November, 2010
In This Issue
DCA Team Wins Oglethorpe Progress Award
Free Training!
Stimulus Project update
DCA Wins Oglethorpe Progress Award
The Georgia Oglethorpe Award Process recognized the Georgia Dept. of Community Affairs with the 2010 Progress Award at ceremonies held in late October.
Georgia Energy Codes
Coweta New WaterFirst Community
Shop Locally
Solid Waste Surveys
POPULAR RESOURCES
American Recovery and Re-Investment Act
DCA Home
Exceeding Excellence
Commissioner Beatty accepts the award from Representative Jimmy Pruett (right) and Oglethorpe executive director Victoria
Taylor.
Commissioner Beatty accepted the award on behalf of DCA and all the staff members who invested much time in this Organizational Performance Excellence process. This is the third award DCA has received in the Oglethorpe Award process. The Georgia Oglethorpe Award is affiliated with the national Malcolm Baldridge Quality Improvement Program.
Did You Receive Excellent Service From A DCA Staffer? DCA's "Exceeding Excellence" Customer Service Recognition Program Allows You To Recognize A Job Very Well Done. Please consider nominating a DCA staffer that's gone above and beyond! DCA's "Exceeding Excellence" recognition program affords
Resolution Recognizes Keep Georgia Beautiful
Leaders from Keep South Fulton Beautiful attended the DCA October Board meeting. ViceChair Senator Donzella James presented a framed resolution that was introduced during the 2010 Legislative Session, recognizing the Keep Georgia Beautiful program, and the 76
DCA team members and our external customers the opportunity to recognize DCA team members for providing excellent customer service. Information is available from the DCA website front page - www.dca.ga.gov, Click on the "Customer Feedback" link and complete the information.
local affiliates. Shown accepting a framed photo of the occasion is DCA Board member Carolyn Crayton, who was instrumental in starting the Keep America Beautiful program over 30 years ago.
FREE Boundary & Annexation Survey Training
Cities that annex or de-annex territory are required by Georgia code (See OCGA 3636-3) to participate in the Census Bureau's Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) which will get underway later this year. Similarly, counties that make boundary adjustments with their neighbors or want to make corrections to official Census Bureau maps must also participate in BAS.The US Census Bureau and the State of Georgia offer FREE training and assistance to local governments on how to complete this important survey.
Providing Georgians with MORE housing choices! Now, more than ever, Georgia citizens need quick and easy access to affordable housing options and GeorgiaHousingSearch.org is here to help! Whether you are searching by price, number of bedrooms, or even proximity to work, school or transportation, finding a home that meets your needs keeps becoming easier with GeorgiaHousingSearch.org. There are thousands of vacant units in the rental housing market available statewide right now and GeorgiaHousingSearch.org is the key to linking tenants with landlords! The additions of Atlanta and Marietta Housing Authorities underscore the commitment to meeting community needs and have dramatically increased the pool of housing units listed on the site. This expansion is particularly critical for planning ahead to serve displaced persons during other crises, a vital function during hurricane season. GeorgiaHousingSearch.org offers FREE property posting, is bilingual, and has a toll-free number (877-4288844)
Register for Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) training to be presented at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs by the US Census Bureau. These halfday FREE classes will be held on Thursday and Friday, December 2 and December 3, 2010.The class will begin with a general overview of the Boundary and Annexation Survey and then you will receive hands-on training on how to complete BAS using one of two options: Option 1- receive hands-on training and assistance using Census Bureau digital BAS maps for your city or county (or sample maps) and their free MAF/TIGER Partnership Software; in this class you will also receive a demonstration using Census Bureau digital BAS maps with ESRI ArcGIS software. Four different class times are available; chose one. Option 2- receive hands-on training and assistance using the Census Bureau paper BAS maps for your city or county (or sample maps); one class is offered. Register now at http://www.georgiaplanning.com/DSS/BASTrain/ To obtain a list of your annexations for the current calendar year 2010, use the following link and tools http://www.georgiaplanning.com/boundary/annexreport/status/default2.aspx
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
2011 CDBG Applicants' Workshop
The Georgia Department of Community Affairs will be conducting its annual FY 2011 CDBG Applicants' Workshop, December 6 - 8, 2010 at the Marriott Macon City Center, 240 Coliseum Drive, Macon Georgia 31217.
