Applicant Identification:
Piedmont
Triad Council of Governments (PTCOG)
Funding Requested:
Grant Type: Assessment
Total Dollar Amount: $200,000
Contamination: Hazardous Substances
Location:
The City of Thomasville, North Carolina and the city’s extra
territorial jurisdiction.
The Honorable Joe Bennett, Mayor
Phone (336)-475-4222
Piedmont Triad Council of Governments
Contact:
Project
Director/Principal Contact:
Piedmont Triad Council of Governments
Phone: (336) 294-4950; Fax: (336) 632-0457
Date
Submitted:
Project
Period: Three Years
Project area population:
·
Cooperative Partners:
W. Kelly Craver, City Manager Ken Hepler, Planning & Zoning
Administrator
City of
Phone: (336)
475-4222 Phone: (336) 475-4255
Craverk@ci.thomasville.nc.us Heplerk@ci.thomasville.nc.us
The following organizations have agreed to assist with different phases of the Brownfield program:
·
UNC Chapel Hill, Center
for Real Estate Development,
·
Preservation
·
·
Piedmont Triad
Partnership: Contact: Don Kirkman, Exec.
Dir., Phone: (800) 669-4556; Fax (336) 668-4556. The Partnership teams with the
local economic development offices in the region and with the North Carolina
Department of Commerce to provide economic, demographic, site, building and
labor information to companies nationally, and internationally.
·
NC Brownfields Program
of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR): Contact: Bruce Nicholson, Brownfields Program Manager,
Phone: (919) 508-8418; Fax: (919)
715-3605; Email: bruce.nicholson@ncmail.net. The North Carolina Brownfields Program
encourages the safe reuse of abandoned properties that have some measure of
environmental impairment. Under a "Brownfields agreement" with a
prospective developer, DENR defines the necessary cleanup and land management
actions, and the prospective developer receives liability protection that
allows him/her to obtain previously unobtainable loans for the project. The
program serves as a tool to turn these abandoned properties into productive
use.
·
·
·
NCDENR Winston
THRESHOLD
CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT GRANTS
A. Applicant Eligibility: The PTCOG (Region G) is one of 17 regional council of governments established by the North Carolina General Assembly for the purpose of regional planning and administration. The PTCOG has been in existence since 1968. In accordance with the Proposal Guidelines for Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants, PTCOG is a “Regional Council or group of General Purpose Units of Local Government,” and hence, is an eligible entity for the purpose of applying for this grant.
B.
Community Notification: PTCOG has
notified the region of this grant proposal on its website. Letters with draft proposals have been
distributed to the Thomasville Chamber of Commerce and the City of
C. Letter from the State: A letter from the North Carolina
Department of Environment and Natural Resources acknowledging PTCOG's
Brownfield proposal for
D. Site Eligibility and Property Ownership Eligibility: Since this proposal is not for a site-specific assessment, the proposal will proceed to the Ranking Criteria for Assessment Grants starting with the budget.
RANKING
CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT GRANTS
A. Grant Budget
The chart below outlines the proposed budget
for the PTCOG’s Brownfields proposal for the City of
|
TASK |
|||||||
|
budget category |
workplan development |
community involvement |
site notification, screening & discovery |
site inventory |
site selection |
environmental site assessments |
totals |
|
Personnel |
6,700 |
30,000 |
8,700 |
12,700 |
9,500 |
|
67,600 |
|
Fringe
Benefits |
1,776 |
7,920 |
2,305 |
3,365 |
2,518 |
|
17,884 |
|
Travel |
2,524 |
1,080 |
495 |
435 |
482 |
|
5,016 |
|
Equipment |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplies |
|
2,000 |
1,000 |
1,000 |
500 |
|
4,500 |
|
Contractual |
|
|
|
|
|
105,000 |
105,000 |
|
Other |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL |
11,000 |
41,000 |
12,500 |
17,500 |
13,000 |
105,000 |
200,000 |
A more detailed description of each task and
how the funds will be spent are provided below.
Budget
Tasks:
Work Plan Development: PTCOG will develop a work plan outlining the scope of the project with the City of Thomasville and will include appropriate measures of evaluation, assign key responsibilities, develop a stakeholder group and task force for implementation (one of which will be assigned the task of identifying funding sources and partners for cleanup and redevelopment phase, subsequent to the work completed under this grant) identify project deliverables, develop a schedule and budget summary. PTCOG expects that a third-party consultant, which will be selected through a competitive bidding process, will complete 50-60% of the work described in this proposal. Under travel section, funds are included to cover the cost to attend the annual national brownfields conference or other Brownfield conferences to remain current on the latest trends and techniques and apply them to the proposal if necessary.
