2009-2012 Appalachian Development Plan
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State of North Carolina
Appalachian Regional Commission
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STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR 20301 MAIL SERVICE CENTER • RALEIGH, NC 27699-0301
BEVERLY EAVES PERDUE GOVERNOR
Mr. Thomas M. Hunter Executive Director Appalachian Regional Commission 1666 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite 700 Washington, DC 20009-1068
I am pleased to submit our new Appalachian Development Plan for 2009-2012. This document identifies our priorities for investing Appalachian funds to enhance the economic development potential of North Carolina's portion of the region. The information in this submission is consistent with the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965, as amended, and Section 5 of the ARC Code.
We look forward to working with the Commission to help the people in our ARC counties build a better future. Please contact Jim McCleskey, my ARC alternate, or Olivia Collier, my Appalachian program manager, if there are any questions about this material.
Sincerely, Q~. Q..q. B~ -c......
cc: Jim McCleskey Olivia Collier Marion Sullivan
LOCATION: 116 WEST JONES STREET • RALEIGH, NC • TELEPHONE: (919) 733-5811 WWW.GOVERNOR.STATE.NC.US
Acknowledgments
This Appalachian Development Plan was prepared by the North Carolina Appalachian Regional Commission Program Office with the cooperation and support of the six Local Development Districts, North Carolina Department of Commerce and staff in Governor Beverly Perdue’s office. These individuals each contributed significantly to the preparation of this report and their assistance is gratefully acknowledged:
Bill Gibson Meihui Bodane Executive Director Policy Office Southwestern Regional Planning Commission North Carolina Department of Commerce
Joe McKinney Caroline Howe Executive Director Policy Office Land of Sky Regional Council Governor’s Office
Jim Edwards Al Delia Executive Director Policy Director Isothermal Planning Commission Governor’s Office
Rick Herndon Marion Sullivan Executive Director Director of Intergovernmental Relations High Country Council of Governments Governor’s Office
DeWitt Blackwell Betty Huskins Executive Director Regional Associate Western Piedmont Council of Government NC Association of Council of Governments
Matt Dolge Jim McCleskey Executive Director Director, Washington Office Northwest Piedmont Council of Government Governor’s Office
The Appalachian Development Plan was prepared by the staff of the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Development under the direction of Joseph Crocker, Assistant Secretary for Community Development. Staff direction for this project was provided by Olivia Collier, ARC Program Manager. Kristy Carter, ARC Community Planner and Brande Roberts, CDBG & ARC Program Specialist, participated extensively in the preparation of this document.
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Table of Contents
Overview ...... 1
Governor Perdue’s Goals and Priorities for ARC Funding ...... 2
Economic Development Priorities ...... 2
Background ...... 4
The Appalachian Regional Commission Program ...... 4
North Carolina Appalachian Region Profile ...... 7
Demographics and Population ...... 8
Income and Poverty ...... 10
Employment, Labor, and Wages ...... 11
Education ...... 14
Infrastructure ...... 16
Entrepreneurship Activity and Resources ...... 19
Tourism ...... 21
County Profiles ...... 24
At-Risk Counties ...... 24
Distressed Areas ...... 25
Economically Strong Counties ...... 26
Attainment Counties ...... 26
Competitive Counties ...... 26
Regional Initiatives ...... 27
Rationale ...... 28
ARC Goals and Objectives and NC Strategies ...... 29
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ARC Goal #1: Increase Job Opportunities and Per Capita Income in Appalachia to Reach Parity with the Nation...... 29
Strategic Objective 1.1: Foster Civic Entrepreneurship ...... 29
Strategic Objective 1.2: Diversify the Economic Base...... 29
Strategic Objective 1.3: Enhance Entrepreneurial Activity in the Region...... 29
Strategic Objective 1.4: Develop and Market Strategic Assets for Local Economies NC Strategies: .. 30
Strategic Objective 1.5: Increase the Domestic and Global Competitiveness of the Existing Economic Base NC Strategies: ...... 30
Strategic Objective 1.6: Foster the Development and Use of Innovative Technologies NC Strategies: ...... 30
Strategic Objective 1.7: Capitalize on the Economic Potential of the Appalachian Development Highway System NC Strategies: ...... 30
ARC Goal #2: Strengthen the Capacity of the People of Appalachia to Compete in the Global Economy 31
Strategic Objective 2.1: Foster Civic Entrepreneurship NC Strategies: ...... 31
Strategic Objective 2.2: Enhance Workforce Skills through Training NC Strategies: ...... 31
Strategic Objective 2.3: Increase Access to Quality Child Care and Early Childhood ...... 32
Strategic Objective 2.4: Increase Educational Attainment and Achievement NC Strategies: ...... 32
Strategic Objective 2.5: Provide Access to Health-Care Professionals NC Strategies: ...... 32
Strategic Objective 2.6: Promote Health through Wellness and Prevention NC Strategies:...... 33
ARC Goal 3: Develop and Improve Appalachia’s Infrastructure to Make the Region Economically Competitive ...... 33
Strategic Objective 3.1: Foster Civic Entrepreneurship NC Strategies: ...... 33
Strategic Objective 3.2: Build and Enhance Basic Infrastructure NC Strategies: ...... 33
Strategic Objective 3.3: Increase the Accessibility and Use of Telecommunications Technology ..... 34
Strategic Objective 3.4: Build and Enhance Environmental Assets ...... 34
Strategic Objective 3.5: Promote the Development of an Intermodal Transportation Network ...... 34
ARC Goal 4: Build the Appalachian Development Highway System to Reduce Appalachia’s Isolation ...... 35 iii | P a g e
Strategic Objective 4.1: Foster Civic Entrepreneurship ...... 35
Strategic Objective 4.2: Promote On-Schedule Completion of the ADHS ...... 35
State Operating Policies ...... 35
General Information ...... 36
Funding and Match Guidance ...... 37
Timing Considerations ...... 37
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North Carolina Appalachian Development Plan 2009-2012
North Carolina’s Appalachian program is focused on assisting Governor Beverly Perdue in accomplishing the goals she has established for the state. Governor Perdue took office as the first female Governor of North Carolina on January 10, 2009. In her inaugural address, Governor Perdue spoke of the challenges and opportunities North Carolina faces. She acknowledged that North Carolina has faced tough times before and she would use the examples of those serving before her as a guide in confronting new challenges. The Governor is committed to improving the quality of education, creating a highly trained workforce ready to compete in the green economy, and providing healthcare that is both accessible and affordable.
Overview
his document, in accordance with Section §5.3 of the Appalachian Regional Commission Code, will T serve as North Carolina’s Appalachian Regional Commission State Development Plan for 2009-2012. The purpose of this plan is to establish a process that sets forth goals, objectives, priorities and policies for North Carolina’s Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) region. This plan will also identify broad statewide issues and needs that the Governor has chosen to address with ARC resources and sets priorities for development projects and programs in these key areas in the six Local Development Districts (LDDs). The implementation of this Plan will continue to meet the diverse and changing needs of Western North Carolina by targeting the ARC resources to accomplish the defined goals and objectives of both ARC and the Governor.
This document will provide the following:
A brief description of North Carolina’s Appalachian development planning process, including the roles of the LDDs;
A general profile of Appalachian North Carolina;
The Governor’s goals, objectives, and priorities for Western North Carolina and the needs on which they are based;
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ARC’s Strategic Plan goals and objectives, and its guiding principles, and the inter-relationship between economic development in Western North Carolina and the Appalachian Development Highway System corridors;
The North Carolina ARC Program policies and procedures; and
The methods used to measure relative financial resources of project applicants to ensure equitable allocations of state contributions to its Appalachian area, and an explanation of the derivation, rationale, and application of such methods.
Governor Perdue’s Goals and Priorities for ARC Funding
overnor Perdue has had a long history of serving the people of North Carolina. From her time G working for a Local Development District to a hospital administrator and most recently as Lieutenant Governor, she has had numerous experiences that have helped and will continue to help her lead during times of economic turmoil. During her career, she has supported projects to create and retain quality jobs, provided funding to improve critical infrastructure systems, been an advocate for quality educational programs and promoted affordable, accessible healthcare. The Governor is a strong believer that innovation is the key to enhancing the quality of life for North Carolinians. She is committed to guiding North Carolina to become a thriving 21st Century economy by creating and retaining jobs, improving the public education system, and increasing access to affordable healthcare.
Economic Development Priorities
Innovation. Governor Perdue’s economic development plan is driven by the principal of innovation. She is creating an innovation-based economic development portfolio that includes a diversified business climate, a green economy, a supportive entrepreneurial environment, thriving Main Street communities and a well educated workforce. ARC funding will also be used to help develop infrastructure systems that are critical to the decision-making process for companies to locate and expand in a community. Having quality roads, water and sewer systems and access to broadband are essential components in attracting and retaining businesses in communities. ARC funding will also be used to strengthen the entrepreneurship network in Western North Carolina. Small businesses are a critical component of the economic development landscape.
Green Economy. A key focus area for the Governor is making North Carolina a leader in the green economy. Due to the increased attention on energy independence, building an economy that uses environmentally friendly sources of power presents a tremendous opportunity for the state. A component of this economy is developing the green collar workforce. During her tenure as Lieutenant Governor, she initiated the Green Business Fund, which promotes job growth in alternative energy and clean technology fields and supports green workforce training. The first grants were announced in 2008
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and several were located in Western North Carolina, including Organofuels and Blue Ridge Biofuels in Buncombe County. As Governor, she has worked to grow the resources for this fund in order to expand the state’s investment in green industry. Recently, Governor Perdue received approval from the United Stated Department of Energy to use $10 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding for the Green Business Fund. Governor Perdue believes that programs like the Green Business Fund will help North Carolina in becoming a national leader in biofuels, solar, and other green technology industries and most importunately capture the jobs that come with that distinction. ARC will help promote the green economy in Western North Carolina through funding projects that provide training and jobs in the green sector. Funding will also be provided to assist communities in becoming more energy efficient.
