Letter from the Executive Director |
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This is a time like no other in our lives. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to produce uncertainty, stress and trauma in our communities. By now, we have all been impacted by this virus, which has been devastating for so many. Despite the challenges we are all facing every day, this is also a time that is bringing out the best in many people—from the healthcare staff and first responders fighting on the front-lines, to the essential workers providing food, products and services. Government has been instrumental in assisting with a resolve for the existing pandemic. The Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments (AOG) has assisted with delivering on specific federal CARES Act funding and has monitored how this funding has helped our citizens throughout the pandemic.
For the year 2021, the AOG is implementing a strategy to further the following community programs for the region:
- Community Development
- Planning
- Economic Development
- Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
- Homelessness
- Community Services
- Aging Services
- Housing Programs
The team at the AOG is motivated to work with our communities and bring dynamic existing and new programming to assist with diversifying the economy in the region.
I hope this New Year brings everyone happiness, peace and health.
-Geri Gamber
Executive Director
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Agency on Aging
Shawna Horrocks
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CALLING ALL SENIORS!
The area agency on aging offers services to seniors we wish to age in place. Our programs include services at senior centers to in-home services. This month we would like to highlight our Veteran’s program.
The Veteran-Directed Home & Community Based Service (VD-HCBS) program authorizes a monthly flexible spending budget to buy goods and services based on needs assessment for a severely disabled veteran to live safely at home. That is, veterans participating in this program are able to hire family and friends to provide for their personal care needs – or to provide support to their family caregivers.
If you are or know of a veteran needing assistance please contact Shawna 435.613.0036
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Carbon & Emery Senior Centers
Robert Jensen
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2020 saw temporary closures to all seven senior citizen centers throughout Carbon and Emery counties, even though we have been closed the senior center staff has remained busy. The number of seniors who received mobile meals nearly doubled for both counties, with 725 seniors served and more than 68,000 meals delivered. Curbside meals have also been available for pick up at all senior center locations throughout the closure period. Seniors may not have been able to come into the centers to socialize with friends as they used to be we made sure their nutritional needs were met.
We were also fortunate enough to be active participants in the senior angel tree. In years past the Hope Center of Price, has teamed up with the senior centers to provide essential items to meals on wheels clients. The Hope Center had concerns they would not be able to meet the needs of seniors this year with coronavirus concerns. With the help of the senior center staff, SEUALG employees and of course the generosity of the communities in both Carbon and Emery counties the senior angel tree saw a successful 6th year with about 115 seniors receiving more than 550 gifts! Overall, senior centers were able to make it through 2020 feeling we had stepped up when our seniors needed it most.
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CDBG
Tristan Garvin
The CDBG program has been very busy in the last year, with the COVID pandemic drastically changing the program to provide relief for businesses in the southeast Region as well as still supporting the regional applicants to prepare successful applications for CDBG funding. The staff has continued to work to provide COVID relief efforts throughout the new year and will continue to do so moving forward. To view current projects and funding amounts refer to the SEUALG webpage for CDBG.
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Transit
Tristan Garvin
The SEUALG
transit planning staff have had many exciting projects begin in 2020 from the beginnings of a transit feasibility study to new partnership opportunities with groups such as the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO). The SEUALG transit staff has been holding regular meetings with transit agencies in the region with the groups separated into a north and a south committee in the region. The north transit committee consists of those agencies in Carbon and Emery counties, while the south committee has a focus in San Juan and Grand Counties. The transit staff is very excited to begin the transit study as it will give the region some direction when it comes to creating a dynamic transit system in Southeast Utah.
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The Southeastern Utah Business and Technical Assistance Center or (BTAC) for short got a face lift in 2020. Say goodbye to boring government gray, say hello to color and excitement. The BTAC received the RCIC grant from the Governor's Office of Economic Development and additional funding from the Sorenson Legacy Foundation to create the BTAC into the space it is today. The BTAC now offers coworking space to individuals for flexible business options. Services included in the coworking space are; privacy booths, professional mailing address, storage lockers, lounge space, conference room and large meeting room spaces.