The purpose of the workshop is to inform local government officials and other interested parties of the procedures to be used in preparing CDBG applications for the Annual Competition and in preparing CDBG Employment Incentive Program (EIP) and Redevelopment Fund set-aside applications. The workshop is designed to provide you an opportunity to learn the details involved in putting together a competitive application, to ask questions, and to share information.
Registration for the Applicants' Workshop is $125 for the entire workshop or $75 for Part II.
For more information, and to register for the workshop please go to http://www.dca.ga.gov/communities/CDBG/index.asp. The registration deadline is November 29th, a late fee is charged after this date.
SAFE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Stimulus Project Comes On Line Providing Housing for the Elderly
Georgia Department of Community Affairs and Commissioner Mike Beatty are proud
available to those individuals without internet access. The website also provides information on rental assistance, community resources and special needs housing. Landlords can register in a five-minute process or work with staff to register large-scale listings. Property owners are encouraged to post their affordable rental units to help make this site as useful as possible. For more information, please contact Sheila Barry at 404-679-4855 or sheila.barry@dca.state.ga.gov
to announce the first of the Georgia stimulus projects under the federal Tax Credit Exchange Program (TCEP) to receive its certificate of occupancy.
Antigua Place Phase II located in Moultrie became the first stimulus project to receive the certificate of occupancy for the 40 unit project reserved for the elderly. By receiving the certificate of occupancy, the project may be occupied for everyday use. Antigua Place Phase II consists of 20 one-bedroom and 20 two-bedroom apartments. The project received $2 million under the Tax Credit Exchange Program which was enacted under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The purpose of the program is to temporarily fill the gap left by a diminished demand for low income housing tax credits. The program allows construction or acquisition and rehabilitation of low income housing projects to continue where developers were unable to proceed due to insufficient financing. As of today, DCA has received approximately $76 million in TCEP Exchange funds.
For more information about Antigua Place Phase II, please visit DCA's website at
http://www.dca.ga.gov/housing/housingdevelopment/programs/2008AR009.asp
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE Georgia Energy Code Pilot Study Update
The State of Georgia was recently selected by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Building Energy Codes Program (BECP), in partnership with the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA), to participate in a "State Energy Code Compliance Pilot Study". The pilot study includes a survey of local energy code administrative practices, a plan review and onsite evaluations of 44 randomly chosen commercial buildings for compliance with ASHRAE 90.1.
The Department of Community Affairs (DCA) has selected a Compliance Working Group to help locate and acquire the required random sample buildings and to make recommendations regarding the results of the study. The group is comprised of stakeholders representing both the public and private sectors, such as, state and federal energy agencies, architect and engineers, general contractors and building officials. The first meeting of the Compliance Working Group was held on November 17th.
Participation in the study is crucial, and it comes with key benefits including energy code training for local personnel, the chance to identify areas for code improvement and the need for additional resources to support code compliance initiatives. The local jurisdictional survey is available online at www.energycodes.gov/GeorgiaJuristdictionalSurvey. If a community has any new commercial buildings or additions that are currently under construction which could be included in the study, please contact Bill Towson, Program Coordinator at (404) 679-1739 or bill.towson@dca.ga.gov.
20 Years of Bring One for the Chipper!
The Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation is proud to be the State with the most successful Christmas Tree Recycling program in the country! Be sure to register your local event on the Keep Georgia Beautiful website: http://www.dca.ga.gov/environmental/kgb/ . See you at the Chipper on January 8.
Coweta County Designated As Georgia's Twenty-First WaterFirstTM Community
Georgia has recognized the work of Coweta County and its entities in being wise stewards of water, by granting Coweta WaterFirstTM certification.