Main Street. Governor Perdue is using $2.5 million from North Carolina’s ARRA allocation to strategically spark economic recovery in small towns by providing grants to communities that participate in the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Main Street Program. The North Carolina Main Street Program promotes downtown revitalization based on economic development within the context of historic preservation. The funding will be available for select communities to pair energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives with small businesses and local governments. Energy initiatives will complement existing economic development tools and support regional job creation strategies. Governor Perdue will also leverage $2 million in state funding to expand the Main Street Program in order to support these communities, which have been extremely hard hit by the current recession. These districts are often the core of business and social networking in many rural communities. Governor Perdue will use ARC funding to leverage partnerships to bring the necessary talent to the table to help strengthen the business districts in communities in Western North Carolina. Funding will be used to provide the necessary technical assistance resources through the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Community Planning and Main Street offices and build on a partnership with Handmade in America.
Well Educated Workforce. In order to develop a strong and competitive workforce ready for 21st Century jobs, Governor Perdue is leading an effort to reform North Carolina’s public education system. She is committed to ensuring that students graduate with the skills they will need to find employment and compete in a global economy. Governor Perdue understands that not every student learns in the same way and is supportive of educational programs that are designed to make a subject area more relevant to both college-bound and at-risk students. She is working to reduce the drop-out rate by allowing at-risk students the opportunity to find career paths through technical training programs in local high schools and community colleges. Governor Perdue is also striving to make sure no student is denied the opportunity to receive vocational training, attend a community college or a four-year institution due to a lack of financial resources. She is working closely with the education leaders in North Carolina to develop programs that will help students find access and success in furthering their education. ARC funding will be used to support Governor Perdue’s goal of having a strong and competitive workforce through programs for pre-K education, high school retention, college access and workforce training. 3 | P a g e
Healthcare. The Governor is also aware that many healthcare providers in rural North Carolina operate on tight budgets and lack available resources to improve the quality of care. This situation has only been made worse due to the current recession. Rural healthcare facilities are vitally important to the health of a local community and are often the only option within fifty miles. Healthcare providers in Western North Carolina employ numerous individuals and this directly affects the economic development environment in a given community. When a community does not have access to the necessary healthcare providers, the communities’ economic wellbeing suffers. Improving access to affordable healthcare is important to Governor Perdue due to her experience as a hospital administrator in Craven County, a rural county in eastern North Carolina. Through this experience she knows firsthand the challenges that rural healthcare providers face in providing quality care to their citizens. One approach she is taking to help healthcare providers is assisting them in accessing new technologies to increase the quality of medical care provided in rural communities. Such improvements will help rural providers become more efficient and provide better healthcare. ARC funding could be used to support projects that will provide better access to affordable healthcare. Projects could include telehealth, health education and prevention programs. Telehealth is the delivery of healthcare via telecommunications technologies. This could be as simple as two doctors discussing a patient’s course of treatment over the phone or as sophisticated as using videoconferencing between multiple medical providers. These technologies can be used in physicians’ offices, hospitals, nursing homes, public health agencies, and schools. The ARC program supports telehealth as a means of universal access to comprehensive healthcare and as tool for health education and training.
Background
The Appalachian Regional Commission Program
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) was established by Congress in 1965 through the Appalachian Regional Development Act (ARDA). The Act was the result of two United States presidents in the mid-1960s urging Congress to create legislation to address the persistent poverty and growing economic despair of the Appalachian region. In the 1960s:
One of every three Appalachians lived in poverty Per capita income was twenty-three percent lower than the U.S. average High unemployment and harsh living conditions had, in the 1950s, forced more than two-million Appalachians to leave their homes and seek work in other regions.
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In 1960, the governors from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi formed the Conference of Appalachian Governors to develop a regional approach to resolving these problems. In 1963, President Kennedy formed a federal-state committee that came to be known as the President's Appalachian Regional Commission (PARC), and directed it to create a detailed program for the economic development of the region. The resulting program was outlined in an April 1964 report that was endorsed by the Conference of Appalachian Governors. President Lyndon B. Johnson submitted legislation to Congress based on the PARC's report. The ARDA was passed early in 1965 by a broad bipartisan coalition and signed into law.
The ARDA created the ARC to improve the economy and quality of life in the thirteen-state Appalachian region. The region includes 427 counties and stretches from southern New York to northern Mississippi. The ARC was reauthorized by Congress in October of 2008. The reauthorization renews the Commission for five years (2008-2012). The Governors of the Appalachian States and the Federal Co-Chairman appointed by the President formally comprise the Commission. Governor Beverly Perdue is North Carolina’s member of the Commission; NC Washington Office Director Jim McCleskey serves as her Alternate. The North Carolina Department of Commerce is responsible for the administration of the North Carolina ARC Program.
The Appalachian portion of North Carolina consists of twenty-nine counties: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cherokee, Clay, Davie, Forsyth, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Stokes, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, and Yancey. The region is commonly referred to as Western North Carolina. The Department of Commerce prepares the annual North Carolina Appalachian Strategy Statement for submission by the Governor to the Commission. This document implements the state’s Appalachian Development Plan, designates program policies for each fiscal year and guides the development of the annual Investment Package. The Department also develops policies and strategies for the use of ARC resources in North Carolina in response to ARC Regional Initiatives on Telecommunications and Asset-Based Development.
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The ARC Strategic Plan 2005-2010, “Moving Appalachia Forward,” was approved by the Federal Co-Chair and the Governors in October of 2004. This plan identifies the vision and mission of the ARC and outlines the four ARC general goals to be implemented with ARC resources. The mission of the Commission is to be a strategic partner and advocate for sustainable community and economic development projects in the region.
ARC’s goals are:
Increase job opportunities and per capita income in Appalachia to reach parity with the nation; Strengthen the capacity of the people of Appalachia to compete in the global economy; Develop and improve Appalachia’s infrastructure to make the region economically competitive; and Build the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) to reduce Appalachia’s isolation.
North Carolina has established objectives and strategies for use of the Commission’s funds under each of the four goals. North Carolina’s strategies provide the key framework for investment of ARC resources in Western North Carolina. All project proposals must implement one of the state strategies developed for the Area Development program or Regional Initiatives.
The North Carolina ARC program is assisted with project development by the six Local Development Districts (LDDs) and various state and federal agencies. The LDDs are:
Southwestern Commission - Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties; Land-of-Sky Regional Council - Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, and Transylvania counties; Isothermal Planning & Development Commission - McDowell, Polk, and Rutherford counties; High Country Council of Governments - Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey counties; Western Piedmont Council of Governments -Alexander, Burke, and Caldwell counties; and Northwest Piedmont Council of Governments - Davie, Forsyth, Stokes, Surry, and Yadkin counties.
Several partner state agencies include: the North Carolina Departments of Commerce, Transportation, Health and Human Services, Environment and Natural Resources and Cultural Resources. The program also partners with the United States Departments of Agriculture and Housing and Urban Development, along with the Environmental Protection Agency, Economic Development Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. The North Carolina ARC Program also relies heavily on partnerships with various non-profits including but not limited to, the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, the Golden LEAF Foundation, and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.
The close cooperation between the federal, state, and local governments along with the non-profit sector ensures comprehensiveness and transparency in development of the North Carolina Appalachian Program.
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North Carolina Appalachian Region Profile
his assessment of Western North Carolina’s communities highlights some of the region’s assets T which can be developed and also identifies the challenges facing leaders, such as, below-average wages, lack of economic diversity, low educational attainment, and lack of infrastructure. For Western North Carolina, the economic downturn of the early 2000s continues to plague the region. The current recession has also hit the region extremely hard and the ARC counties are experiencing high unemployment rates due to the dependence on traditional industrial sectors.
Since much of the assessment of the region relies on Census data that does not change from year to year, it may be helpful to frame the state’s investment strategies by describing the norm for the region’s counties. The average Appalachian county in NC would look like this:
The county would have just over four hundred square miles of land (about the size of Forsyth County). The land area would be relatively sparsely populated – about 132 people per square mile— the state average is 190 people per square mile. (It would look like the settlement patterns in Surry County). About 56,000 people would live in the average ARC county - roughly the same number as in Haywood County The population is older than the state average of 36.6 years, with Davie County’s population most closely matching the regional average of 42.2 years. (Clay County has the oldest average population at fifty years and Watauga’s is the youngest at thirty-six years of age.)1 The majority of the residents (67.9%) were born in North Carolina—much like Alleghany County2. More than fifteen percent of the average ARC county’s population was added through in migration, matching the numbers for Haywood County. (Polk County added almost double that percentage with a 31.5% gain, while Caldwell County, at 4.7%, was about a third of the average for the region.)3 About 10,000 people have been added to the population of the average county in the last fifteen years—much like Jackson and Haywood counties The median household income in the average ARC county will have increased by about eleven percent between 1990 and 2000, resembling Avery and Mitchell counties. Per capita income increased during the same time period by nineteen percent but the average masks very lopsided rates of income growth that range from 43.4 % in Clay County to 3.7% in Polk County.
