urbanplanning

If I had to fix up a town, what would I do? Plenty of federal grants. Quinton Mitchell

  1. New City/Town Welcome Signs and bring out the history of the area
  2. Demolish and Scrap Materials from non-salvageable (derelict) buildings
  3. Promotional Video for Businesses/Tourism to help attract educated professionals/families
  4. Upgraded website
  5. Traffic Light improvements
  6. Sidewalk improvements
  7. Turning lane /round-a-bout improvements
  8. Handicap accessibility
  9. Sister City Status with a Foreign City (working with a Chamber of Commerce to help lure in foreign businesses such as developing office space, warehousing, etc. https://www.sistercities.org/)
  10. First Responder Coordination (Police, Fire, EMT Services, Hospitals, Pest Control, Poison Control, HAZMAT, any local National Guard Units etc.)
  11. Stockpile emergency shelters and have evacuation plans
  12. Church Meetings bringing religious leaders together to help with community service and organizing hiring events with churches so people can get community but also apply to jobs
  13. Mass Registration Drive to get businesses registered and educated about the Federal Procurement system so they can try to win additional business. SAM.gov, GSA, etc.
  14. Mass Registration Drive with local schools to run FAFSA reports to help students obtain Pell Grants and also get student athletes registered with the NCAA or NAIA Clearinghouse
  15. Strict Sex Offender Tracking and Check In Campaign Use existing taxes raised directly by the city (Municipal Option Sales Tax if applicable) or taxes obtained from the joint county and municipal Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) and the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) to fund city projects but outside of taxes there are many federal and state grants to help projects
    1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special-purpose_local-option_sales_tax
    2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor%E2%80%93council_government
    3. https://www.gacities.com/Resources/GMA-Handbooks-Publications/Handbook-for-Georgia-Mayors-and-Councilmembers/Part-Five-FINANCING-and-REVENUES/Municipal-Revenues.aspx
  16. Register the municipality itself with a DUNS Number, System for Award Management Profile, and Grants.gov account, and designate a person, such as someone in city finance and the grants office to manage the accounts. This will help with winning awards or contracts/grants
  17. Set up a Community Development and Grants Office within the municipal government, with a Federal, State, and Corporate Grants Coordinator/Specialist (competent in the FAR, Broad Agency Announcements, Grants, etc.), to help receive grants from agencies such as the DHHS Community Economic Development Program: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/programs/ced
  18. Establish or Work with any existing Chamber of Commerce that promotes the community’s business interests, improves networking, etc., where the city government works with local businesses over a comprehensive strategic vision that helps businesses with zoning, regulations, land management, grants for clean up etc. https://www.yorkdevco.com/news-&-media/p/item/39432/whats-the-difference-between-a-chamber-&-economic-development-corporation
  19. Get additional manpower to help with community renewal via AmeriCorps: https://americorps.gov/partner/funding-opportunities
  20. Cop (Community Oriented Policing) Hiring Program Grants from the DOJ: https://cops.usdoj.gov/chp
    1. School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP)
    2. COPS Anti-Heroin Task Force (AHTF)
  21. Environmental Clean-Up Grants from the EPA: https://www.epa.gov/cleanups/cleanup-grants-and-funding (and) https://www.epa.gov/grants
  22. Farming Grants, Loans and Assistance via the US Department of Agriculture: https://www.usda.gov/topics/farming/grants-and-loans 
  23. Lead Hazard Reduction Prgoram from the HUD: https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/spm/gmomgmt/grantsinfo/fundingopps/fy21_lhrgp
  24. Emergency Broadband Benefit Program from the FCC: https://www.fiercetelecom.com/regulatory/emergency-broadband-benefit-still-has-2-7b-out-3-2b-available
  25. Computers for Learning Program via GSA: https://computersforlearning.gov/ and https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/regions/welcome-to-the-new-england-region-1/region-1-newsroom/press-releases/gsas-computers-for-learning-program-benefits-local-school
  26. Under the FAST Act (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act) contract your state Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) of the federal DOT, and search for Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grants (which are renamed the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) program) for pedestrian and bicycle facilities, side walks, recreational trails, safe routes to school projects, community improvements such as historic preservation and vegetation management, and environmental mitigation related to storm-water and habitat connectivity.
  27. The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE Discretionary Grant program, provides a unique opportunity for the DOT to invest in road, rail, transit and port projects that promise to achieve national objectives. Previously known as the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) and Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grants, Congress has dedicated nearly $9.9 billion for thirteen rounds of National Infrastructure Investments to fund projects that have a significant local or regional impact. https://www.transportation.gov/RAISEgrants/about
    1. https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/toolkits/transportation/6/federal-funding/department-of-transportation
  28. Mobility Services for All Americans (MSAA) initiative the U.S. DOT fosters partnerships among service providers, local governments and other public, private, and non-profit organizations to share data and better manage resources to improve mobility. https://www.its.dot.gov/research_archives/msaa/index.htm
  29. Historic Preservation Opportunities via the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/how-to-list-a-property.htm
  30. Weatherization Assistance Program via the Department of Energy: https://www.energy.gov/eere/wap/weatherization-assistance-program (and) https://www.energy.gov/eere/wap/how-apply-weatherization-assistance
  31. Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) via the Department of Health and Human Services: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/low-income-home-energy-assistance-program-liheap
  32. Office of Community Services at the Department of Health and Human Services: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/programs
  33. Reach out the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for grants for efforts such as Affordable Housing, Veteran Housing Rehabilitation,  https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/spm/gmomgmt/grantsinfo/fundingopps