Month: November 2021

NEWPORT, Tenn.—Leaders from rural, distressed, and at-risk counties gathered at the Carson Springs Baptist Conference Center on Friday, November 19 for the Governor’s Rural Opportunity Summit to discuss the revitalization of rural communities.

The annual meeting began in 2019 with the stated goal of improving the economic conditions of Tennessee’s rural communities. Because COVID prevented the summit last year, the Friday gathering was the second event of its kind.

During his visit to Cocke County, Gov. Bill Lee spoke at the summit, and toured the Tanner Building in Newport, where Walters State Community College added a campus in August 2020.

Deputy Chief of Staff to the governor Alec Richardson said there were two summits this year, split into east and west, with the goal of exchanging ideas between the state cabinet and local governments.

“We can’t do it without you guys on the ground, with everyday people, to try to make this work,” he said, speaking to a room of about 150 people. “The governor’s goal is to get rid of all distressed counties and make sure at-risk and distressed have as many opportunities as the transitional and the attainment counties that we have.”

Lee said he grew up in a rural community and does not want to see it lost, as he appreciates the lifestyle that counties like Cocke County provide for more than half the state. He rejects the opinion that rural America must be in a state of decline and said investment in those communities is key to elevating distressed counties.

“I think it’s difficult,” he said. “I think it’s challenging. I think there’s a lot of work that we have to do there, but it is worth it if we want to maintain all that is wonderful about our state.”

He said since taking office, he has seen Tennessee’s number of distressed counties shrink from 15 to nine, indicating that the state is heading in the right direction, but the summit is an opportunity to address the continuing problems of counties faced with job losses or stagnant economies.

“We’re not going to fix anything today,” he said, “but what we’re doing is opening lines of communication, knowing who one another are in a better way, networking with people that can partner together for you to make improvements for the people that you serve.”

Cocke County Mayor Crystal Ottinger said the summit gave her an opportunity to meet commissioners, and hear what they hope to do for rural and distressed communities.

When it was her turn to speak with commissioners, she was asked what keeps her up at night, and what the state could do for communities, to which Ottinger responded that lots of time is spent evaluating communities, but there is not much action once evaluations are over.

“We have a lot of binders with plans and evaluations, where we are, and where we want to be,” she said, “but then they stop right there, and we’re not seeing that last bit of action to implement things and change things. That’s what I’m really hoping to see.”

Ottinger says the main thing standing between planning and action on county goals is funding.

“We do have this ARP money coming,” she said, referring to federal money from the American Rescue Plan. “We are seeing some things change, so let’s go past the planning, past the evaluation, and let’s do some action items.”

She said during the summit she talked about grants that would help the county, but require a match.

“When you live in a county with a high poverty rate, that’s distressed – economically challenged – it’s hard to meet those matches,” Ottinger said. “You want to make sure whatever money you’re spending is spent properly, and not going to be something that sits on a shelf.”

Many grants have a match, she said, and the grants usually will not provide 100% funding. Some matches may be 25%, for example, or some may offer a 50-50 match, but in most cases the county has to put up a specified amount in order to receive the grants.

“Sometimes we don’t have that, so we talked to them about possibly having no-match grants or letting us use other moneys, whatever that may look like,” she said. “Some of our sales tax revenue that would normally go to the state, we would like to see maybe a little less of that go toward the state’s general coffers, and maybe give some of that back to the distressed counties.”

She said because Cocke County and others have been unable to meet those matches, the Association of County Mayors has tried, with no success, to sell the General Assembly on the idea of giving back some tax revenue in the form of grants, or money to match other grants.

“Right now, it would be nice to be able to utilize some of that to get more done for our communities,” Ottinger said.

She said that she had expressed this desire again, during a panel discussion, where she was met with silence. She laughed and said she understood they were not expecting such a direct question, and would need to evaluate the outcome.

“I think myself, and some of the other mayors that were there – having discussed this for a few years now – would have been a lot happier if they said, ‘Well yeah, we’ve been thinking about doing just that!’ But we weren’t discouraged,” Ottinger said, “because having that door of communication open, with the possibilities, has been really good for us. The governor has been good to listen on things like that.”

Ottinger said when she received economic data for Cocke County from the Appalachian Region Commission in 2019, she was informed by the state that if they repeated that improvement in 2020, then the county would have been on its way off the distressed list.

“Of course, then COVID hit,” she said, “and Conagra decided to shut down, so we are not as close as we were in 2019 to being off that list, but we’re still working toward our goals, and what we do need to do to get off the distressed list.”

