Baptist Academy in Fayetteville took second place in the Senior Division in 2020.

North Carolina communities interested in participating in the 2021 Watch for Me NC safety program may now submit applications to the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. The nationally recognized program focuses on reducing bicycle and pedestrian injuries and fatalities through public education, community engagement partnerships with local law enforcement. The 2021 campaign is supported by the Governor’s Highway Safety Program and the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Integrated Mobility Division.

Interested communities are encouraged to register for a webinar at 11 a.m. on Jan. 8, 2021 when more information about the program requirements and application process will be provided. Applications are due February 1, 2021, and can be submitted online via the Watch for Me NC website.

The Kerr-Tar COG was able to assist a family of 4 children and one mom with generous donations. We were able to fulfill each of the children's wish lists and were even able to get Mom a few things for herself. The family will also receive nonperishable food items to assist with their needs through the holiday season. Thank you to the COG staff for making this family's Christmas special!

A special thanks goes out to the COG elves who shopped for and wrapped all the presents!

Chapter 160D of the North Carolina General Statutes consolidates current enabling legislation for planning regulation and represents the first major recodification and modernization of the city and county development regulations since 1905. Every jurisdiction in North Carolina will need to update their unified development ordinances, including zoning, subdivision and other development regulation ordinances, by July 1, 2021. Communities that want to regulate development through zoning must adopt and reasonably maintain a comprehensive or land use plan that sets forth goals, policies, and programs intended to guide the present and future physical, social and economic development of the jurisdiction. Comprehensive or land use plans must be in place by July 1, 2022.