"It's a huge honor," said Tracy Thigpen of the Coweta County Water and Sewerage Authority. Thigpen, cross connection control supervisor for the authority, was the lead person working on the certification process. Saralyn Stafford and Deatre Denion of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs spoke to the Coweta County Board of Commissioners at the presentation of the WaterFirstTM certification. "The DCA is very proud of you for the work that you have put into this," said Stafford, assistant director of local government assistance for DCA, "I think this will be an asset also in your economic development efforts, to show that you are wise stewards of your water resources", Stafford said. Stafford said DCA Commissioner Mike Beatty wanted to "especially recognize" the leadership of the county commissioners in the certification effort, as well as all the other people who played leadership roles in "earning this WaterFirstTM designation. It was a lot of work and they deserve a round of applause," she said. "This was a team effort -- it wasn't just the water and sewerage authority," said Patricia Palmer, Coweta's public affairs director. The WaterFirstTM team also included the Coweta Extension Service, the Coweta County School System,
Newnan Utilities, and Coweta's environmental health and stormwater management departments.
The county was presented with two large highway signs announcing the WaterFirstTM designation. Water and Sewerage Authority General Manager Ellis Cadenhead said he hopes to have the signs on main gateways into the county.
There are eight major components to the WaterFirstTM program: watershed assessments, stormwater master planning, water supply planning, water supply protection, water conservation, wastewater treatment systems and management, residual biosolids, and water reclamation and reuse.
Becoming a WaterFirstTM certified community does have its privileges. Coweta County may now receive a lower interest rate, by one point, on any loans from the Georgia Environmental Financing Authority. Coweta may also apply for Community Development Block Grants every year, instead of every other year, and will receive bonus points when applying for grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Georgia Main Street and Better Hometown Communities say SHOP HERE!
Tis the season to be merry... and to get busy shopping on Main Street! Georgia's Main Street and Better Hometown
communities are busy planning Open Houses, Tree Lightings, Christmas Parades and much, much more - all
of which benefit your community.
Be sure to check out your area Main Street or Better Hometown city's calendar of events and go downtown and support your independent businesses by spending money locally!
1. Support community groups:Non-profit organizations receive an average 250% more support from smaller business owners than they do from large businesses.
2. Keep our community unique:Where we shop, where we eat and have fun -all of it makes our community home. Our one-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of this place. Our tourism businesses also benefit. "When people go on vacation they generally seek out destinations that offer them the sense of being someplace, not just anyplace. ~Richard Moe, former President, National Historic Preservation Trust
3. Reduce environmental impact:Locally owned businesses can make more local purchases requiring less transportation and generally set up shop in town or city centers as opposed to developing on the fringe. This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.
4. Create more good jobs:Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally and, in our community, provide the most jobs to residents.
5. Get better service:Local businesses often hire people with a better understanding of the products they are selling and take more time to get to know customers.
6. Invest in community:Local businesses are owned by people who live in the community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in the community's future.
7. Put your taxes to good use:Local businesses in town centers require comparatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of
public services as compared to nationally-owned stores entering the community. 8. Buy what you want, not what someone wants you to buy:A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices. 9. Encourage local prosperity:A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character. For more information on Main Street cities in Georgia, visit www.mainstreetgeorgia.org.
Annual Solid Waste Surveys Now Due
The Georgia Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Act of 1990 requires the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), with the cooperation of the Department of Natural Resources' Environmental Protection Division (EPD) and the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA), to report annually on the state of solid waste management in Georgia. In order to fulfill this requirement as accurately as possible, DCA asks that each local government complete an annual survey regarding its solid waste needs and plans. If you have not already completed your Solid Waste Management Annual Survey, please take the time to do so immediately. (The original due date was Sept. 30.) Local governments that do not complete this survey are not eligible to receive solid waste-related grants, loans and permits. For more information on the survey, visit http://www.dca.ga.gov/development/EnvironmentalManagement/programs/wastemanage.asp For assistance with your local government's User ID and Password or other surveyrelated questions, contact Joe Dunlop at joe.dunlop@dca.ga.gov or by phone at 404679-1598.
Regional Planning Partnership
In partnership with Georgia's Regional Commissions, the Office of Sustainable Development has created the Regional Planning Task Force, which provides opportunities for DCA and Regional Commission staff to learn from each other about the most critical issues we share. Each RC was represented at our first meeting held in August 2010. Discussions centered on regional resources and planning, and four different Regional Commissions shared success stories.Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 11, 2011, 1:00 - 3:30 PM at Middle Georgia RC in Macon. For more information, please contact Elizabeth Smith at 404-679-0666 or by email at Elizabeth.smith@dca.ga.gov.