Central Shenandoah Health District (CSHD) will be offering mobile COVID-19 vaccine clinics in the community in an effort to increase access to COVID-19 vaccines. If your organization is interested in a COVID-19 vaccine clinic, fill out a request form. Mobile clinics can be walk-up with no registration needed and can be flexible in date and time of clinics. Clinics can serve anywhere from 20-200 people. Ideal locations include festivals, events, block parties, farmers markets, churches, community centers, businesses, and homeless shelters.
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Broadband Workshop – June 15
The CSPDC is hosting a Broadband Workshop on June 15 to discuss broadband project development and state funding resources, including the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative (VATI) program. The workshop will feature presentations by Kyle Rosner, Deputy Broadband Advisor to the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, and Tamarah Holmes, Director of Virginia’s Office of Broadband.
The virtual Broadband Workshop is the third of an ongoing series of recovery-related Rural Attraction Roundtables, supported by the CSPDC’s EDA CARES Act funding. The most recently completed roundtable focused on telework and featured the results of VEDP’s Virginia Remote Worker Survey.
U.S. Department of Treasury Provides Guidance on Non-entitlement Units of Local Government
May 25, 2021 | Non-Entitlement Units (NEUs) of Local Government should expect to receive Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund payments through their state governments. State governments will receive a specific allocation of these funds from U.S. Treasury and are responsible for distributing these funds to NEUs. Award amounts are based on the population of the NEU, not to exceed 75% of an NEU’s most recent budget. In the Central Shenandoah Region, The Towns of Bridgewater, Broadway, Craigsville, Dayton, Elkton, Glasgow, Goshen, Grottoes, Monterey, Mt. Crawford, and Timberville, as well as the Cities of Buena Vista and Lexington are considered Non-entitlement Units of Government.
Request for Proposals – Now Open
The Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission (CSPDC) is seeking proposals from qualified firms interested in being included on an on-call list for the CSPDC’s On-Call Consultant Program. The CSPDC represents a five-county area in the central portion of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, including the Cities of Harrisonburg, Lexington, Buena Vista, Staunton, and Waynesboro; the counties of Augusta, Bath, Highland, Rockbridge, Rockingham, and the towns within.
The On-Call Consultant Program facilitates quick delivery of planning, architectural, engineering, and other services for local and regional projects. Other entities, including the CSPDC’s member jurisdictions, the Harrisonburg-Rockingham MPO, and the Staunton-Augusta-Waynesboro MPO, may purchase services through the On-Call Consultant Program. Additional information regarding proposal guidelines and requirements is listed in the Request for Proposal.
Proposals will be accepted until June 9, 2021, at 2:00 P.M.
On-Call Consultant Program
In May, the CSPDC plans to release a Request for Proposal to procure consultants for the On Call Consultant program. Participating consultants are contracted with annual renewals for up to five years and have the option to reapply during the reprocuring process. Created in 2012, the program provides the CSPDC and the Region’s 21 jurisdictions and two Metropolitan Planning Organizations, quick access to competitively procured consultants, resulting in reduced operational expenses and turnaround time on projects. Firms who submit a proposal will undergo a lengthy review process and a VDOT pre-award audit to verify their eligibility for use in state and federal funded transportation projects. Consultants will be contracted by January 2022.
Bridgewater Riverwalk
The Town of Bridgewater in Rockingham County recently completed construction on Phase I of its Riverwalk trail system. The Riverwalk is envisioned to connect all of the Town’s parks along the North River. Phase I built a trail between Seven Bridges and Edgebriar Parks, going under the Main Street (VA 42) bridge, a significant safety improvement for trail users. The CSPDC assisted the Town in making application, and the Town used a CSPDC On-Call Consultant, AMT, for the engineering and design. VDOT awarded the Town a Bike and Pedestrian Highway Safety grant in 2016 to fund the project.
Broadband in the Region
The CSPDC is providing grant administration support for two infrastructure building broadband projects to benefit the underserved areas of Rockbridge County, including the towns of Goshen and Glasgow Both projects, a Virginia Telecommunication Initiate (VATI) program grant and an Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) POWER Grant, will total over $3M in funding and will help build strong, competitive communities within this region. The VATI project alone, with a total cost of $4.4 million, will result in 111 miles of gigabit last mile fiber infrastructure that will reach 492 unserved homes and businesses. Local service provider BARC Electric Cooperative is contracted to complete both projects.
Other broadband access efforts in the Region include a project in Augusta County, through a partnership with MGW/Lingo, to construct a fiber-to-the-home network in the McDowell and Deerfield areas of Augusta and Highland Counties. This project totaling over $1M is expected to provide broadband access to 1,099 total locations, including 15 businesses.
On June 17, 2021 the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will be hosting an application how-to-apply webinar for the 2022 VATI program. Representatives from units of local government, internet service providers and other interested stakeholders are encouraged to participate. VATI applications are due on September 14, 2021.
Rural Attraction Roundtable
The CSPDC is hosting a second Rural Attraction Roundtable meeting on May 20 to discuss regional teleworking trends and assess the opportunity and best strategies on how to attract remote workers. The Rural Attraction Roundtable will feature a presentation on the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s National Remote Work Survey, an introduction to the state’s Telework!VA program, and an open discussion for regional stakeholders. For registration information, contact CSPDC Regional Planner Grace Blanchard at grace@cspdc.org.
This meeting is part of the CSPDC’s ongoing economic recovery efforts. For additional resources, upcoming events and data, visit the CSPDC’s COVID-19 Recovery webpage. New information is added regularly.
Ag. Enterprise Center Feasibility Study Final Presentation
The Agricultural Enterprise Center Feasibility Study is in final review and is scheduled to complete in May. Since the study began in July, the CSPDC in partnership with a ten-member study team and consultants New Venture Advisors (NVA), have conducted and completed primary and secondary research that serve as the backbone for the study. From this research, NVA presented three potential operating models to the CSPDC and Study Team in which one, named the “Shenandoah Specialty Meat & Produce Hub” was chosen for further development. The final report will include a financial analysis, building diagram, funding strategy, potential site inventory and operator RFI and will be presented virtually on May 18 to stakeholders, local governments and the general public.
May is National Bike Month
May is National Bike Month – an annual celebration to increase awareness and participation in bicycling, and showcase its many health and environmental benefits. This year, the League of American Bicyclists will be encouraging the pubic to bike ‘anywhere’ and document their ride with use of #BikeThere. Additional days to celebration and bring awareness to bicycling within National Bike Month are National Ride a Bike Day on May 2 and Bike to Work Day on May 21.
The Bike the Valley and RideShare programs, administered by the CSPDC, have created a digital social media campaign to bring public awareness to bicycling in our region. The campaign will be featured throughout the month.