Check out the renovations to the BTAC by viewing this video on their website btac.business
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Planning activities in southeast Utah for 2020 have been widespread and diverse this past year during challenging times with the pandemic. The SEUALG planning team has worked with the San Juan County Economic Development Department by aiding to develop an economic strategies plan. Part of this process has been to assist with an application for a co-working space in the Monticello library. Planning staff has helped Monticello City with some new land use ordinance development for common wall subdivisions. Staff has been a part of the stakeholder meetings for the Spanish Valley Transportation planning study. Also in Grand County staff have been working with the new tourism and economic development director on various projects. |
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In Emery County SEUALG planning staff was a part of the CIB application process that helped gain funding for the San Rafael Energy Research Center. Castle Dale City has been working with SEUALG planning team to develop a main street program that will address the areas that are being called the Boulderer's Loop. Staff have also been assisting Castle Dale City with an update on the zoning ordinances for the city. Carbon County has benefitted from SEUALG assistance both in economic development and land use related situations. SEUALG's planning team has been helping Price City while it is undergoing a "Main Street America" pilot project in conjunction with the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development. |
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Self & Housing Rehabilitation
Barbara Fausett
The Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments (SEUALG) is now implementing ground-up construction of housing through the Self Help Program. In prior years, the SEUALG has worked with low to moderate income families to put sweat equity into existing houses. The program is now offering ground-up construction meaning the cost of the program will include the lot of land and materials to build a brand new home. The focus population is low to moderate income individuals and families. Like done in previous years, the new program expects participants to earn sweat equity by assisting contractors and tackling projects themselves. The program requires zero down and no origination fees or mortgage insurance premiums.
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Circles- Julie Rosier
SEUALG recently received a three-year TANF III grant to continue the Circles Carbon County program in Carbon County. Circles helps individuals and families get out of poverty by removing the barriers that keep people in poverty and provides the needed tools and resources such as Healthy Relationships, Financial Literacy, and Soft Skills. Circle Leaders (low-income participants) and Allies (middle income individuals) meet to identify goals and with the continued support of the Allies they develop a plan to reach them. Circles success depends upon building strong connections and resources within our community to help support families on their own paths out of poverty. Circles is not a quick fix or a handout, it equips individuals with the relationships, skills, and knowledge to be self-sufficient. Why manage poverty when we can end it? Circles is one of the best models for long term poverty reduction. It sets up a new dynamic that puts families who want to become economically stable in the driver’s seat. If you would like additional information on Circles or would like to volunteer, please call Julie Rosier at 435-613-0065.
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Family Housing Program
Colton W. Judd
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The TANF Family Housing program helps families obtain stable housing by providing deposits, rental assistance, rental arrears, and mortgage assistance to families with dependent children under the age of 18 living in the home. SEAULG received a three-year grant of $424,000 for the TANF Family Housing program from April 1, 2018, through March 31, 2022. The TANF Family Housing program assists families living in Carbon, Emery, Grand, and San Juan Counties. Currently, the TANF program has been able to provide 31 families obtain stable housing. |
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Housing Assisting Program
Renee Raso
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Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments received $295,523 in CARES Act funding to assist households who qualify, who have directly or indirectly experienced financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. SEUALG assisted 293 households with rental assistance, back rent, Security deposits, and utility payments throughout Carbon, Emery, Grand, and San Juan Counties. |
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SEUALG received CARES Act funding from the Community Service Block Grant which will be used to strengthen our partnership with the Rural Online Initiative to provide the needed equipment for individuals who are looking to make self-sufficient wages through Remote Work. This funding was used to assist 12 individuals with equipment in Carbon, Emery, Grand, and San Juan County.
Julie Rosier
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The Carbon, Emery, and Grand Food Banks served over 12,000 individuals in 2020 and distributed over 600,000 pounds of food to our customers.