1 Economic Development Intelligence System 2 US Census Bureau 3 NC State Demographics 7 | P a g e
On average, poverty increased between 1990 and 2000 by about 4.5% (as it did in Haywood County); however, fourteen of the twenty-nine counties had decreases in poverty (led by Swain County, a formerly distressed county, with a 23.2% decrease in poverty). About twenty-two percent of the income for the population in the average county comes from transfer payments (very closely resembling Surry County).4 The average county will have a single school system serving about 7,757 youngsters in grades K-12 and a branch of the community college system (probably a satellite campus of one of the fourteen community colleges in the region). Youngsters in high school exceeded the state average on the SATs, but only nineteen of the people in the county will have attended college (much like Surry County). Slightly more than one in four adults (26.5%) has less than a high school education (as in Cherokee County). Only sixteen percent of the population has a bachelors’ degree or higher level of education (like Haywood County).
Demographics and Population
In 2000, approximately 1.5 million people or nineteen percent of North Carolina’s total population resided in the twenty-nine counties of Western North Carolina. While Appalachian counties are growing, this region is growing at a rate slower than North Carolina as a whole. Further, Western North Carolina is projected to grow more slowly than the state for the next decade and already has an older population than the state as a whole. Both of these factors may influence the economic development strategies for the region in the coming years. Almost eighty-six percent of Western North Carolina's population is rural, compared with 51.1 percent of the state population. The region’s population is up seventeen percent from a decade ago and is projected to increase to 1,763,765 in 2013. Much of this increase has been the result of migration from other parts of the country to the region; especially due to an influx of retirees.
Western North Carolina and North Carolina Population, 2000-2008*
Western North Carolina North Carolina 2000 Population 1,532,165 2000 Population 8,046,491 2008 Population (projected) 1,670,250 2008 Population (projected) 9,222,414 % Change in Population (2000-2008) 9% % Change in Population (2000-2008) 15%
Sources: US Census; *2008 data is estimated
Western North Carolina’s population is fifty-one percent female and has a median age of forty-one. Appropriately fifteen percent of the region’s residents are over the age of sixty-five. It is likely that the retiree population will increase as the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age. In 2000, sixty-
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eight percent of the region’s total population reported themselves as Caucasian. The largest minority in the region is African American with 164,490 people. There are about 85,621 Hispanic people in the region. The Hispanic population has grown fifty-two percent since 2000 due in large part to the rise of service-oriented and labor-intensive industries.
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The table below shows 2008 (estimated) population by race for Western North Carolina.
Percentage of Western Percentage Change Race Reported Number of Persons North Carolina 2000-2008* Population White 1,407,120 84% 35% Black or African-American 164,490 10% 12% Hispanic 85,621 5% 52% American Indian 14,771 1% 20% Some Other Race 44,754 3% 66% Source: NC Economic Development Intelligence System *2008 number is estimated
Income and Poverty
The poverty rate remains high in most of Western Source: US Census 2007 data North Carolina. In 2007, seventeen counties in the region had poverty rates above the state average of 14.3 percent. Davie County had the lowest rate of 9.3 percent while Graham experienced the highest rate of 22.2 percent.
Per capita income in 2008 was $22,227, about twenty-one percent below the state average of $26,823. In 2008, sixteen counties in the region had median household income above the state average of $51,411. Forsyth County had the highest median household income ($73,310), followed by Davie ($67,087), Henderson ($62,768), and Buncombe ($60,457). Graham County had the lowest median household income ($39,491).
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ARC Region Median Household Income, 2008 Median Median Median ARC County Household ARC County Household ARC County Household Income Income Income NC Average $51,411 Davie $67,087 Polk $58,752 Alexander $55,012 Forsyth $73,310 Rutherford $48,007 Alleghany $49,465 Graham $39,491 Stokes $54,304 Ashe $46,291 Haywood $52,272 Surry $52,409 Avery $45,902 Henderson $62,768 Swain $44,483 Buncombe $60,457 Jackson $53,465 Transylvania $59,233 Burke $53,583 Macon $51,771 Watauga $53,395 Caldwell $51,543 Madison $46,486 Wilkes $51,742 Cherokee $44,900 McDowell $48,704 Yadkin $54,213 Clay $49,229 Mitchell $45,910 Yancey $45,367 Source: NC Economic Development Intelligence System (EDIS)
Employment, Labor, and Wages
The unemployment rate in Western North Carolina had declined steadily during the period of 2003- 2007. In 2007, the region had approximately 806,708 people in the labor force; of which 769,500 people were employed. Due to the current economic downturn, the region’s average unemployment rate rose from 4.6 percent in 2007 to 6.3 percent in 2008 to 11.2 percent for the first half of 2009.
NC ARC Region NC 2007 Unemployment Rate 4.60% 4.90% 2008 Unemployment Rate 6.30% 6.40% 2009 Unemployment Rate (Jan – Jun 09) 11.20% 11.00%
Sources: NC Employment Security Commission
According to the 2008 Economic Outlook Report prepared by Dr. Michael Walden of NC State University, six counties in the ARC region – Graham, Madison, McDowell, Alleghany, Wilkes, and Surry, have experienced an increase in their unemployment rates of more than 1.8 percentage points between June 2007 and June 2008. In June 2009, most of the counties saw the first decline in the unemployment rate since the beginning of the recession though thirteen counties in the region had an unemployment rate above the state average of eleven percent. The current
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unemployment rate in the region is 11.3 percent. Caldwell County had the highest unemployment rate (15.6%), followed by Alexander (15.4%), Rutherford (15.4%), and Cherokee (15%). Counties with lowest unemployment rates were: Watauga (8.1%), Transylvania (8.6%), Polk (8.8%), and Avery (8.9%).
ARC Region County Unemployment Rate, Jan to Jun 2009 (Counties highlighted with unemployment rate above state average)
% Change County Jan-09 Feb-09 Mar-09 Apr-09 May-09 Jun-09 NC Rank 6/08-6/09 ALEXANDER 13 15.7 14.5 14.7 15.5 15.4 8.6 93 ALLEGHANY 14 15.3 14.2 12.2 12.3 11.8 5.2 57
ASHE 13 14.7 13.3 12.6 12.4 10.8 4.7 42
AVERY 9.8 10.7 9.9 10.2 9.3 8.9 3.6 16
BUNCOMBE 8.2 9.1 9 8.5 8.8 9.0 4.2 18 BURKE 13.9 15.9 15.5 14.6 14.8 14.9 7.1 89
CALDWELL 14.6 16.4 15.3 14.9 15.5 15.6 8.1 97
CHEROKEE 15.8 17 15.4 14.3 15.1 15.0 6.5 90
CLAY 11.4 12.6 11.5 11.2 11.3 11.1 5.1 45 DAVIE 10.3 11.2 11.8 11.3 12.6 12.4 6.6 65 FORSYTH 8.8 10 9.8 9.2 10.0 10.1 4.2 30
GRAHAM 16.4 18 16.1 13.7 13.3 13.3 2.9 77 HAYWOOD 10.5 11.2 11.1 10.0 9.8 9.6 4.3 25 HENDERSON 8.8 9.8 9.4 9.4 9.7 9.4 4.8 22
JACKSON 9.9 10.5 9.6 8.6 9.0 9.1 4.2 19 MACON 11.8 13 12.2 10.5 10.2 10.0 4.5 29 MADISON 9.3 10.3 9.6 9.4 9.8 9.8 4.1 27
MITCHELL 13.4 15.6 13.8 13.2 12.8 12.6 4.5 69 POLK 9.4 9.8 9.4 8.9 9.3 8.8 4.2 13 RUTHERFORD 14.9 15.9 15.6 16 15.4 15.4 7.6 93
STOKES 10.2 11.4 11.2 10.6 11.1 10.5 4.8 36 SURRY 12.2 13.2 13.4 12.8 13.1 12.9 5.1 71 SWAIN 15 15.8 14.5 12.2 11.5 10.1 3.5 30
TRANSYLVANIA 9.4 10.3 9.5 8.7 8.9 8.6 3.7 11 WATAUGA 7.7 8.6 7.8 7.5 7.8 8.1 3.2 8 WILKES 11.8 13.2 13.8 12.4 12.9 13.2 5.6 74
YADKIN 10.5 11.5 11.3 10.6 11.3 10.6 5.4 38 YANCEY 13.2 14.5 13.2 12.3 12.1 12.0 4.8 60 Sources: NC Employment Security Commission/ Data is not seasonally adjusted
During 2007, about 84.3 percent of the workforce was in the private sector with a high concentration in healthcare and social assistance (15.6%), the manufacturing industry (15.3%), and retail trade (12%). 12 | P a g e
Industries that have shown noticeable employment increases between 2002 and 2007 include: construction (0.6 %), education services (0.6%), healthcare and social assistance (2.0%), and accommodation and food services (1.0%). Average annual wages in the region have experienced an increase of 11.5 percent for industry sectors over the five year period ending 2007 except for wholesale trade, retail trade, arts entertainment and recreation.
Between 2007 and 2008, total employment in all industries experienced a 2.9 percent decline. Employment in mining, construction, and manufacturing were most impacted with a total loss of 14,023 jobs. Federal and state governments were the only two sectors that saw a slight increase in employment.
In 2008, about 83.8 percent of the region’s total employment was in private industry with a high concentration in health care and social assistance (16.2%), manufacturing (14.4%), and retail trade (12.1%). Western North Carolina had similar percentages of employment by industry compared to the state as whole. It had a higher percentage of the population employed in manufacturing, retail trade, health care and social assistance, accommodation and food services, educational services, and arts and entertainment, and smaller percentages in wholesale trade, information, finance and insurance, professional and technical services, management, and administrative and waste services. In 2008, utilities occupations had the highest average annual wage ($62,247), followed by management ($60,297), finance and insurance ($55,891), mining ($44,727) and manufacturing ($41,849). The five top earning occupations represented only 19.3 percent of total employment (811,904).
