News
American Rescue Bill
President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in early March. The $1.9 trillion relief bill provides direct assistance to state and local governments along with billions of dollars for public health, vaccines, education, transportation, housing and more.
In the CSPDC region, the counties of Augusta, Bath, Highland, Rockbridge and Rockingham will receive a little over $36M based on population. The cities of Buena Vista, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Staunton and Waynesboro will receive around $30M based on a modified CDBG grant formula. Unlike CARES funding, towns will receive their own allocation. The 11 towns in the CSPDC region are expected to receive over $21M in ARPA funding. Final amounts will be determined by the U.S. Department of Treasury when they issue their guidance.
Allowable uses of funds include 4 broad categories: (1) responding to the COVID-19 public health crisis and its negative economic impacts to households, small businesses and nonprofits, and the tourism, travel, and hospitality industries; (2) providing premium pay to essential workers of local government and local employers; (3) providing assistance for government services due to revenue reductions; (4) making necessary investments in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure.
The U. S. Treasury Department will provide guidance, oversee and administer these payments to local governments and funds must be used by December 31, 2024. For more information on the American Rescue Plan Act; click here.
GO VA Site Enhancement Project Approved
The GO Virginia State Board awarded the Shenandoah Valley Partnership (SVP) $821,000 in GO Virginia funds to improve six sites in GO Virginia Region 8. The work to be performed will include Phase I environmental reviews, wetlands surveys, geotechnical subsurface evaluation, and characterization of each site for the Virginia Business Ready Sites Tier program. The six sites proposed for this program are those that were identified as having the greatest return on investment made possible by both public and private sector investments and commitments to the market. Partners included the counties of Augusta, Frederick, Rockingham, Shenandoah and Warren. The total budget for the Site Enhancement Program is $1,916,359 and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022. The CSPDC will be providing grant administration services for the duration of the project.
The next GO Virginia Region 8 Council meeting will take place virtually on Tuesday, April 27. For more information about GO Virginia Region 8, please visit their website.
Hazard Mitigation Plan Approved by FEMA
The 2020 update of the Central Shenandoah Hazard Mitigation Plan (CSHMP) has been conditionally approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is pending adoption over the next few months by the jurisdictions in the Planning District. The CSHMP identifies hazards and vulnerabilities of the Region and mitigation strategies that can be implemented to make communities more resilient. Having an approved and adopted Hazard Mitigation Plan also allows the local jurisdictions to apply for hazard mitigation grant funds. A steering committee made up of local and state government agencies and other relevant stakeholders guided the planning process and helped to obtain public input. The plan is available on the CSPDC website.
CDBG Grant Applications Due
The Virginia Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program provides funding to local government’s to address critical community development needs, including housing, infrastructure, and economic development. The goal of the CDBG Program is to improve the economic, social, and physical environments in communities through implementation of activities which primarily benefit low- and moderate income persons, prevent or eliminate slums and blighting conditions, or meet urgent needs which threaten the welfare of citizens. Virginia’s CDBG Program is administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) with funding through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The CDBG Community Improvement Grant (CIG) application cycle is now open for non-entitlement localities, which are those localities not receiving CDBG assistance directly from HUD. Applications are due April 1, 2021.
Virginia’s CDBG Program also has other Open Submission Funds for planning and implementation projects that are available beginning on April 1.
Ag. Enterprise Center Feasibility Study Update
In February, Agricultural Enterprise Center Feasibility Study consultant New Venture Advisors, presented a recommended operating model to the CSPDC and Study Team. The preferred model will continue to be evaluated throughout the duration of the study that is scheduled to complete in May. The model’s concept is to build a centralized agricultural facility and commercial kitchen that supports farmers, entrepreneurs and agricultural enterprises in the Central Shenandoah Valley. If brought to fruition, the Ag. Enterprise Center will provide warehousing for the aggregation, distribution and sale of local products; business incubation and support services for food businesses; and a certified commercial kitchen serving meat and vegetable producers and entrepreneurs.
Next steps include the identification of anchor tenants, development of a capacity model, preliminary breakeven model, building program and bubble diagrams and further financial analysis. Potential sites and a facility floorplan will also be included in the final report.