Big news for DeKalb and Limestone counties as their economic statuses in the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has improved for the upcoming year making the areas eligible for different types of funding opportunities.

TARCOG’s Director of Economic Planning and Development Lee Terry said the biggest takeaways from the recently announced status changes is that DeKalb moved from At-Risk to Transitional and Limestone moved from Transitional to Competitive for FY2025.

“With the current rankings, the only state with more transitional counties than Alabama in the ARC is Pennsylvania,” Lee said. “And Alabama and Georgia are the only two states in the ARC that has counties in the attainment category.

ARC computes new county economic levels each fiscal year based on the most current data available at the beginning of the calendar year of computation. This is good news for the TARCOG Region as the areas economy continues to thrive, Lee said.

“While we acknowledge the positive growth, we continue to have 18 areas that we will continue to focus on with our member governments.,” he added.

Below are the FY2025 designations for each county in the TARCOG region.

• DeKalb County has been designated as a transitional county in fiscal year 2025. The maximum ARC share for projects funded in this county is 50 percent. This county has seven distressed areas in fiscal year 2025.
• Limestone County is designated as a competitive county in fiscal year 2025. The maximum ARC share for projects funded in this county is 30 percent. This county has no distressed areas in fiscal year 2025.
• Jackson County is designated as a transitional county in fiscal year 2025. The maximum ARC share for projects funded in this county is 50 percent. This county has seven distressed areas in fiscal year 2025
• Madison County is designated as a competitive county in fiscal year 2025. The maximum ARC share for projects funded in this county is 30 percent. This county has no distressed areas in fiscal year 2025.
• Marshall County is designated as a transitional county in fiscal year 2025. The maximum ARC share for projects funded in this county is 50 percent. This county has four distressed areas in fiscal year 2025.

Since 2007, ARC has used an index-based county economic classification system to identify and monitor the economic status of Appalachian counties. The system involves the creation of a national index of county economic status through a comparison between national averages and that of each county’s averages for three economic indicators:

• Three-year average unemployment rate
• Per capita market income
• Poverty rate

The resulting values are summed and averaged to create a composite index value for each county. Each county in the nation is then ranked, based on its composite index value, with higher values indicating higher levels of distress. Each Appalachian county is classified into one of five economic status designations, based on its position in the national ranking.

• Distressed counties are the most economically depressed counties. They rank in the worst 10 percent of the nation’s counties.
• At-Risk counties are those at risk of becoming economically distressed. They rank between the worst 10 percent and 25 percent of the nation’s counties.
• Transitional counties are those transitioning between strong and weak economies. They make up the largest economic status designation. Transitional counties rank between the worst 25 percent and the best 25 percent of the nation’s counties.
• Competitive counties are those that are able to compete in the national economy but are not in the highest 10 percent of the nation’s counties. Counties ranking between the best 10 percent and 25 percent of the nation’s counties are classified competitive.
• Attainment counties are the economically strongest counties. Counties ranking in the best 10 percent of the nation’s counties are classified attainment.

Preliminary survey results show that distracted driving is a top safety concern of drivers in Northeast Alabama as work continues on a new Regional Safety Action Plan for DeKalb, Jackson, Marshall and portions of Limestone and Madison counties.

“It’s been interesting to see the concerns of the people who use the roadways,” said TARCOG’s Economic Development and Planning Director Lee Terry. “Now that the surveys are completed, we can combine the public input with the statistical traffic crash data to create a realistic picture that will help guide suggestions for making our roads safer for all users.”

In recent months, along with the online and in-person surveys, TARCOG staff and the Alta Planning and Design team met with stakeholders throughout the TARCOG region as part of the Northeast Alabama Safe Streets for All project.

In person meetings were held with 36 key stakeholders in Scottsboro, Athens, Guntersville, Madison County, and Ft. Payne. During each of the meetings, the Alta team shared draft crash analysis findings and asked stakeholders for their feedback on what action items they would like to see in the Roadway Safety Action Plan.

Sara Kovachich, an ALTA planning associate, said the project team is synthesizing the survey feedback and incorporating comments that will inform the future plan. The plan is expected to be completed in late fall of this year.

There were 975 surveys collected online and in-person. As promised, participants were entered into a drawing to win a $100 Visa gift card. Because of the tremendous response, Sara said three $100 gift cards were authorized. The process of contacting the winners will begin in July and will be announced through TARCOG.

Sara said as the survey results are being finalized, some key points that stand out include distracted driving, high vehicle speeds and poorly maintained roads are at the top of driver’s safety concerns.

She said next steps include developing project lists of the top 20 high-injury corridors along Alabama Department of Transportation roadways and customized lists for each county and identifying safety improvements along those corridors.