During the summit, Ottinger had an opportunity to engage with the commissioners of health, workforce development, tourism, agriculture, and education.

“Workforce is a big issue,” she said. “They talked about dislocated worker opportunities.”

Ottinger said she wants an American Job Center in Cocke County, so that people do not have to drive to another county to receive benefits.

“They’re going to follow up and see what that would look like, to see if it’s a possibility,” she said.

Ottinger said the Commissioner of Health asked about any setbacks she has identified, or issues needing evaluation.

“We talked about the lack of nurses and paramedics,” she said. “We know that some other states are giving bonuses and things like that if people will become travel nurses and go down there, so I wanted to know if the state was going to do something similar. Are they getting bonuses? What are they doing?”

Ottinger said they told her they are not looking at bonuses, but the state is considering paying for school to give Tennessee an advantage, to help keep medical staff in place.

Addressing students in a Walters State classroom at the Tanner Building in Newport, Lee said he wanted to remind the students in attendance, and leaders in the room, what the day is about. He said the revitalization and investment efforts being discussed at the summit, along with coordination between state and local governments in general, are to the students’ benefit, upon whom Tennessee depends for a better future.

“That is what this is about, is creating an environment where you can be successful, and where you can get your education more efficiently at lower cost where you don’t have a bunch of debt when you get out of school,” he said. “I see all these leaders in the room who are reminded this is really about you. So thanks for taking advantage of it and for pursuing the opportunity.”

Ottinger said she is happy the governor and his aides got to see Newport on a sunny day to experience what Cocke County has to offer. She said while the governor, his cabinet and staff were in town, they visited businesses, ate at local restaurants, and planned to return.

“Cocke County showed up and showed out,” she said. “They couldn’t have been more impressed with the folks they met and the places they went.”

Ottinger said she is confident in her ability to continue to guide policy, and assist with keeping ARP goals on track as she nears the end of her term next year.

This story appeared in The Newport Plain Talk.

NEWPORT—Nonprofit organizations across the U.S. have sustained measurable losses because of COVID, affecting their ability to serve the communities that depend on them. Now, a federal plan could help them bounce back and restore their ability to continue helping those in need.

Cocke County held a special meeting on Thursday, November 11 to discuss how area community organizations can benefit from the American Rescue Plan.

“This is a rare opportunity for us to give you all money that’s much needed,” Blazer said, speaking to a room of directors and volunteers in the Chancery Courtroom at the Annex. “We’re doing everything we can to give you all access to that money.”

Applications were handed out that night, and are now available through the mayor’s office. Digital copies are also available by request through email. At the meeting, they said that the rules could change to become more or less restrictive, but there are basic regulatory requirements that the county and organizations must meet in order to receive aid.

“We’re still getting guidance from Nashville,” Blazer said. “All we do know is what our total amount of money is, and we kind of know some stipulations about what that’s going to look like.”

The money is being distributed to the county in two installments, Ottinger said, the first of which has already been received, but can not be spent until both halves of the money are distributed, and once the county knows how it will be spent. They expect the second half about one year from when the first half was received. Another stipulation, she said, is that all the money has to be spent by 2024, and projects completed by 2026.

Because this is a federal grant, Ottinger says, there are more regulations involved than a normal grant, including that the organization must meet the federal government’s definition of a nonprofit. She said most of the groups in attendance already meet that definition, or else they would not be considered nonprofits.

“If there are questions on whether you’re a nonprofit, or what kind of nonprofit you fall under, I have the site you would go to, to determine what you’re listed as,” she said. “If you do that and find out you’re not a nonprofit, I have the steps for you to start that process.”

The second, and most important requirement, Ottinger said, is the eligibility requirement. The local government must identify – and nonprofits must prove – whether there is a public health need that will be met, or an economic hardship that will be mitigated with the grant.

“I think most of us would be able to do that,” Ottinger said. “Everybody had hardships through COVID. Everybody realizes the things they didn’t have that they could have used then.”

Although hardships stemming from COVID may seem obvious to those who experienced it, there are challenges and questions involved as people are asked for the very first time to express it on paper.

Sunset Gap is a thrift store, food pantry, and resource center impacted by COVID, according to Director Audrey Jones, who said the application was unclear at first glance.

“I don’t know what all they’re needing. There’s no criteria with the application, really,” Jones said. “I hate to fill it out if I’m not going to be eligible for it.”