According to the North Carolina Employment Security Commission, in 2008, Forsyth County lead the region in the numbers of jobs lost (1,050) though it gained 728 jobs. Rutherford (883 jobs lost) and McDowell (733 jobs lost) approached the Forsyth numbers for losing jobs, without the balancing number for new job creation. Caldwell County lead the region with the number of jobs added (815) in 2008. For the first quarter of 2009, 4,237 jobs have been lost in the region which is fast approaching the total number of jobs lost (6,444) in 2008. Only 311 jobs were reported to have been created during the first quarter of 2009 compared to 4,492 jobs in all of 2008.
The table below shows the comparison of the region’s average employment, annual wage per employee, and employment distribution by industry (by 2-digit NAICS code) between for 2007 and 2008.
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Industry Employment by 2-digit NAICS Industry, 2007-2008
ARC NC
2007 2008 2008
Annual Annual % of % of % of AVG Wage AVG Wage AVG Industry Total Total Total EMPL per EMPL per EMPL EMPL EMPL EMPL Employee Employee
Total Federal Government 6,502 1.0% $46,689 6,648 1.0% $59,484 65,419 1.6% Total State Government 26,568 4.0% $36,601 26,971 4.2% $37,802 181,326 4.5% Total Local Government 71,914 10.8% $32,537 71,574 11.0% $34,475 439,589 10.9% Total Private Industry 562,888 84.3% $29,529 543,308 83.8% $33,568 3,361,008 83.0% Total All Industries 667,871 100.0% $30,331 648,495 100.0% $34,110 4,047,342 100.0% Agriculture 2,908 0.4% $29,441 2,880 0.4% $25,930 28,718 0.7% Mining 2,540 0.4% $47,552 * 0.1% $44,727 3,803 0.1% Utilities 1,701 0.3% $52,305 1748 0.3% $62,247 13,952 0.3% Construction 41,228 6.2% $34,294 37,927 5.8% $35,459 236,323 5.8% Manufacturing 102,248 15.3% $33,041 93,097 14.4% $41,849 515,397 12.7%
Wholesale Trade 20,661 3.1% $28,958 19,535 3.0% * 181,085 4.5% Retail Trade 80,132 12.0% $16,236 78,426 12.1% $22,893 467,915 11.6% Transportation & Warehousing 22,719 3.4% $34,169 22,033 3.4% $38,090 135,647 3.4% Information 7,648 1.1% $34,635 7,120 1.1% $39,405 73,397 1.8% Finance & Insurance 20,582 3.1% $43,398 20,435 3.2% $55,891 154,209 3.8% Real Estate & Rental and Leasing 6,837 1.0% $23,865 6,363 1.0% $28,756 52,832 1.3% Professional/Technical Services 21,066 3.2% $40,234 21,654 3.3% $44,743 191,353 4.7% Management 8,588 1.3% $51,560 8,700 1.3% $60,297 75,553 1.9% Administrative & Waste Services 32,522 4.9% $22,811 31,133 4.8% $22,974 240,620 5.9% Educational Services 64,933 9.7% $34,569 64,729 10.0% $38,343 372,585 9.2% Health Care & Social Assistance 104,504 15.6% $29,020 104,860 16.2% $38,277 545,783 13.5% Arts Entertainment & Recreation 11,993 1.8% $14,061 12,441 1.9% $23,162 57,209 1.4% Accommodation/Food Services 61,278 9.2% $11,689 60,475 9.3% $13,667 346,942 8.6% Other Services Except Public 15,853 2.4% $20,278 15,770 2.4% $23,137 104,095 2.6% Admin Public Administration 35,803 5.4% $32,350 36,391 5.6% $35,612 235,959 5.8% Unclassified 2,351 0.4% $27,398 1,783 0.3% $36,963 13,974 0.3% Source: Employment Security Commission of North Carolina *data not available
Education
The region’s state-supported education network includes thirty-two school systems serving over 229,000 students in grades K-12. For the 2007-2008 school year, the average dropout rate in Western North Carolina was 3.65 percent, 0.23 percent higher than the state average. The dropout rate in the state has decreased 0.21 percent between 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 and twelve (Alexander, Burke, Buncombe, Cherokee, Forsyth, Graham, Macon, McDowell, Rutherford, Surry, Swain and Yadkin) of the twenty-nine Western North Carolina counties also had declining dropout rates. Out of the region’s
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twenty-nine counties, sixteen counties have a dropout rate above the state average, with the highest rates in Jackson (5.14%) and Swain (5.09%) counties and the lowest in Yadkin (2.00%) and Graham (2.45%). Although historically low educational attainment decreases the region’s economic competitiveness, the long-term trends show signs of reversing. North Carolina’s Appalachian high school students continue to outperform their compatriots statewide on the SAT. Of the seventeen North Carolina county school systems exceeding the US average SAT score in 2007-2008, ten were located in ARC counties. Of the twenty-seven county systems above the state average, ten were Appalachian counties.5 The table below indicates the region performed under the state average in all education attainment categories in 2008 except average SAT score. About eight percent of the population in the region over twenty-five years of age achieved less than a high school education and 12.7 percent received some high school education but no diploma.
ARC Educational Attainment by Population 25 Years and Older, 2008
Categories NC Appalachian Region North Carolina
High School Graduate, POP 25+ 79.2% 81.5% Some College, No Degree, POP 25+ 18.7% 19.4% Associate's Degree, POP 25+ 7.7% 8.0% Bachelor's Degree, POP 25+ 20.8% 24.6% Graduate or Professional Degree, POP 25+ 7.2% 7.9% SAT Score 2008 (on a 2400 scale) 1492 1429 Source: U.S. Census Bureau and NC EDIS
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The region is served by five state universities — Appalachian State University, the University of North Carolina at Asheville, University of North Carolina School of Arts, Winston-Salem State University, and Western Carolina University — as well as fourteen community colleges and several private liberal arts colleges. These schools offer many programs and through the community colleges, state-funded customized workforce training is available to participating employers through the Focused Industrial Training (FIT) program. The community college system also makes available the North Carolina Manufacturing Certification available to incumbent and prospective workers.
Multiple community colleges offer Associates of Arts (AA) degrees and/or certificate programs in industrial systems technology, machining technology, welding technology, mechanical engineering technology, computer programming, information systems, internet technologies, computer engineering technology, Cisco Systems certification, Microsoft certification, nursing, surgical technology, emergency medical science, medical laboratory technology, and criminal justice technology.
Infrastructure
Transportation. North Carolina boasts over 78,000 miles of state maintained roads and has the largest state-maintained highway network in the country. Western North Carolina has excellent access to Interstates 40, 85, 81, 95, 77, I-26, future I-73/74, and several other major US highways. I-40 is the major east-west link for the southern and eastern portions of the region and traverses Forsyth, Davie, Burke, McDowell, Buncombe, and Haywood counties. I-26 connects Buncombe, Henderson, and Polk counties with South Carolina and now links with Tennessee through Madison County. Interstate-77 serves the northwestern counties (Yadkin and Surry) providing a link between Charlotte and Virginia. The link between Statesville, NC and the Virginia border is one of the least developed portions of the Interstate, and the ARC counties served by this route are in the initial stages of a coordinated effort to use this access to attract and nurture business. Interstate73/74 has been authorized and a portion of I- 74 in Surry County has been opened to traffic. Interstate 73/74 tracks with I-77 into North Carolina from Virginia and splits off in Surry County to travel into Stokes and Forsyth counties along existing Highway 52. Surry County is working to secure assistance from the NC Department of Transportation (NC DOT) and other entities in planning for appropriate development and extension of infrastructure needed to
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enhance the development potential offered by these corridors. This highway system puts Western North Carolina within a day’s drive of seventy five percent of the US population.
Four Appalachian Development Highway System corridors traverse North Carolina’s portion of Appalachia. Corridor A and Corridor K serve the southwestern portion of the region, both originating in Haywood County and tracking south and west into Jackson County. In Jackson County, Corridor A turns south and connects with Georgia. Corridor K continues through the tip of the state into Georgia. Corridor K includes the most expensive section left to complete. The current cost estimate to complete this section is $677 million. This roughly eighteen- mile section will provide the only four-lane highway in Graham County (a designated at-risk county). The expansion of Corridor B (I-26) from Buncombe County north through Madison County opened with a dedication ceremony on August 5, 2003. The completion of this portion of the highway into Tennessee provides the only four-lane artery in Madison County and already it is generating a welcome surge of development. The final corridor, Corridor W, is nearly complete. This road routes through Henderson County, south into South Carolina.
The ADHS Corridors are complemented by the state’s intrastate highway system. This network of state roads will bring four-lane access to ninety percent of the state’s population when it is completed. The ARC Corridors are part of this system that is being financed by a dedicated highway fund underwritten by user fees. Principal routes included in the intrastate system in addition to those that are part of the Appalachian corridor system include highways 421, 321, 74, and 52.
Rail Access. Western North Carolina is served by three railroads: Norfolk Southern, Winston-Salem Southbound (which connects with CSX south of Charlotte, NC) and Yadkin Valley Railroad. Norfolk Southern Railroad Corporation provides rail lines through Knoxville, TN, to the west and Greenville, SC, to the south. To the east, rail lines link up North Carolina’s 3,600 mile rail network. Regional facilities offer loading and unloading, and a piggyback service is available. Rail service in Western North Carolina primarily depends on short line operations. In several counties, the local economic development commission has stepped in to ensure the continued operation of short line rail service when the segments were abandoned. In one instance, the state partnered with the county to acquire and 17 | P a g e
preserve a rail line now used for an excursion train. More interest in multi-modal transportation options may occur if the planned passenger rail service to Asheville is implemented. In preparation for the planned service, old depots in Marion and other sites have been restored, and new depot locations in sites such as Asheville have been secured. This planned passenger service to Asheville would complement the current service operating among the major piedmont cities. Additional expansion of service to Winston-Salem also has been recommended. The 2007 session of the North Carolina General Assembly authorized the study of an inland port for Western NC. The study was jointly funded by the North Carolina Department of Commerce and ARC. The study is set to be concluded and presented to the North Carolina General Assembly in the fall of 2009 by Western Carolina University.