Community
Involvement: Community involvement efforts are central to the success of any
Brownfield initiative. Considerable time
and money are allotted to this task to ensure all community stakeholders are
informed and involved. It is critically
important that stakeholders and the general public are aware of the
environmental issues, public health issues, and redevelopment potential of
Brownfield sites in
In addition to this, the PTCOG and the City
of
Site Discovery and Notification: The PTCOG has started the site discovery
process in
Site
Inventory GIS Database and Mapping – The PTCOG will work with the Thomasville Brownfield Steering Committee
and Thomasville Planning Department to collect data on identified
Brownfield sites to develop a GIS based inventory and maps of potential
sites. The database of information will
aid in the ranking and prioritization process so that sites with the greatest
potential for economic development and reduction of risk to human health and
the environment can be identified. The
database information will be shared with the City of
·
Existing land
use data from county tax assessor data
·
Owner
information, address
·
Accessibility
·
Current use;
Past uses
·
Environmental
hazards or contamination (known and suspected)
·
Previous assessments
·
Available
utilities
·
Known health
risks
Site Selection: (Screening, Ranking and
Reporting): A limited site characterization study will be
conducted. Activities during this
process involve historical research of the Brownfield property and a site
reconnaissance to determine if a threat of contamination may exist and what
further activities may be necessary. This is a limited assessment that will be
based on the ASTM transaction screening questionnaire, which may include
reviews of files, databases, and interviews with site representatives and
community members to identify past property owners and past uses. An on-site survey will be conducted to
determine the status of the property including recording existing site
features, structures, potential and apparent contamination source areas, and
potential environmentally sensitive areas.
The Thomasville Brownfield
Steering Committee, other stakeholders and the public will be involved in the
process of ranking and prioritizing selected sites for redevelopment using the
site selection criteria --with emphasis on positive local community impact,
public health benefit, environmental benefit, and economic development
potential. Once specific sites are
identified as a priority site, and selected for Phase I assessment (or Phase II
assessments if necessary) and potential redevelopment, the local community (which
will be directly impacted), social groups, and health professionals, will be
informed and involved in the decision making processes to insure a positive and
welcomed impact on the surrounding community.
Environmental
Assessments:
The majority of the funds of this grant will
be used to conduct Phase I and Phase II environmental assessments on sites
identified by the Brownfield Steering Committee and the general public as high
priority sites. PTCOG will qualify and
contract with third party consultants through a competitive bidding process to
conduct Phase I and II environmental assessments in accordance to the EPA’s All
Appropriate Inquires rules per 40 CFR Part 312 and the ASTM E-1527-05
standards. The PTCOG anticipates
performing up to 13 Phase I assessments at an approximate cost of $8,000 per
assessment for total of $104,000.
Another option is to conduct three Phase I assessments for $24,000
($8,000 per assessment) and two Phase II assessment on a select high priority
properties for $81,000 ($40,500 per Phase I assessments). All costs are estimated and dependant upon
the final list of selected properties and their complexities such as size and
potential degree of contamination, etc.
These costs are subject to change as we entertain and receive bids
received from environmental assessment firms.
B.
Community Need
B. 1. Community Descriptions:
City of
In 2005,
Textiles and furniture manufacturing have long been economic
pillars in
B. 2. Benefits: This grant proposal will target potential sites that have high economic development potential in terms of attracting new jobs, adding to tax base and other services and are consistent with the city’s growth and economic development plans. Targeted areas include those properties having strong public and business community support. This proposal will also target those properties posing health risks to adjacent neighborhoods. Since most abandoned buildings closed without regard to their environmental condition, this grant proposal seeks to ensure those living near Brownfield sites know the extent of contamination at these sites and are involved in the mitigation and restoration plans for these sites as well. All information on the properties or sites that are assessed and inventoried will be made public via the PTCOG website. PTCOG will work the Piedmont Triad Partnership, The Thomasville Chamber of Commerce, and other economic development agencies to market Brownfield sites to prospective purchasers to facilitate the turnaround of idle properties into contenders for economic investment.
B. 3. Brownfield
Impacts in
Below are the employment numbers for the City of
739 Layoffs/Closings and 35,339 Workers Displaced[2]
The announced closings and layoffs have left
In
· 1997: 35% of Tax Base from Industry/Commercial
· 2007: 13% of Tax base from Industry/ Commercial[3]
This
dramatic shift in tax base creates a tremendous tax burden on the residents of
This Brownfield proposal
seeks to reverse the negative economic trends by serving as a catalyst for
positive economic development and opportunity in
The redevelopment of Brownfield sites is likely to spur revitalization of surrounding neighborhoods which will encourage more business development opportunities in areas that sorely need access to more goods and services nearby. Potential Brownfield sites will continue to affect the surrounding neighborhood, in either a negative way or a positive way. This proposal seeks to create positive impact