She said her thrift store was closed for a year, causing her organization to lose revenue in 2020 after people could no longer come in, directly affecting their ability to get food out to those in need.

“There’s a lot of people that did not get served,” she said, “because we took every dime we had and put it in our food pantry to feed the people. We had to stop our hot meal program, our thrift store, and our mission camps for the year.”

Although they are doing somewhat better this year, they are still not fully up and running. Grant money could help restore the operation to full capacity.

“Normally we take enough in – in mission camps, in donations – to purchase turkeys and hams for the holiday boxes,” she said. “We weren’t able to do that this year. We’re praying that we can for Christmas, but for Thanksgiving, there’s no way.”

Jones is submitting her application in the hopes that the county can help her get the necessary funding, so that next year Sunset Gap organizers can purchase those foods for the people who depend on them.

She said she will be filling out her application with help from the organization treasurer and board of directors, and will ask someone at the mayor’s office to look at it, too, so that before submission, at least three different people will have reviewed it.

Blazer said he can provide information or direct people to resources on how to write their applications to show they are eligible to receive assistance through the grant.

“In a lot of cases, you all are meeting these criteria,” he said. “It’s being creative enough to figure out a way to explain how you’re meeting those criteria.”

Ottinger said that because the county is required to show how every dollar is spent, they are hesitant to make it into a simple monetary grant. Instead, they are asking people to come up with lists of needed materials and equipment, to be purchased by the county, and turned over to the organization.

“You tell us what you want, we buy it, and then we give it to you,” Blazer said, “because of that whole auditing aspect—that we are audited, and the federal government is not auditing your organization, and your organization, and all these different organizations.”

This means nonprofit directors and treasurers need to compare their financial records for 2019, show a loss in 2020, and present those records along with a list of equipment or materials that would have been purchased with the difference—money not received, because of hardship caused by COVID.

“On this grant, you’re going to have to prove everything,” Ottinger said. “Not just for the application, but in the event you are awarded the grant, you have got to follow up with that, too.”

She said the next step is for the county to process the applications through an online portal opening in January, where there will be an opportunity for a pre-audit, ensuring that purchase and project proposals will meet the program standards, possibly giving leaders and applicants a chance to amend the proposal.

“They will give us feedback on whether or not they think that project would pass the standards and eligibility requirements the federal government has set,” she said. “They’re looking to do that from January to March or April.”

Ottinger said they estimate hearing back sometime in the summer or fall whether the projects are viable, after which point the purchases will be subject to regular county purchasing guidelines.

“You’re looking at fall or winter of next year, for whatever it is that you may request,” she said. “I know that’s pretty vague. Again, everything is [vague] right now. We are still waiting to get that final rule.”

She said in order to stay in compliance, there will be after-action reports requiring documentation and proof of how the purchases are being used. To satisfy the requirements of those reports, she cited examples of proof, such as service areas and ride logs, for an ambulance purchased through the grant by a volunteer EMS. As another example, she said food boxes purchased through the grant would have to be accounted for, and proven with logs and receipts, clearly showing that the organization has followed through with the grant’s stated purpose.

Marta Cogburn is also considering the application process. She is the director of Recovery Ministries at United Methodist Church, and said the mayor encouraged her to apply.

“We put our heads together,” Cogburn said, “and we purchased a lot of equipment just to do Zoom, and paying a Zoom license, and those kinds of things, and she thought that I could probably use money for that, so that was great.”

There are still open questions about how monetary relief can be dispersed, but the mayor is encouraging everyone to apply who can show hardship. However, she said applicants should not combine requests for monetary relief with an application requesting equipment or material assistance.

“Separate from your application – don’t mix it with your application – write us something that says, ‘Hey, this is what I would need actual monetary funding for,’” she said. “That way, if they change it or – there’s going to be a lot of other grants that come out of this. The states got money, there are federal grants as well, so there’s going to be additional opportunities out there. Go ahead and figure out what you might need, that we can’t do—but maybe one of the other entities can.”

A tax status determination letter is also needed to apply, Ottinger said, and there is still time to request one.

“You should have time to go online and request that,” she said. “If for some reason it’s Wednesday the 29th, and you’re still holding onto this because you don’t have that one thing, turn in your application, because there are still processes after you get it turned in.”

Ottinger said she is considering holding a public workshop to help answer more questions and guide applicants through the process.

Applications are due December 29. Blazer suggests not waiting until the last minute to start the paperwork, because gathering the necessary documents takes time.

This story appeared in The Newport Plain Talk.