Air Access. Asheville Regional Airport is served by Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, and US Airways, with short flights to nearby international airports in Atlanta and Charlotte, and other direct flights to 10 major cities. More than 200 destinations around the world can be reached with a single connection. Piedmont Triad International is located about 25 minutes east of Winston-Salem, just off Interstate 40, and provides daily non-stop flights to 17 cities. Major airlines include American Eagle, Continental Express, Delta and Delta Commuters, Northwest, US Airways and US Airways Commuters, United and United Express, and Allegiant Air. Smith Reynolds Airport, a corporate aircraft base is located about 10 minutes north of downtown Winston-Salem.
Port Access. North Carolina has two modern deep-water ports in Wilmington and Morehead City. Inland port services are available in adjoining regions like Charlotte and upstate South Carolina. Some western North Carolina companies also use ports in Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA.
Rural Planning Organizations. A new element was added to the transportation framework for the region when all six LDDs received their designations as rural transportation planning organizations (RPOs). Unlike many other states in the region, North Carolina until recently was without transportation planning capability in its rural areas to complement the metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs). Beginning in the fall of 2001, the NC DOT initiated a process of certifying and providing some financing for the formation of RPOs. The certification process was completed in 2002, with all six LDDs designated. These entities offer local elected officials and the citizens they represent greater input into the decisions affecting the region's transportation network.
Broadband. Western North Carolina is ahead of many rural regions for broadband due in large part to the long-term commitment of major Source: e-NC high speed access map - http://www.e-nc.org/2008Maps.asp
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telecommunication companies such as AT&T and Verizon. These private utility networks have been supplemented by public/private networks like ERC Broadband, BalsamWest FiberNET, LLC, e-Polk, and New River Community Partners. e-NC also provides affordable internet service to the rural communities to increase their access to commerce, healthcare, education and government services. The map above shows the progress of counties toward one-hundred percent high-speed availability. Most the counties in Western North Carolina have an average seventy percent to eighty percent internet access. Eight counties - Ashe, Alleghany, Surry, Yadkin, Forsyth, Yancey, Polk, and Transylvania – have above ninety percent internet availability. Only four counties – Cherokee, Graham, Madison, and Mitchell - have less than 70 percent.
Utilities. Electric service in Western North Carolina is provided by Duke Energy, Progress Energy and several electric membership corporations, commonly known as EMCs or co-ops. Municipal electric providers also serve several communities in part of the region. Natural gas service is furnished by four companies: PSNC Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, Toccoa Natural Gas and Frontier Energy. Out of the twenty-nine counties, Alleghany, Clay, Cherokee, and Graham lack any state’s natural gas local distribution companies due to funding issues and high cost of extending service into these rocky, mountainous counties.
Water and Sewer. Western North Carolina has benefited significantly from statewide bond referendums, the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, the NC Rural Economic Development Center, and Federal programs like USDA and ARC. There is still a tremendous need for water and sewer infrastructure in the region. Communities throughout the region are beginning to think regionally when planning these types of infrastructure projects. State, federal, and non-profit grant funders are working together to help develop and fund quality infrastructure systems.
Entrepreneurship Activity and Resources
Small businesses have played an increasingly important role in Western North Carolina. A recent study by an Atlanta-based consultant found that 17.5 percent of total employment in a major western North Carolina labor shed is focused on entrepreneurial activity, exceeding the national average of 15.2 percent. 6 Entrepreneurs and small businesses in Western North Carolina receive a broad range of support and training services from a variety of statewide and regional organizations.
The Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council (BREC) is an organization that focuses on education, networking and mentoring, communications and capital formation. BREC has helped local businesses raise capital, brought private equity investors to the area to evaluate businesses, hosted venture capital conferences in Asheville, and recruited businesses with high-growth potential to Western North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Angel Investor Network (BRAIN), created with ARC funding, is a membership-based, nonprofit
6 The Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council http://www.brecnc.com/content.cfm?content_id=63
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organization dedicated to educating entrepreneurs on capital opportunities. BRAIN also provides opportunities for members to network and share ideas with established business leaders. Both BREC and BRAIN are programs of the AdvantageWest Economic Development Group. AdvantageWest also developed the Entrepreneurial Community Program to assist communities interested in promoting public and governmental awareness of the need for entrepreneurship.
The Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship stimulates and supports the development of micro, small and medium-size enterprises in North Carolina's eighty-five rural counties. The Institute is housed within the NC Rural Economic Development Center and draws from a range of resources to serve the needs of rural entrepreneurs, community and economic leaders, and state policy makers.
Mountain BizWorks is a business development organization headquartered in Asheville. It has been widely recognized as one of the pioneer microenterprise programs in the country, with extensive experience and knowledge in helping people create self-employment. Originally focused entirely on helping microenterprises, it now also assists larger businesses.
North Carolina Economic Opportunities Fund is a private, for-profit fund that uses substantial investments from private institutional investors and the state and federal governments to serve start-up and expanding businesses that have the potential for rapid growth and that are located in North Carolina's rural areas. The Fund, managed by Dogwood Equity, has access to more than $100 million in capital.
Self Help Credit Union reaches persons who are underserved by conventional lenders--particularly minorities, women, rural residents, and low-wealth individuals.
Asheville SCORE, Counselors to America's Small Business, is part of a national nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of the nation's small businesses. SCORE provides free professional guidance, information and support that are tailored to meet the needs of businesses.
High Country Business Network (HCBN) is a regional support system for small business and entrepreneur development in and around Boone, Blowing Rock, Spruce Pine and Little Switzerland. HCBN is committed to promoting a culture of entrepreneurship by providing networking and educational opportunities to the region's aspiring and established businesses.
North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) is a business and development service of the University of North Carolina system. The SBTDC’s primary focus is providing management counseling to established firms, high growth companies and later stage start-up businesses.
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The following table contains information on entrepreneurship education and training organizations in Western North Carolina.
Entrepreneurship Organizations Location
Appalachian State University Small Business and Technology Development Center Watauga Asheville Small Business and Technology Development Center Buncombe
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Small Business Center Buncombe
Blue Ridge Community College Small Business Center Henderson Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute Small Business Center Caldwell Catawba Valley Community College Small Business Center Catawba
Central Piedmont Community College Small Business Center Forsyth Davidson Community College Small Business Center Davie Forsyth Technical Community College Small Business Center Forsyth Haywood Community College Small Business Center Haywood HandMade in America Asheville Buncombe Isothermal Community College Small Business Center Rutherford Mayland Community College Small Business Center Mitchell McDowell Technical Community College Small Business Center McDowell Mountain BizWorks Buncombe Northern Piedmont Small Business and Technology Development Center Forsyth
Tri-County Community College Small Business Center Cherokee Southwestern Community College Small Business Center Macon Surry Community College Small Business Center Surry Western Piedmont Community College Small Business Center Burke Western Region Small Business and Technology Development Center Jackson Wilkes Community College Small Business Center Wilkes
Tourism
Western North Carolina is home to some of the finest resorts, golf courses, spas, scenery, wineries, festivals and attractions in the world. Places such as the Qualla Boundary of the Cherokee Indians, Biltmore House, Yadkin Valley wineries, Chimney Rock Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, have attracted many tourists and created a significant economic impact. In 2003, the United States Congress designated the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area in recognition of the unique character and richly varied cultural history of Western North Carolina. Also in the same year, the United States' Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
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and Explosives approved the new appellation for the Yadkin Valley American Viticulture Area (AVA) -- allowing winemakers to bottle wines with a label indicating that the wine came from the Yadkin Valley.
In 2008, visitors to Western North Carolina spent over $3.2 billion, nineteen percent of North Carolina’s tourism dollars. More than 34,000 jobs and $652 million in payroll were directly attributable to travel and tourism in 2007. State and local tax revenues from travel to the region amounted to $281 million.
