Author: Alexis Gundersen

ALDOT has announced ATRIP-II applications for transportation projects costing up to $2,000,000 are now available online.

ATRIP-II is an ALDOT administered transportation infrastructure grant program for projects of local interest created in the Rebuild Alabama Act of 2019. Transportation projects which improve any state-maintained highway system are acceptable projects eligible for grant funding. Local roads and bridges are not eligible except for incidental work that is necessary in order to complete the improvements to a state route.

Who may apply? Any local county or municipal government within the State of Alabama is eligible to apply.  Local governments can apply for only one project. Multiple submissions will not be accepted.

Applications available here: https://www.dot.state.al.us/programs/ATRIPII.html

All applications must be submitted electronically no later than 5:00 pm on November 17, 2023. Applications should be emailed to atrip2app@dot.state.al.us in PDF format (25 MB max per email, multiple emails may be sent if necessary) with “FY 2024 ATRIP-II Application – Sponsor Name” in the subject line.

For more information contact, Will Balderrama at will.balderrama@tarcog.us

Center for Workforce Inclusion, Inc. awards grant directed to assist in workforce training for jobseekers 55+

Top of Alabama Regional Council of Governments (TARCOG) was awarded a $583,722 Workforce Inclusion grant from the Center for Workforce Inclusion, Inc. (Center). Almost 90 percent of this grant – originally from the U.S. Department of Labor – will provide temporary employment to no less than 105 low-income older Alabamians living in DeKalb, Jackson, Limestone, Madison, and Marshall Counties. These older adults will participate in the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), a cornerstone program of the Older Americans Act and the only federal job training program targeted exclusively to low-income, older jobseekers.

In its 59th year, SCSEP promotes personal dignity and self-sufficiency through work. The training attained through SCSEP provides in-demand skills for older, unemployed, low-income Americans. The Center, a top-tier U.S. Department of Labor National Grantee of SCSEP, works through a network of local partners delivering career training programs for eligible 50-plus-year- old workers across the United States. To date, the Center has served more than 500,000 eligible older workers in permanent employment through the SCSEP program. “Our long-term, local partners are a key to the strength of the Center and provide the systems to train older Americans into strategic advantage for employers across the country.” said Gary A. Officer, Center for Workforce Inclusion President, and CEO. “We are very pleased to continue our support of the Top of Alabama Regional Council of Governments for the 27th consecutive year.”

“SCSEP helps our community’s eligible 55+ jobseekers learn news skills and refresh old ones when they are coming back into the workforce,” said Michelle Jordan, Executive Director of TARCOG. At their training sites, SCSEP job seekers help local community, faith-based, and public agencies carry out their mission, such as the Scottsboro Senior Center, His Way Recovery in Huntsville, the United Givers Fund in DeKalb County, Athens Activity Center and the

Albertville Career Center. By working in SCSEP positions, SCSEP is providing hope and dignity to low-income, older job seekers who have the toughest employment challenges. This grant from the Center is essential to our being able to deliver these vital workforce training services to our community.”

About the Center for Workforce Inclusion

For 60 years, the Center for Workforce Inclusion has worked with older, low-income job seekers overlooked by traditional workforce programs. We trace our roots to the National Council of Senior Citizens, launched in 1962 to advocate for older Americans. We are now the only national entity dedicated exclusively to the workforce development needs of underserved workers over the age of 50. Since our founding, we have empowered nearly 500,000 clients to attain in- demand skills, overcome barriers to employment, and secure employment with more than 5,000 employers in industries that range from financial services, hospitality, and office administration to social services, health care, transportation, and manufacturing. For more information, please visit www.centerforworkforceinclusion.org.

The Top of Alabama Regional Council of Governments (TARCOG) is seeking proposals from firms and individuals to conduct a regional transportation safety action plan in partnership with TARCOG’s Rural Planning Organization (RPO). TARCOG was the recipient of U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT) Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) funding to assist our member governments in effectively identifying and addressing transportation safety concerns and ready them for potential implementation funding.

The Request for Proposal information and instructions is hyperlinked below. It is imperative that Respondents examine and become familiar with the SS4A grant program requirements established by US DOT Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Funding for the project has been made possible through this grant and is contingent on strict conformance to the guidelines set forth by FHWA.  Respondents shall comply with the stated Federal Grant Requirements.

Questions related to this RFP should be directed to SS4A Project Coordinator, Phoenix Robinson at phoenix.robinson@tarcog.us.

Responses shall not exceed 20 pages in length (excluding attachments) and must be submitted to the attention of the SS4A Project Coordinator electronically by 5:00 p.m. central, June 23, 2023. Responses received after the stated deadline will not be considered.

Download SS4A Request for Proposal (RFP) Instructions

FAQ’s

TARCOG and the Rural Planning Organization are announcing its meeting schedule for the State Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) outreach meetings. Meetings will be held across the region in each county. These meetings will be in coordination with the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT).

The STIP is a long-range plan that assesses the State’s transportation system and presents plans for improvement and maintenance. The document will provide a means to display the State’s current assets and examine where work will be needed in the future. Alabama’s transportation infrastructure includes the highway system, transit and rail lines, bicycle and pedestrian operations, freight operations, airports, and river and seaports. STIP Flyer

TARCOG and ALDOT are seeking citizen participation at these meetings.

Limestone/Madison Counties 

Jackson/ Dekalb

Marshall County

In our role as the Rural Planning Organization (RPO), TARCOG serves as the clearinghouse for all Section 5310 applications received from transit providers in both in the Huntsville Urbanized Area (City of Huntsville and Madison County) and in the rest of our five-county region on behalf of the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT).  Section 5310 Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program projects must be derived from a locally developed, Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan (HSCTP) and endorsed by TARCOG to be eligible for funding consideration.

Full Section 5310 application information can be found at: www.dot.state.al.us/programs/enhancedmobility.html

Completed applications must be received by TARCOG at 7037 Old Madison Pike, Suite 450, Huntsville, AL 35806 by 5:00 p.m. June 1, 2023, to be endorsed and subsequently forwarded to ALDOT.  For the current TARCOG Human Services Coordinated Transit Plan and ALDOT Section 5310 memos, please see below.

HSCTP Plan

Statewide Memo

Huntsville Urbanized Area Memo

Please contact Sara James at sara.james@tarcog.us with any questions.

The Draft Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for the Top of Alabama Regional Council of Governments (TARCOG) five county region is now available. The 30-day public review/comment period begins April 3, 2023, and ends May 3, 2023.

The TARCOG CEDS is a five-year plan serving both as a guiding vision and a “blueprint” for the economic growth of the region and as a benchmark with which to measure growth and success. The CEDS provides a current picture of the status of the region’s economy and documents progress towards economic development goals.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the development of our CEDS. This was an intensive and locally rooted process involving multiple community and stakeholder meetings to gather valuable input to develop TARCOG’s region wide goals and vision for economic development objectives over the next five years.

Please email any comments and/or feedback to Economic Development and Planning Director, Sara James at sara.james@tarcog.us by the end of the comment period.

CEDS DRAFT PDF