Through our grocery rescue program, our food banks partner with local grocery stores and Utah Food Bank to help provide nutritious foods such as meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, eggs, and dairy products, canned vegetables, and fruits. The food banks also receive generous support from community partnerships, local businesses, and individuals in our communities to help us with these efforts.
Julie Rosier
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Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
Tristan Garvin
The VITA program had many challenges this last year with COVID-19 closing down many of the in-person sites. In order to protect all volunteers and staff, the SEUALG VITA program moved to virtual tax preparation and drop off. The VITA program was able to find success in these methods and looks forward to continuing that success into the 2020 tax year. The VITA program staff have worked to train and provide assistance to any and all volunteers in order to ensure a smooth tax filing season for all its clients. And will continue to provide free tax services to all low to moderate-income individuals.
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HEAT Program
Lenissa Jimenez
The HEAT program received funding to assist HEAT clients with a one-time payment of 550 dollars towards their utility accounts. The funding was from the CARES Act and was distributed on a first come first serve basis. 708 families received this one-time payment. 328 families in San Juan County, 305 families in Carbon County, 81 families in Emery County, and 66 families in Emery County. The grand total of utility assistance that was issued across the four counties was $429,000.
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Weatherization-
Barbara Fausett
The SEUALG Weatherization Assistance Program aims to reduce energy costs for low-income households by increasing the energy efficiency of the homes while ensuring the resident’s health and safety. This includes the updating of old appliances such as furnaces, water heaters, and refrigerators and also installing new insulation in the home, windows and doors, and air-sealing measures to ensure the home is well insulated and energy efficient. Annually, the SEUALG has a goal of weatherizing approximately 40 homes throughout southeastern Utah - including working on homes on Navajo Nation.
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Revolving Loan Fund
Camille Otto
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The Revolving Loan Fund was established at SEUALG/SEUEDD to provide loans to businesses in Carbon, Emery, Grand, and San Juan counties to create and retain local jobs. Since the program's inception, over $5,500,000 has been lent to businesses, creating over 370 new jobs and retaining over 100 existing jobs. This program has been able to assist businesses throughout the served regions in projects involving start-ups, retention, and expansion efforts.
In 2020, the Revolving Loan Fund program received $600,000 in CARES ACT funding to loan out businesses located within its service region. The Revolving Loan Fund has two years to disburse this funding to businesses that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is able to offer loans ranging from $10,000 to $150,000 to businesses looking to obtain funds for retention, expansion, or start-up costs.
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Economic Development Planning
Jade Powell
The Southeastern Utah Economic Development District (SEUEDD) has partnered with the Regional Growth Program - which is hosted at the Utah Association of Counties - to aid economic development directors and departments of Carbon, Emery, Grand and San Juan counties with projects to diversify and strengthen the local economies. The SEUEDD is assisting Carbon and Emery Counties with developing community reinvestment areas, helping Grand County with economic diversification efforts, and aiding San Juan County with developing a coworking space and updating San Juan County's annual strategic plan.
Additionally, with regional partners and the current assets in southeastern Utah, the SEUEDD is striving to cultivate an entrepreneurial ecosystem. The ecosystem will include coupling partners, assets and programming to produce successful small business owners and entrepreneurs equipped with the resources and support needed. A missing gap in rural Utah SEUEDD hopes to fill is access to capital and mentors for new business owners.
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Utah Coal Country Strike Team
Jade Powell
SEUALG is the lead on the Utah Coal Country Strike Team with a goal of raising 10,000 household incomes by 10%. The Utah Coal Country Strike Team is a unique partnership with two major Utah universities - Utah State University and the University of Utah - Castle Dale City, Price City and the Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments.
Through the workforce training and jobs strategy identified by the Utah Coal Country Strike Team, the Strike Team created Silicon Slopes East. Through the creation of Silicon Slopes East, the Utah Coal Country Strike Team and SEUEDD has developed coworking spaces in Carbon and Emery counties and is working with regional partners to develop programming for small business owners and new entrepreneurs.
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