State Tax Local Tax Expenditures Payroll Employment Receipts Receipts $(millions) $(millions) (thousand) NC ARC $(million) $(million) County % 2007 2008 Change 2007 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008
Alleghany 19.43 19.39 -0.2 3.65 3.69 0.18 .18 .92 1.36 Alexander 16.81 17.40 3.5 2.48 2.61 0.12 0.12 .92 0.77 Ashe 39.94 40.33 1.0 6.11 6.25 0.37 0.37 2.03 2.32 Avery 90.72 89.76 -1.1 22.07 22.14 1.23 1.19 4.50 4.15 Buncombe 709.38 711.04 0.2 164.38 167.05 9.35 9.20 35.79 22.94 Burke 73.22 74.02 1.1 11.22 11.50 0.65 0.65 3.94 2.30 Caldwell 46.55 49.21 57 7.23 7.75 0.37 0.39 2.56 1.65 Cherokee 35.6 35.31 -0.8 5.77 5.80 0.34 0.33 1.66 2.24 Clay 12.43 12.03 -3.2 1.42 1.39 0.07 0.07 0.495 1.40 Davie 28.86 29.50 2.2 5.32 5.52 0.27 0.27 1.58 0.55 Forsyth 598.75 634.21 5.9 106.75 114.64 5.94 6.17 35.91 12.58 Graham 24.54 23.42 -4.6 4.49 4.34 0.29 0.27 1.09 1.62 Haywood 116.64 113.62 -2.7 23.83 23.50 1.4 1.33 5.74 4.91 Henderson 199.85 198.62 -0.6 37.58 37.87 2.07 2.02 8.86 9.34 Jackson 72.61 69.09 -4.8 12.58 12.14 0.7 0.65 3.11 5.69 Macon 115.42 120.56 4.5 21.14 22.38 1.13 1.16 5.43 10.25 Madison 30.32 29.26 -3.5 6.18 6.05 0.34 0.32 1.48 1.42 McDowell 38.6 41.09 6.4 6.06 6.54 0.36 0.38 2.10 1.59 Mitchell 19.87 19.86 -0.1 3.18 3.22 0.18 0.17 0.86 0.9 Polk 19.6 19.80 1.0 2.96 3.03 0.17 0.17 0.99 1.19 Rutherford 135.06 134.72 -0.2 20.26 20.49 1.21 1.19 7.70 4.27 Stokes 19.42 19.56 0.7 2.59 2.65 0.13 0.13 0.96 0.81 Surry 83.32 87.00 4.4 12.71 13.45 0.7 0.72 4.68 1.98 Swain 251.03 233.26 -7.1 75.14 70.79 3.33 3.04 13.60 5.23 Transylvania 80.14 77.07 -3.8 15.28 14.90 0.83 0.78 2.99 3.71 Watauga 191.15 189.76 -0.7 43.56 43.84 2.58 2.51 9.43 7.82 Wilkes 61.42 60.17 -2.0 9.39 9.33 0.55 0.52 2.87 1.43 Yancey 27.2 26.33 -3.2 4.78 4.70 0.24 0.23 1.18 1.98 Yadkin 29.96 29.71 -0.8 5.38 5.41 0.35 0.34 1.55 0.78 ARC Total $3,188 $3,223 -2.8 $643 $652 35 34 $164 $116 22 | P a g e
Following is a sample list of recreational attractions in Western North Carolina:
National Parks Great Smoky Mountains: The most visited of our national parks draws more than 9 million adventurers and sightseers each year.
National Forests Pisgah: Located in the heart of North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains. As the Blue Ridge Parkway winds its way through the forest's hazy peaks, it passes Mount Mitchell, the highest summit east of the Mississippi River. Further south is one of the best places in the world to see rhododendron in bloom. Nantahala: The Indian word Nantahala means "land of the midday sun". At 5,800 feet, the Appalachian summit of Lone Bald is the highest point in the forest — it is but one vertebra in the 1,600-mile spine that stretches from Alabama to Quebec.
National Scenic Trails Appalachian Trail: The Appalachian Trail is a public footpath across 2,160 miles of Appalachian Mountain ridgelines from Maine to Georgia. Roads that cross it for all but its northernmost 100 miles give ready access. The Trail is protected along more than 96 percent of its course by federal or state ownership of the land itself or by rights-of-way.
Recreation Areas W. Kerr Scott in Wilkesboro, NC
Scenic Byways The Blue Ridge Parkway: The Blue Ridge Parkway extends 469 miles along the crests of the Southern Appalachians and links two eastern national parks--Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains. Forest Heritage: The Forest Heritage Scenic Byway follows a seventy-nine-mile loop through the mountain valleys and rural countrysides on the Pisgah National Forest where American forestry was born. Mountain Waters: The Mountain Waters Scenic Byway is a 61.3-mile drive that winds through southern Appalachian hardwood forest, two river gorges, and rural countryside.
Wineries and Vineyards Biltmore House and Winery: The historic Biltmore Estate has a unique place in the heritage of the United States. Its centerpiece, the Biltmore House, is the largest private residence in the America. The Biltmore Winery is the most visited winery in the country.
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Yadkin Valley AVA: an American Viticultural Area, established to recognize wines made from grapes grown in the area.
County Profiles
At-Risk Counties
In North Carolina, there are six counties designated “at-risk” — Cherokee, Graham, Mitchell, Rutherford, Swain, and Yancey. These counties are at risk of becoming distressed and rank between the worst eleven percent and twenty-five percent of the nation’s counties. They are designated as Tier 1 (Graham, Mitchell, Rutherford, and Yancey--most distressed) and Tier 2 (Cherokee, and Swain) within the state’s system of addressing economic distress. In addition, Cherokee, Graham, Mitchell, Rutherford, and Yancey also have been selected to participate in the state’s 21st Century Communities program.
Beyond the statistical factors that warrant designation as an at-risk county, these counties share:
Below-average population growth (Cherokee, at 20.5%, is closest to the state average and Mitchell is the slowest at 8.7%) Few college graduates—about half the state average of 22.5% of adults over twenty-five (Cherokee, 11%, Graham 11.2%, Mitchell, 12.2%, Rutherford 12.5%, Yancey 13.1% and Swain 13.9%) Low wages per worker (Graham has the lowest rate of wages per worker in the region and is only 68% of the state level) Continuing job loss—the at-risk counties lost 327 jobs in 2008 and gained 1,825 jobs
However, these counties have diverse patterns that defy the application of standard programs or the use of a single investment priority or option. For example:
County populations among the group range from 8,275 in Graham to 65,027 in Rutherford Three of the counties have only one incorporated municipality (thus, only one area served by public infrastructure) In two of the six, students exceed the national average on the SAT, but the other four fell below the state average, which is below that of the nation Manufacturing is the largest private employment sector in Graham, Rutherford, and Yancey.
Because the at-risk counties are dealing with economic distress, they naturally merit special consideration from the state. As opportunities arise, the state ARC program will work with the LDDs, local elected officials, and funding partners to aid the at-risk counties to improve their economic status.
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In addition, if the Congress authorizes special consideration for at-risk counties, the state may entertain requests for assistance up to seventy percent of the total project cost.
Distressed Areas
In 2010, portions of ten counties will have recognized "distressed areas." These areas are located in Ashe, Buncombe, Cherokee, Graham, Madison, McDowell, Rutherford, Surry, Swain, and Wilkes counties. (Of note, Cherokee, Graham, Rutherford, and Swain are also designated as at-risk counties.) ARC distressed areas are census tracts in transitional counties (counties that are neither distressed nor economically competitive) that qualify on both a selected measure of income (median family income – sixty-seven percent or less than the US average) and poverty (poverty rate – 150 percent or more of the US average). There are 643 qualifying census tracts in the thirteen states, seventeen of them are in NC.
The qualifying tracts in North Carolina are:
Ashe – tract 9703 (W of Lansing & State Road 88) Buncombe – 8 tracts in Asheville (S of I-240, W of College Street and E of Burton Street; N of I- 240, W of Flint Street and S of Leicester Highway; and N & E of Riverside Drive and W of US 19) Cherokee – tract 9906 (SW of Murphy & Hiwassee Lake) Graham – tract 9903 (South of Lake Santeetlah in the Snowbird Community) Madison – tract 102 (roughly along State Road 209, SW of Hot Springs, W of Marshall) McDowell – tract 9705 Marion (N of I-40, S of E. Court Street) of Hot Springs, W of Marshall) Rutherford – tract 9608 Forest City (N of 74, 74A Bypass, S. of 74 Business/Main Street) Surry – tract 9904 – Mount Airy (NW of Ararat River, S of W. Pine, E of 52) Swain – tract 9601 – (N of Jackson County, W of Haywood County, S. of TN line, E of Bryson City) Wilkes – tract 9606 – North Wilkesboro (between Main Street & Elkin Highway)
The state's project selection process will take this factor into consideration to ensure that ARC can continue to meet the Congressional directive to target half of the project funds to aid distressed counties and areas. Although they do not qualify under Commission policy for recognition, competitive counties contain areas that would have merited designation were they in transitional counties.
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Economically Strong Counties
With the passage of the Appalachian Regional Development Reform Act of 1998, the restrictions applied to assistance in economically strong counties eliminated most of the flexibility previously available to meet special needs identified in these counties. Previously, North Carolina's program staff had examined the information for economically competitive counties seeking to identify elements or patterns that could be replicated in other parts of the region to boost economic performance. However, the state’s numbers of competitive and attainment counties continue to decline and possibly, the answer to promoting other counties to attainment status does not lie in the statistics.
Attainment Counties
No North Carolina county meets criteria for designation in FY 2010 as “attainment."
Competitive Counties
The counties meeting criteria for designation in FY 2010 as “competitive” are Davie, Forsyth, Henderson, and Polk.
Examining the information about these four counties yields few common ties. Although all four had positive population growth, the median age in all four counties is older than the state average. Polk County has the oldest median age (forty-seven) and has nearly double the state’s percentage of population age sixty-five and older (in fact, Polk has the state’s highest percentage of people in that age bracket). All of the four counties’ income levels are above the state median household income. Each of the counties’ percentage of people in poverty increased during the 1990s, and the rate of increase in poverty exceeded the increase statewide.
All four counties are below the state average for both percentage of working-age population and male and female participation in the labor force. Though classified as competitive, some of the employment statistics show room for improvement. For example, indicators suggest a lack of economic diversification, with Davie, Henderson, and Polk counties exceeding the state average in goods- producing employment. And although unemployment rates in 2007 were below the state average for three of the four counties, job losses (2,021) for the four counties greatly exceeded job creation (710). In addition, Davie and Polk counties send at least fifty percent of their workforce out of the county for employment, with Polk leading the region in the percentage of the workforce commuting out of state for jobs.
Educational achievement may be the factor that sets this cluster of counties apart from the rest of Western North Carolina. The group (with the exception of Davie County) includes the region's counties with the highest levels of college-educated people—with one of every five residents possessing at least a bachelor’s degree. Students in all four counties exceeded the state’s average SAT score.