“We’ll be creating a toolkit for safety practitioners to match safety improvements to corridors with the most significant safety concerns,” Sara said. “The plan will detail regional crash findings, project lists, public feedback, and implementation guidance and is estimated to be ready in a few months.”

The area project is funded by the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.

For more information or any questions or information requests about the regional safety plan process, please contact TARCOG Economic Development & Planning Staff at 256-830-0818.

There’s a new drone and pilot available for TARCOG members in search and rescue situations, as a mapping and surveying assistant, to conduct agricultural monitoring, and even photography.

“If someone requires an eye in the sky, I’m always happy to help in any way I can, said James King, associate planner and geospatial technician.

The other part of James’ job, as a colorblind map maker, is being sensitive to making maps as user-friendly and accessible as possible.

“These are both tremendous skills on our team,” said Lee Terry, director of Economic Development and Planning.

Getting the job

James talked about the innovative ways drone technology can be used in economic development and planning during his job interview at TARCOG. That he has experience using one sealed the deal.

“I was trained on drone piloting in college and had done so recreationally from time to time, so the mention of it during my interview and eventual hiring certainly opened up possibilities for TARCOG,” he said. “I had flown drones that ranged in size from smaller than your palm to the size of a go-cart and enjoyed every moment.”

Getting the drone

James said a few months after he was hire, TARCOG acquired its current drone, the Parrot Anafi AI.

“It’s a wonderful machine. It’s basically a big grasshopper with propellers and has a whole host of features that allow it to be used as a multi-mission platform,” James said. “The day after we got it, I took and passed the FAA’s Part 107 license test, which is the industry standard for commercial drone pilots.”

FAA certified

He calls it a fairly simple test but added it requires due diligence and plenty of attention to detail. It tests your knowledge of FAA regulations, understanding airspace restrictions, and piloting basics.

“Since then, I’ve used the drone mainly for event photography and location scouting. But this only scratches the surface of what the drone can do,” James said.

Available for TARCOG members

Michelle Jordan, TARCOG’s executive director, said she’s excited to share the drone with TARCOG members in DeKalb, Jackson, Limestone, Madison and Marshall counties when it’s needed.

“This is an additional service we can provide for those unique situations in which a drone may be a helpful or even easier solution,” she said. “This is our way to let all of our communities know that TARCOG has this technology and a licensed pilot to help when needed.”

How to request the drone

To request the service, contact James at james.king@tarcog.us

“I’m always happy to get the drone in the air,” James said. “It’s one of the coolest things I do here at TARCOG and the part of my job I enjoy the most, I’m always excited when someone asks me to put the drone that I call the “Rising Hopper” in the air.

When he’s not flying the drone, James works on accessible maps as part of plans for various member projects.

Maps can be hard to read

Accessible maps are important to James. He explains in graduate school he went through his master’s program as part of a cohort of five geospatial scientists.

“Of the five of us, two had either dyslexia/dyscalculia which is issues with words/processing numeric-related things, and two of us were colorblind. I’m one of the colorblind ones.”

In addition, as a teacher while in college, he had students with the same type of challenges as he and his cohort.

“From my students and my cohort, we learned that maps needed to be more accessible to account for people with our challenges,” James said.

Simple changes, big difference

What he learned is that people with Dyslexia have trouble with crowded typefaces, or fonts with extra flare that adds clutter to the letters.

“Simply changing a font doesn’t cure the issues people with dyslexia have in processing words, but using fonts that are simple, clear tends to remove some strain,” he said. “I also do my best not to clutter the maps with too many numbers, or if I do, be sure that they are simple and direct in expressing their data, and also follow the same simplified typeface conventions that I use for Dyslexia.”

As a colorblind mapmaker, he overcame this challenge by using color palates that can easily be distinguished.

This can be as a simple as using colors that will easily contrast from one another, to adding textures like hatch marks or dots to various features, to even utilizing less color overall.

Trying to make it easier

“There is no simple answer to making maps for everyone,” James said. “Mapmaking is a visual art like any other, and making sure that they can be understood by our clients, my coworkers, and as many people as possible is of paramount importance to me.”

Congratulations to the Town of Elkmont on the Ribbon Cutting on its brand-new Town Hall building on June 27. It took two and half years to complete the project and the town’s operations are expected to move into the new facility in July. Helping cut the ribbon were, from left, Bethany Shockney, president and chief executive officer of the Limestone Economic Development Association, Tonya Bryant, Elkmont town clerk and treasurer, Elkmont Councilman Chris Christopher, Elkmont Mayor Tracy Compton, holding his grandson, Collier Bushey, Elkmont Council members Jack Gilbert, Bernice Lockett, Dustin Clark, and Ronald Crist, Jr., and Pammie Jimmar, president of the Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce.

TARCOG was happy to be in attendance and see the new building.