News & Updates for the Mid-Carolina Region
Grants, resources, training, important dates, and more.
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New Broadband Program Launched
Southeast NC Regional Trails Plan Stakeholder Workshop
NCDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grants
Sampson Community College Awarded $2.6 Million
USA Opportunity Zones Tool
2020 NCDOT Mobi Awards
Opportunity Zones and Economic Development Planning Webinar Recording
2020 NC Main Street Conference Reminder
Hello NC
New Campaign to Fight Scammers
Peak Performance Training
Not in My Backyard Webinar
NADO Research Foundation Data Deep Dive Webinars
Important Dates
Share Your Good News
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New Broadband Program Launched
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BAND-NC, a broadband initiative of Roanoke Electric Cooperative and NC’s electric cooperatives, in partnership with the NC Broadband Infrastructure Office recently announced a grant program that will provide up to
$5,000 to NC counties
to develop plans to increase the percentage of residents that adopt and are able to use broadband services. MCCOG staff will monitor the rollout of the program and provide additional information when available.
Click here
for more details. Contact Justin Hembree, MCCOG, at
jhembree@mccog.org
with questions.
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Southeast NC Regional Trails Plan Stakeholder Workshop
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As part of the Southeast NC Regional Trails Plan , NC State Parks is holding a stakeholder workshop for the Mid-Carolina Region, Cumberland, Harnett, and Sampson Counties, on
Wednesday, March 11 from 1pm to 3pm
.
The workshop will be held at the
Harnett County Administration Building
,
420 McKinney Parkway
,
Lillington
,
NC 27546
.
Project managers will cover the process for developing the regional trails plan and provide an overview of existing conditions in the region. Feedback will be solicited on a variety of topics – verifying existing and proposed trails, local visions for trails in the region, identifying desired locations for trails, and potential opportunities and challenges for trail building.
Decision-makers and staff at the municipal and county levels who can inform the planning process and want to learn more about implementing the final network are invited. Potential participants include:
- Elected Officials, County Managers, Municipal Managers
- Parks and Recreation Staff
- Planning Staff
- Municipal, County, and Regional Transportation Staff
- Economic and Community Development Professionals
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NCDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grants
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The NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is accepting applications for the
2020 Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative
. The program provides funding for local governments across the state to develop comprehensive bicycle or pedestrian plans.
Click here
to view NCDOT’s grant program webpage.
All NC municipalities
and
NC counties with populations less than 50,000
are eligible to apply for a standard bike or pedestrian plan.
- Counties with populations of less than 50,000 may apply for funds to develop either a bicycle or pedestrian plan.
- Municipalities with populations of less than 10,000 can apply to develop combined bicycle and pedestrian plans.
- Municipalities of less than 5,000 may seek funding for a Project Acceleration Plan, an abbreviated plan primarily focusing on priority project identification and implementation.
- All municipalities and counties with populations of less than 50,000 with a bicycle or pedestrian plan may apply for funds to update their plan if it is at least five years old.
The application deadline is
May 19
and recipients will be notified by
September 2020
. A short webinar is scheduled for
March 17
to describe the grant program and respond to any questions from potential applicants.
For more information on the Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative, contact
Bryan Lopez
, NCDOT, at
balopez@ncdot.gov
.
Please contact
Mike Rutan
, Mid-Carolina RPO, at
mrutan@mccog.org
if you are interested in submitting an application.
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Sampson Community College Awarded $2.6 Million
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On February 3, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a
$2.6 million grant
to
Sampson Community College
to increase the number of skilled workers available to meet regional trucking industry needs by expanding the college’s truck driving school.
The EDA project, to be located in an Opportunity Zone, will be matched with
$647,345 in local funds
and is expected to help create
291 jobs
, retain
243 jobs
, and generate more than
$13.5 million in private investment
. The grant application process involved a partnership of many Sampson County leaders and the
Southeastern Economic Development Commission
, our region’s EDA Economic Development District.
Congratulations to Sampson County!
This is a major win for the County and theMid-Carolina Region.
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USA Opportunity Zones Tool
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The
US Economic Development Administration
and
Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business (IBRC)
recently launched the
USA Opportunity Zones Tool
, a new web-based tool to help EDA-designated Economic Development Districts, local economic and community developers, and investors target private investment in economically-distressed areas where investments may be eligible for tax incentives under the
Opportunity Zones initiative
. The USA Opportunity Zones Tool is easy to use, with multiple reports from the perspective of the zone itself, the congressional district, and the economic development district and state in which it resides.
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The Fayetteville Area System of Transit’s (FAST) Transit Center has been nominated to compete for a
2020 NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Mobi Award
. NCDOT Mobi Awards recognize projects that showcase the important and transformation role that investments in multimodal transportation play in creating vibrant communities in all parts of NC.
To
vote for the FAST Transit Center
nomination,
click here
, type “Fayetteville” in the toolbar, and click on the picture.
Voting is open the everyone and ends tomorrow, February 21
.
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Opportunity Zones and Economic Development Planning Webinar Recording
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In January 2020, the US Economic Development Administration (EDA) updated its Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS) Content Guidelines to help communities across America maximize their ability to attract investment to Opportunity Zones.
These
new recommendations
outline how communities can further promote the economic attractiveness of their region by emphasizing Opportunity Zones as key investment-ready locations. The inherently regional focus of the CEDS provides a unique platform to capture and promote the advantages of Opportunity Zone communities.