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Special attention in these counties will need to focus on efforts to adopt and adapt new techniques for dissemination throughout the region. That emphasis will require ongoing attention to education attainment, economic diversification, and provision of quality health care at affordable rates.
Regional Initiatives
trategies for the regional initiatives in telecommunications, internationalization of the economy, S civic development, and entrepreneurship have been integrated into the state’s strategies and are part of the state’s on-going program.
North Carolina was an early advocate and investor in telecommunications and the e-NC Authority now provides much of the leadership for that area. The North Carolina General Assembly authorized the continuation of the e-NC Authority (formerly the Rural Internet Access Authority) that was due to sunset in December 2003. Since the inception of the e-NC Authority (and its predecessor agency), the state has benefited from significant improvements in the availability of high-speed connectivity. The WNC-EdNet project will connect all the education institutions within the six far-western counties (including the Qualla Boundary Reservation of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians). With ARC support, a consortium led by the LDDs has secured the financing to connect this remote portion of the region with the global information resources available to students in metropolitan areas. Rutherford County also received a grant from ARC to connect their emergency service providers to high-speed broadband. This project will ensure first responders have access to necessary information in a timely manner.
Although entrepreneurship is no longer a formal regional initiative, the groundwork provided by the initiative continues to support economic development and the new asset-based development initiative. The North Carolina Department of Commerce has expanded the Business Servicenter initiated with ARC funds to help small and medium-size businesses navigate state and federal programs and regulations. The Servicenter now receives over 3,000 calls per month seeking assistance and provides additional resources through www.blnc.gov. Additional technical assistance and other resources are being developed through the Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship housed in the state’s Rural Economic Development Center. The state’s ARC program
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participates in this effort as part of the Rural Business Resource Alliance, a collaborative network of business service providers.
With the adoption in December 2004 of the regional initiative supporting asset-based economic development, North Carolina has been building on past investments and work to encourage communities to map their assets and create their own development strategies. If the Commission adopts a regional initiative to implement the regional Energy Blueprint, the state already is positioned to work towards those regional objectives. NC has made significant investments of state resources in developing energy efficiency and in promoting and using alternative energy sources. The NC ARC Program is working to begin a partnership with the NC Green Business Fund, NC Energy Office and the Energy Office at Appalachian State University to promote the initiatives identified in the Energy Blueprint.
Rationale
The objectives and strategies that follow are selected, based on elements in which an Appalachian investment:
can make a difference in the area selected, can match and enhance other state efforts, is in an area of importance to our local government partners, or can test out or research areas of interest.
Additional principles that guide North Carolina’s Appalachian Program include:
The Program’s mission of enhancing the economic development potential of the state’s 29 Appalachian counties; Program parameters established by the ARDA and the ARC Strategic Plan, Code, and guidelines, and Special attention directed toward aiding the state’s local government partners in the ARC program and their six local development districts.
Projects are selected through a process summarized in the Operations section that follows the Objectives and Strategies. All projects are selected based on implementing these objectives and strategies as specified by the performance measures that are part of the individual project proposals. Performance measures also must conform to the standards established by ARC to meet Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) requirements.
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ARC Goals and Objectives and NC Strategies
ARC Goal #1: Increase Job Opportunities and Per Capita Income in Appalachia to Reach Parity with the Nation
Strategic Objective 1.1: Foster Civic Entrepreneurship NC Strategies:
1.1.1 Assist Appalachian communities with the tools they need to strategically chart their future.
1.1.2 Assist multijurisdictional efforts that will provide more effective delivery of programs and/or services (especially in projects combining public with private and/or non-profit sectors).
1.1.3 Assist communities in implementing strategic planning efforts.
1.1.4 Encourage development and implementation of integrated planning efforts needed to secure additional investments in Appalachian communities.
1.1.5 Support innovative efforts to deliver entrepreneurial skills training to small and medium-sized firms.
1.1.6 Support programs that will ensure the availability of a workforce with the skills and abilities required to promote economic retention and growth.
Strategic Objective 1.2: Diversify the Economic Base NC Strategies:
1.2.1 Focus attention on building industries to create markets, identifying and aiding supplier chains, supporting base industries, and increasing and making more effective use of electronic commerce to enhance continued growth in targeted sectors
1.2.2 Encourage public-private sector partnerships and regional approaches to economic development, marketing, regional competitiveness, and business assistance
Strategic Objective 1.3: Enhance Entrepreneurial Activity in the Region NC Strategies:
1.3.1 Create an economic climate conducive to the birth, attraction, and retention of innovative, entrepreneurial firms which create new products and expand into new markets.
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1.3.2 Attract service delivery programs into a seamless system that is responsive to Appalachian North Carolina’s businesses’ and entrepreneurs’ needs.
1.3.3 Aid Appalachian communities in supporting a generation of new enterprises and nurturing their early development.
Strategic Objective 1.4: Develop and Market Strategic Assets for Local Economies NC Strategies: 1.4.1 Encourage development that maximizes economic potential while promoting a high quality of life and responsible management of natural resources.
1.4.2 Aid communities and organizations in targeting development activities that permit individuals and markets to grow while celebrating the region's natural resources and other assets.
1.4.3 Provide new opportunities to demonstrate cooperation with the private sector which have the potential to directly create new jobs and are replicable in other areas of the region or the state.
1.4.4 Encourage efforts which diversify the economic base, including asset-based development and energy –related projects.
Strategic Objective 1.5: Increase the Domestic and Global Competitiveness of the Existing Economic Base NC Strategies: 1.5.1 Aid Appalachian communities in developing and sustaining a favorable business climate supporting domestically and globally competitive enterprises.
1.5.2 Work through the ARC’s Export Trade Advisory Council and with other agencies to develop additional information resources and strategies to assist Appalachian firms
Strategic Objective 1.6: Foster the Development and Use of Innovative Technologies NC Strategies: 1.6.1 Encourage the use of telecommunications technology to improve the participation of Appalachian businesses in the marketplace.
1.6.2 Support energy-related projects.
Strategic Objective 1.7: Capitalize on the Economic Potential of the Appalachian Development Highway System NC Strategies: 1.7.1 Aid Appalachian communities in providing the physical infrastructure necessary for the creation or retention of jobs, especially those improvements linked with transportation corridors.
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1.7.2 Encourage and support opportunities for innovative use of multimodal transportation services and networks to facilitate economic expansion.
ARC Goal #2: Strengthen the Capacity of the People of Appalachia to Compete in the Global Economy
Strategic Objective 2.1: Foster Civic Entrepreneurship NC Strategies: 2.1.1 Ensure Appalachian communities will have the tools they need to strategically chart their future.
2.1.2 Assist multijurisdictional efforts that provide more effective delivery of programs and/or services (especially in projects combining public with private and/or non-profit sectors).
2.1.3 Assist communities in implementing strategic planning efforts.
2.1.4 Encourage the development and implementation of integrated planning efforts needed to secure additional investments in Appalachian communities.
Strategic Objective 2.2: Enhance Workforce Skills through Training NC Strategies: 2.2.1 Enhance Western North Carolina's workforce through focused training and lifelong learning so education and training programs prepare Appalachia’s residents for future employment—not just jobs currently available.
2.2.2 Assist in bridging gaps between other funding sources to provide training for a specific industrial skills area that would secure major private investments in new plants, operations, and jobs.
2.2.3 Assist in skill training operations that include a substantial commitment of private and local resources and have a regional application (regional significance and service area).
2.2.4 Provide increased access for students to technology applications that meet the needs of the state’s businesses.
2.2.5 Implement workforce readiness programs such as technologically literate workforce training and technological training in math and science that will ensure students are given the necessary skills to enable them to find and hold jobs.
2.2.6 Support local and regional efforts to better prepare students, out-of-school youths and adults for post-secondary level training.
2.2.7 Strengthen the delivery training programs in order to improve business retention, expansion and formation efforts.
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Strategic Objective 2.3: Increase Access to Quality Child Care and Early Childhood Education NC Strategies:
2.3.1 Aid efforts to ensure all Appalachian students will arrive at school healthy and ready to learn.
2.3.2 Assist Appalachian communities in activities promoting early childhood education for all children, especially those at risk.
2.3.3 Work with the agencies throughout Western North Carolina to aid in filling service gaps for the children of Appalachia.
2.3.4 Increase access to preventive health care for children.
Strategic Objective 2.4: Increase Educational Attainment and Achievement NC Strategies: 2.4.1 Assist Appalachian communities in achieving high education standards and eliciting parent and community involvement.
2.4.2 Assist Appalachian communities in activities promoting higher education standards that will aid in retaining students through graduation, in increasing post-secondary educational attainment, and/or involving citizens in their education systems.
2.4.3 Continue to support initiatives that will reduce school dropout rates.
Strategic Objective 2.5: Provide Access to Health-Care Professionals NC Strategies: 2.5.1 Increase the availability of primary care and/or obstetric services, especially in Western North Carolina’s Health Professionals Shortage Areas (HPSAs).
2.5.2 Promote the testing of new concepts and the replication of models that increase access to affordable, quality health care.
2.5.3 Work with the Office of Rural Health and Resource Development in locating health care professionals, with an emphasis on aiding primary care HPSAs, in Western North Carolina (using the J-1 program and other resources).
2.5.4 Work with the agencies throughout Western North Carolina to aid in filling service gaps for the children of Appalachia.
2.5.5 Work with the Office of Rural Health and Appalachian communities in filling provider gaps that limit access to quality care.
2.5.6 Encourage the establishment of partnerships and innovative arrangements among health care providers in order to assure quality health care resources.
