On May 18, the GO Virginia Region 8 Executive Committee approved two projects, Startup Shenandoah Valley and Back to Work. The two projects have been forwarded to the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) for further review and consideration by the State GO Virginia Board during its June 23 meeting.

Startup Shenandoah Valley is focused on growing and supporting entrepreneurs within the Shenandoah Valley. Led by the Staunton Creative Community Fund (SCCF), the program aims to provide customized virtual accelerator training to entrepreneurs, build out workspaces throughout the region, and provide key personnel to support the network and programming.  SCCF is partnering with the City of Staunton, City of Waynesboro, and Warren County EDA on this program.

The second project, Back to Work, is an initiative proposed by Lord Fairfax Community College (LFCC) and supported by the localities within LFCC’s service area.  The program intends to offer workers, particularly those recently unemployed, training in higher-demand and higher-paying jobs than they previously held. This includes IT, manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and construction sectors which have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

GO Virginia supports programs to create high-paying jobs through incentivized collaboration between business, education, and government to diversify and strengthen the economy in every region of the Commonwealth. The program is administered through DHCD. The CSPDC serves as one of the support organizations for the GO Virginia Region 8 Council.

Through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) was allocated $1.5 billion to assist communities impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. EDA’s CARES Act Recovery Assistance is designed to provide a wide-range of financial assistance to communities and regions as they respond to, and recover from, the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Examples of projects include economic recovery planning and preparing technical assistance strategies to address economic dislocations caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and constructing public works and facilities that will support economic recovery, including the deployment of broadband for purposes such as telehealth and distance learning.

EDA is accepting applications on a rolling basis through its Economic Adjustment Assistance program. CSPDC staff is available to assist localities in identifying eligible projects for this program. The Notice of Funding Opportunity and application package are available through Grants.gov.

The CSPDC partnered with the Town of Elkton and VDOT to develop a town-wide Pedestrian Masterplan to prioritize the Town’s investments in pedestrian infrastructure. The CSPDC helped evaluate the condition of the Town’s existing pedestrian network, and developed an evaluation criteria to prioritize each of the 20 potential sidewalk projects that the Town can include in its comprehensive plan, future capital improvement plans, and as a baseline for future grant funding applications.

The study will be complete in June 2020 and is the result of the CSPDC’s Rural Work Program, which conducts one study every fiscal year on a transportation-related issue for our rural partners. Please contact the CSPDC if your locality is interested in conducting a study in Fiscal Year 2021.

In preparation for Hurricane Season starting June 1 and running through November 30, the National Weather Service hosts the annual Hurricane Preparedness Week – an awareness and preparedness outreach campaign.

In the Central Shenandoah Region, many of the most devastating floods have come from tropical hurricane systems. To help stay prepared: determine your risk, develop an evacuation plan, assemble disaster supplies, get a property insurance check-up, strengthen your home, help your neighbor get prepared, and complete a written plan. It only takes one storm to change your life and your community.

On April 17, the State GO Virginia Board approved funding for the Scale-up the Valley program coordinated by the Shenandoah Valley Partnership (SVP). The project will utilize the expertise and resources of the National Center for Economic Gardening (National Center) to provide region-wide business support services to traded-sector companies. SVP will match the GO Virginia grant on a per-company enrollment basis and will have 50% of the contract cost reimbursed by the company’s respective locality. Approximately 20 companies (10 each year) are expected to be served by the National Center over two years, beginning in May, 2020.

GO Virginia supports programs to create more high-paying jobs through incentivized collaboration between business, education, and government to diversify and strengthen the economy in every region of the Commonwealth. The program is administered through the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. The CSPDC is one of the support organizations for GO Virginia Region 8.