Transcript 9-20-13-Lowcountry-Council-of-Governments

Lowcountry Council of
Governments
Presentation
Sherry Carroll,
Hardeeville LCOG Representative
9-20-13
LCOG
One of ten regional councils in South
Carolina that serves a 4 county area
between Charleston and Savannah:
•Beaufort
•Colleton
•Hampton
•Jasper
LCOG Contact Information
Chris Bickley, LCOG ExecutiveDirector [email protected]
Lowcountry Council of Governments
PO Box 99
634 Campground Rd
Yemassee, SC 29945
Website: http://www.lowcountrycog.sc.gov/Pages/default.aspx
Phone: (843) 726-5536 FAX: (843) 726-5165
LCOG Budget
• Annual dues from each county
• State appropriation
• Federal, state, and local contracts for
service and programs
• Area-wide Water Quality Management
• Grants Development and Administration
• SCDOT Multi-modal Transportation
Planning
• EDA Revolving Loan Fund
• HUD Affordable Housing
LCOG’s 4 Program Areas
• Community and Economic
Development
• Workforce Development
• Planning
• Aging and Disability
LCOG Board of Directors
• 32 members
• Representatives from the 4 counties
• Representatives from every municipality
with a population of at least 1,000
• State legislators from the region may also
serve on the board
• Mayors from smaller towns may also serve
on the Board as non-voting members
LCOG Board of Directors
• Beaufort County—12 representatives
• Colleton County—7 representatives
• Hampton County—7 representatives
• Jasper County—5 representatives
• Sherry Carroll (Hardeeville Elected)
• Henry Etheridge (Jasper County
Elected)
• Henry Lawton, Sr. (Jasper County AtLarge)
• Joey Malphrus (Ridgeland Elected)
• Gwen Smith (Jasper County Minority)
LCOG Committees
• Executive Committee
(Gwen Smith—Chairman; Henry Etheridge)
• Aging Advisory Committee
(Henry Lawton, Sr.)
• Affordable Housing Advisory Committee
(Joey Malphrus)
• Transportation Committee
(Sherry Carroll & Henry Etheridge)
• Water Quality 208 Committee
(Henry Lawton, Sr.)
**SCARC Board
(All SC Cogs have representatives)
SC Revolving Loan Fund
RECENT CHANGE:
Lowcountry Council of Governments (LCOG) has joined the recently
formed South Carolina Revolving Loan Fund (SCRLF), which will be
operated by the Catawba Council of Governments. LCOG’s Economic
Development Administration (EDA) backed Revolving Loan Fund (RLF)
has long been an important asset to regional start-up and existing small
businesses. That will not change. Anyone interested in applying for an
RLF loan should contact Senior Lending Officer Randy Pellisero at 803327-9041 or by email [email protected] . Catawba COG offers
several additional business lending products that Lowcountry businesses
can now utilize. Interested business people can also contact us here at
LCOG by calling 843-726-5536 or email [email protected] .
Catawba Regional
Development Corporation
The Catawba Regional Development Corporation is a nonprofit
corporation established to provide supplemental government financing
for new or expanding businesses.
Its mission is to facilitate growth, expansion and diversification of the
local economy by providing financial assistance to start-up and
expanding businesses by offering a variety of loan programs including the
SBA 504 program, the Revolving Loan Fund Program, and the
Intermediary Relending Program. With these programs CRDC can
provide loans ranging from $30,000 to $4 million. In addition, the
Development Corporation also oversees a Brownfields Program
specifically structured to provide funding for the redevelopment of
properties which may be inhibited by the presence of hazardous
substances, pollutants, or contaminates.
CRDC’s lending staff is experienced in many government loan programs
and can provide advice and counsel to business owners. For more
lending information contact Randy Pellisero at 803-327-9041.
Community and
Economic Development
• Serves as administering agency for the Lowcountry Economic
Development District
• Provides resources to help local governments and their
agencies bolster the local economy
• Administers and/or provides technical assistance to federal
grant programs for the Economic Development
Administration, community development block grants and
others
• Administers the Lowcountry Regional HOME Consortium
(LRHC) program to promote and increase affordable housing
LCOG Staff—Community and
Economic Development
• Holly Crews, C&ED Specialist
[email protected]
• Rhonda Davis, C&ED Technician
[email protected]
• Barbara Johnson, Affordable Housing
Manager [email protected]
• Michelle Knight, C&ED Director
[email protected]
Workforce Development
• Focuses on growing the regional economy by providing a skilled
workforce to existing and new businesses
• Funded primarily through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), it
provides services to both employers and job seekers.
• Lowcountry WIA (LWIA) services are designed and governed by the
Lowcountry Workforce Investment Board (LWIB), which is
representative of the four counties, government agencies,
education and local businesses. The LWIB maintains a business
majority and is chaired by business representatives.
• Lowcountry WIA is a strong and vital economic development tool
that benefits local businesses and job seekers at all levels. It
works with the South Carolina Department of Employment and
Workforce and other important regional partners to provide direct
client services and support.
• The program administrative office is at LCOG.
LCOG Staff—Workforce Development
• Hank Amundson, Workforce Development Director
[email protected]
• Shelly Campbell, Workforce Development
Performance & Data Manager
[email protected]
• Tracey Jones-Polite, Workforce MIS Manager
[email protected]
• Lytrelle Shaw, Workforce Developer for
Jasper/Hampton [email protected]
• Marcia Thomas, Youth Workforce Developer for
Jasper/Hampton [email protected]
Planning
• Handle a variety of projects in the
areas of community and regional
planning, transportation, housing,
economic diversification,
infrastructure, and history
• Regional demographers and
statisticians
LCOG Staff--Planning
• Ginnie Kozak, Planning Director
[email protected]
• Jonathan Sherwood, Community & Regional
Planner
[email protected]
Aging and Disability Resource
Center of the Lowcountry
• Family Caregiver Advocate—provides support, information, education,
and services to family caregivers
• Information, Referral, & Assistance—one-stop approach to provide
services to seniors and their caregivers throughout the region
• Insurance Counseling Assistance and Referral for Elders (I-CARE)—
provides health insurance counseling for Medicare, Medicare
Supplement, Medicare Savings, Medicare Advantage Plans, and Senior
Medicare fraud programs. Also assists with Medicare Part D Drug
coverage as well as enrollment
• Long-Term Care Ombudman—seeks to improve the quality of life and
care of long-term care facility residents (nursing homes and assisted
living centers)
LCOG Staff—Aging and Disability
• Karen Anderson, Information & Referral
Specialist [email protected]
• Gwen Coath, Long-Term Care Ombudsman
[email protected]
• Claire Glasson, Family Caregiver Advocate
[email protected]
• Susie Gordon, ICARE Coordinator
[email protected]
Current Lowcountry
Services/Projects
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CDBG Drainage Project ($500,000)
CDBG Extension of sewage services in Purrysburg ($500,000)
CDBG DHEC Addition in Jasper County ($500,000)
Hwy 17 Widening Project (multi-million dollar project)
Affordable Housing projects
Habitat for Humanities projects
Home delivered and group dining meals
Transportation and legal services
Employment and workforce services (Ridgeland)
Small business loans
Proposed CDBG Projects
• Hardeeville Library
• Downtown Revitalization—target
a specific area for phase 1