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Strategic Objective 2.6: Promote Health through Wellness and Prevention NC Strategies: 2.6.1 Increase access to preventive health care for Western North Carolina’s residents, especially children
2.6.2 Promote the testing of new concepts and the replication of models that increase access to wellness and preventative health care.
2.6.3 Support projects which include wellness and preventive healthcare.
2.6.4 Encourage local leaders to develop innovative, cost-effective arrangements for delivery of healthcare services including regional approaches, privatization and servicer consolidation.
ARC Goal 3: Develop and Improve Appalachia’s Infrastructure to Make the Region Economically Competitive
Strategic Objective 3.1: Foster Civic Entrepreneurship NC Strategies: 3.1.1 Encourage local governments to demonstrate multi-jurisdictional economies of scale in current and future infrastructure investments.
3.1.2 Ensure Appalachian communities will have the tools they need to strategically chart their future.
3.1.3 Assist communities in implementing strategic planning efforts (especially in projects combining public with private and/or non-profit sectors and/or multijurisdictional efforts that will provide more effective delivery of programs and/or services).
3.1.4 Encourage development and implementation of integrated planning efforts needed to secure additional investments in Appalachian communities.
3.1.5 Assist in local efforts that will increase the physical and economic revitalization of communities, neighborhoods and downtowns.
Strategic Objective 3.2: Build and Enhance Basic Infrastructure NC Strategies: 3.2.1 Assist communities in water and sewer improvements that create and/or retain jobs.
3.2.2 Aid efforts to leverage additional funds that support development of needed infrastructure.
3.2.3 Assist communities in water and sewer improvements that alleviate health or environmental hazards (emphasizing those involving moratoria or special orders by
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consent), especially where these hazards constitute a barrier to continued economic development.
3.2.4 Assist communities in meeting federal and state pollution control requirements.
Strategic Objective 3.3: Increase the Accessibility and Use of Telecommunications Technology NC Strategies: 3.3.1 Assist North Carolina’s 29 Appalachian counties in charting a direction for telecommunications and securing assistance in implementing short- and longer-term strategies in community and economic development efforts.
3.3.2 Encourage communities and community leaders in developing the skills and tools necessary to employ existing and innovative telecommunications technology for assisting in community and economic development efforts.
3.3.3 Make strategic investments enhancing the availability and use of telecommunications technology.
3.3.4 Support telehealth as a means of universal access to comprehensive health care and as a tool for health education and training.
Strategic Objective 3.4: Build and Enhance Environmental Assets NC Strategies: 3.4.1 Encourage development that maximizes economic potential while promoting a high quality of life and responsible management of natural resources.
3.4.2 Aid communities and organizations in targeting development activities that permit individuals and markets to thrive while celebrating Western North Carolina's natural resources.
Strategic Objective 3.5: Promote the Development of an Intermodal Transportation Network NC Strategies: 3.5.1 Aid Appalachian communities in filling financing gaps to provide the physical infrastructure necessary for creation or retention of jobs, especially those improvements linked with transportation corridors.
3.5.2 Support local access road projects which would result in job creation or retention opportunities.
3.5.2 Encourage and support opportunities for innovative use of multimodal transportation services and networks to facilitate economic expansion.
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ARC Goal 4: Build the Appalachian Development Highway System to Reduce Appalachia’s Isolation
Strategic Objective 4.1: Foster Civic Entrepreneurship NC Strategies: 4.1.1 Encourage opportunities for innovative use of multimodal transportation services and networks to facilitate economic expansion.
4.1.2 Encourage Appalachian individuals and communities to pursue community capacity building in conjunction with developing the ADHS.
4.1.3 Ensure Appalachian communities will have the tools they need to strategically chart their future.
Strategic Objective 4.2: Promote On-Schedule Completion of the ADHS NC Strategies: 4.2.1 Work with NC DOT to identify and overcome barriers to the development of the ADHS.
State Operating Policies
n North Carolina, the level of ARC funds requested may not exceed 50 percent of the total project I cost; except: 1) in designated at-risk counties where the state determines the project is not feasible without the injection of a higher percentage of Appalachian dollars; and 2) in multijurisdictional projects that meet requirements set out in the Appalachian Regional Development Reform Act of 1998 (generally involving the participation of distressed counties). The level of ARC funds requested for projects in designated competitive counties may not exceed 30 percent of the total project cost unless justification is provided to meet exceptions in the ARC Code. Projects involving designated attainment counties must be multicounty in scope and meet the stringent criteria defined in the 1998 law.
Proposals for the following activities are not considered eligible: construction of schools, libraries, government offices, hospitals, community centers, social services facilities, law enforcement facilities, or day use recreation facilities. However, the jobs created by these and other facilities will be considered as part of the justification for water and wastewater projects. Generally cultural facilities and activities are not considered for funding; however, activities related to sustainable development initiatives may be considered where the jobs and wealth resulting from those activities can be documented and are equivalent to the performance measures generated by more traditional economic development and entrepreneurial activities.
The state plans to continue intensified efforts to obligate its ARC allocation in a timely manner and will be working with its LDDs, local governments, and basic agencies to achieve dual objectives of better serving applicants and more efficiently initiating ARC’s investments in North Carolina.
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General Information
Projects that are deemed “ready to go” will be accorded a higher priority. To meet this requirement, the applicant should have all other funding for the project committed.
Both the worth of the individual project in achieving the state’s objectives and the level of assistance are determined on a case-by-case basis.
Initial screening of proposals focuses on the following elements: o Feasibility of project approach; o Eligibility under ARC Code and Appalachian Act; o Consistency with state and Commission goals and strategies; o Program and economic impact (within the context of both the region and the area to be served).
ARC assistance is the “source of last resort.” As such, ARC funds can be used only where there is no other source of funding and/or where the Commission money will make a project feasible.
Project applications must include measurable outputs and outcomes that are consistent with federal performance measurement requirements.
Individuals and for-profit enterprises are not eligible for direct grant assistance but may benefit from and be served by the investment of ARC funds.
Special provisions related to operating projects:
o ARC funding for operating projects normally will be limited to start-up costs and two years of operation (three years of assistance); o No project will be guaranteed more than one year of support and applicants are advised that projects requesting multiple year funding generally will not be given a high priority; o Any project requesting start-up funds should be prepared to identify the sources that will underwrite the costs after the first year of Appalachian aid; o Generally, continuation projects (those operating in multiple years with no appreciable changes in project design or scope) should reduce the level of ARC support by at least ten percent of the amount of their previous grant or show other efforts to enhance the program attaining self-sufficiency; o Operating projects also will be encouraged to propose an 18-month initial project period. Since most projects need this additional time to meet unexpected start up delays, the proposed longer performance period should help avoid the need to extend project periods to meet the first year’s objectives;
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o Any project seeking continuation funding (a second or third application for assistance) will need to initiate discussions with the state’s ARC office at least a month in advance of the application submission deadline to determine if an application will be considered. Prior to seeking continuation consideration, the project sponsors should compile information documenting satisfactory performance in meeting the accepted output and outcome measures to support the request for continued assistance.
Decisions to consider projects for Appalachian funding are based on summary information that provides enough detail to enable the state ARC office to determine the proposal’s eligibility. Construction projects should have preliminary commitment of jobs and a preliminary engineering report prior to requesting consideration. Construction projects also must obtain the review and approval of another federal grant financing agency, and any ARC funding consideration is contingent upon obtaining the participation of another federal agency.
Funding and Match Guidance
The state has set a general guideline that ARC assistance will not exceed $300,000 for construction projects, $100,000 for non-construction projects and will constitute no more than 50 percent of the total project cost.
To comply with Congressional instructions, the matching requirements in multicounty projects will vary, depending on the designated economic status of the counties involved. Multicounty projects serving fewer than the 29 counties will be computed based on the average of the eligible financing level for the counties involved.
Cost overruns and significant changes of project scope on previously approved ARC projects generally will not be considered for funding. Changes required by design modifications or changes that will generate additional jobs will constitute rationales for consideration of overrun requests.
ARC funds cannot supplant or diminish the level of other funds (federal, state, or local) going into the Appalachian region or the project area. ARC funds cannot replace other funds to continue a project, nor may ARC funds be used to allow the diversion of existing resources to other purposes or to reduce the amount of bonds to be sold to finance local improvements. Timing Considerations
North Carolina’s Appalachian program will consider applications on a case by case basis. All applications must contain performance measures consistent with those set by the Commission in their Annual Performance Plan. The application cycle will have two project submittal deadlines which are as follows: 1) The North Carolina Appalachian program will host a Pre-application Workshop in December to discuss projects with potential applicants. The first request for proposals will be published in January and
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project proposals will be due mid-February; 2) The second request for proposals will be published in March and project proposals will be due in mid-April. Workshop information and application forms will be posted on the Department’s website (www.nccommerce.com/arc). This application process will allow the program to continue to be responsive to local needs while ensuring timely obligation of ARC funds.
Once a project is selected for North Carolina’s investment program, funds are reserved from the state’s allocation to meet the requested level of assistance. The reservation of funds for new projects will terminate if the completed application for the project has not been filed with the state ARC office by May.
Continuation projects (except LDD grants) must be submitted to the state’s ARC office no later than sixty working days prior to the end of the current grant period to retain the ARC funds reserved for them.
A construction project requiring the approval of another agency must be able to secure that approval not later than May or June if the agency is only providing administration of the project).
Applicants are encouraged to work closely with other agencies involved in their project to meet the cut- off dates. Proposals involving construction should be especially aware of the time constraints and applicants should alert their engineers to strictly observe these time deadlines.
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North Carolina Appalachian Regional Commission Program www.nccommerce.com/arc 40 | P a g e