This
webinar recording
describes what’s new in the CEDS Content Guidelines related to Opportunity Zones as well as provides a demonstration of the
USA Opportunity Zones Tool
that can support Economic Development Districts, tribes, and other regional organizations, as well as local economic and community developers, with useful and accessible data about Opportunity Zones. This is useful information for organizations responsible for CEDS development, but also for local governments and economic developers in general.
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2020 NC Main Street Conference Reminder
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This year’s NC Main Street Conference is set for
March 10, 11, and 12
in
New Bern
. The conference will explore the impact of the Main Street Program over the past 40 years and will look to the future for opportunities for engagement. The NC Main Street Conference is the
largest statewide downtown revitalization conference in the country
.
Click here
for additional information and to register.
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The NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is launching a new initiative to celebrate NC’s rural communities, Hello NC. Hello NC, a platform for rural communities to tell their stories, will explore rural culture across the state, focusing on hometown heroes, history, heritage, food, crafts, festivals, and traditions.
Click here
to learn more about Hello NC.
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New Campaign to Fight Scammers
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The Social Security Administration recently launched a new public service announcement campaign as its latest step to caution the public about the ongoing nationwide telephone impersonation schemes. The Administration continues to receive reports about fraudulent phone calls and
emails
from people falsely claiming to be government employees. The scammers play on emotions like fear to convince people to provide personal information or money in cash, wire transfers, or gift cards. Fraudsters are also emailing fake documents in attempts to get people to comply with their demands.
Click here
to learn more.
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Peak Performance Training
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Triangle J COG has extended an invitation for local government officials to attend an in-depth training workshop in mid-March. Brian Elms, author of “Peak Performance” and former Peak Performance Academy for Denver Director, will lead the three-day training.
The workshop will be an immersive learning experience combining innovation, lean and process improvement, and change management practices through hands-on exercises and real-world simulation. Attendees will receive customized training handouts and a copy of Brian's book Peak Performance which details how his team created Denver's innovation program.
The workshop will be held all-day
March 18
, all-day
March 19
, and until 2pm on
March 20
. Space is limited to
25 participants
and registration ends on
March 6
.
Click here
for more information.
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Not in My Backyard Webinar
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The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) is hosting “Not in My Backyard: Keys to Addressing the Vocal Minority for Your Sports, Recreation or Parks Project” webinar on
February 25
from
1pm until 2:30pm
. The webinar will cover messaging, stakeholder engagement, best practices, and much more.
The cost is
$149 for ICMA members
and
$249 for non-members
.
Click here
for more information and to register.
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NADO Research Foundation Data Deep Dive Webinars
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The National Association of Development Organization (NADO) Research Foundation’s Data Deep Dive Webinar Series will feature organizations and their
free data tools
which can be easily accessed to collect, interpret, and share data to better prepare for local and regional planning efforts.
The
free webinars
will feature a live demonstration of the tools and time for questions. Webinars are scheduled for
2pm to 3pm
. Please register for each webinar separately.
February 27
March 5
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February 24
Basic Code Enforcement Training
February 25
Basic Code Enforcement Training
March 4-6
ICMA Southeast Regional Conference
March 10-12
NC Main Street Conference
March 11
Southeast NC Regional Trails Plan Stakeholders Workshop
March 15-18
National Association of Development Organizations Washington Conference
March 17-18
Senior Tar Heel Legislature
March 24
MCCOG Quarterly Managers Lunch
March 26
MCCOG Board of Directors Meeting
March 26
MCCOG Aging Advisory Council
April 1-3
NC Association of Regional Councils of Govenments/The Forum Meeting
April 8-April 27
Mid-Carolina Senior Games
April 9
Mid-Carolina RPO TCC Meeting
April 15
Mid-Carolina RPO TAC Meeting
May 5-7
NC League of Municipalities CityVision Annual Conference
May 13
COG Legislative Day
May 28
MCCOG Board of Directors Meeting
June 16-17
Rural Day
June 18-20
NC City & County Management Association Summer Seminar
June 25
MCCOG Board of Directors Meeting
July 9
Mid-Carolina RPO TCC Meeting
July 22
Mid-Carolina RPO TAC Meeting
August 13-15
NC Association of County Commissioners Annual Conference
August 27
Mid-Carolina Board of Directors Meeting
August 30-September 2
- SE4A Annual Conference
October 8
Mid-Carolina RPO TCC Meeting
October 22
MCCOG Board of Directors Meeting
October 28
Mid-Carolina RPO TAC Meeting
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If you have news, events, announcements or other items you would like included in an upcoming FYI, please
EMAIL
Justin Hembree, MCCOG.
Please let us know if you have questions, need additional details about the information we have shared or if there is a way the Council can be of service.
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Mid-Carolina Council of Governments
Creative Regional Solutions
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Mid-Carolina Council of Governments is a multi-county, planning, development, and human services organization. We reach across county and municipal borders to provide technical assistance to our local governments and to administer programs that benefit our region’s citizens.
Our mission is to provide creative regional solutions to relevant and emerging issues in Cumberland, Harnett, and Sampson Counites while providing a standard of excellence in the delivery of federal, state, and regional services for our local governments and the people they serve.
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