Centralina Council of Governments Presents Annual Awards
Centralina Council of Governments (CCOG) presented their Annual Awards at the Meeting of the CCOG Board of Delegates on February 9, 2011. The awards celebrate the work of member governments and honor the outstanding achievements which work collectively to achieve regional goals.
CCOG member governments were encouraged to nominate innovative projects from their jurisdictions which have contributed to significant and positive advancements in the area.
The panel of judges for the awards include: Vi Lyles, The Lee Institute; Theresa Salmen, ULI Charlotte and Bill Thunberg, owner of Alexander Zachary Jewelers and former Mayor of the Town of Mooresville. Selection of winners was based on: innovation and creativity, commitment to goals, contributions to regionalism, program successes and sustainable benefits, engagement of community members and interaction with public/private partners.
Award categories and winners include Local Government Efficiency & Effectiveness – Iredell County for their Project Access Initiative; Community Investment and Development - City of Gastonia for the Gaston Mall Connector Road Project and Service to Citizens – Town of Matthews for their Library volunteers Program. The Centralina Clean Fuels Coalition also presented their Clean Cities Initiatives award to God Bless the USA, Inc. in Union County.
Local Government Efficiency and Effectiveness – Iredell County
In February 2010, the Iredell County Health Department (ICHD) participated in a Public Health QI 101 course and learned Lean Six Sigma tools, methods and principles to advance the department’s system of storing, accessing and retrieving septic system permits. The old system involved a paper filing process that was time consuming with many steps and occasional inaccuracies. Converting hard copies of installed septic system permits into a digital format, in an
organized system, has provided instant access to permits and has improved customer satisfaction due to rapid access of information, shortening customer response times. The average time to find and access a paper permit was at least 30 minutes compared to seconds with the digital
format. This new system has improved employee satisfaction mainly because it has created efficiencies that now make the employee’s jobless frustrating. Customer satisfaction has also increased because copies of electronic permits can be instantly accessed and printed and/or e-mailed. Between May 2010 and January 2011, over 11,000 installed septic system permits have been digitized and the department continues to see an overall increase in employee efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Excellence in Community Investment and Development – City of Gastonia
Gaston Mall, built in 1967, was the first major mall complex constructed in Gastonia and has served as a major retail anchor on the eastern side of the City. In early 2007, the overall condition
of the mall structure prompted owners to look at a major redevelopment initiative. In order to attract
big box and junior anchor tenants, the internal, private mall road (the “connector road”) needed to be extended, connecting Cox Road to Franklin Boulevard, to open up vacant land for new development. The Gaston Mall Connector Road project represents a public/private partnership that will leverage approximately $20 million in private sector development. The City and County buy-in for the financing plan has allowed the project to progress and allowed the developer to attract and open new businesses, creating local jobs during and after construction. It is anticipated that the completion of the road will spur additional economic development in the general
vicinity, which in turn, will continue to add to the overall ad valorem tax base, and further provide
a positive rate of return for the City and County’s participation in the project. As a substantial side benefit, the connector road improvements helps divert traffic, which will improve local traffic flow and provide regional air quality benefits. This innovative approach to economic development is a model for public/private partnerships, creative financing, and overall coordination to leverage funds for public infrastructure, private investment, and job creation.
Excellence in Service to Citizens – Town of Matthews
In the spring of 2010, the Town of Matthews received word from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Library System that they would not be able to meet budget needs and the closing of the Matthews
branch library was imminent.
The Matthews branch, along with others in the county, were slated to close and the library system was asking the Town as well as other municipalities in the county to make significant funding contributions in order to save the closing of the branches.
Each year the library pays rent to the Town for occupying the space. During a Special Meeting of the Town Board on June 21, the Town offered to forgo the rent for the library for 2010-11. This amounted to $204,000. The Town also agreed to recruit and help train volunteers, which would allow the branch to stay open a minimum of five days a week.
The Town staff pulled together community members and library staff to begin working on a volunteer recruitment campaign. The Town rolled out posters, news releases, e-mail newsletters, Facebook postings and more, in an effort to recruit volunteers to staff the library. The goal was to have 50 volunteers who would begin training in September so that the fifth day of service could be added by October. However, the response was so great that the fifth day of service was added a month ahead of schedule.
In less than a year’s time, the Town of Matthews and the Matthews Library Branch have discovered the assets of being more than neighbors sharing a building. They are collectively
working on a long term friendship that benefits the entire community.
Excellence in Clean Cities Initiatives – God Bless the USA, Inc.
God Bless the USA, Incorporated, began operations in December of 2005 and has brought new and insightful developments to its industry. The company provides residential waste management services in the Union County (North Carolina) and Lancaster County (South Carolina) areas and is the only company that has a Hybrid Refuse Vehicle in the Carolinas.
In 2010, the company was the first in the southeastern United States to obtain a Hydraulic Hybrid Refuse Vehicle. This unique, advanced technology truck was purchased using stimulus funding through the bi-state Carolina Blues Skies and Green Jobs Initiative (CBS), coordinated by the Centralina Clean Fuels Coalition. This vehicle captures energy in a hydraulic tank system from the constant braking on its routes. This captured energy is recycled for use and is reused as the principal energy source to re-launch the truck between its many daily stops. This truck has achieved a 25% increase in fuel economy for the company.
God Bless the USA, Inc. continues to look for a cleaner fuel source through the acquisition of two compressed natural gas (CNG) refuse trucks (also through CBS funding) and the addition of a CNG refueling station at its base of operations. These trucks will reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 97%. An added benefit of the refueling station will be making the CNG fuel source available to the general public for use in other CNG vehicles.
Centralina Council of Governments is the state-designated lead regional organization of central Carolina's nine-county region. CCOG represents 70 municipal and county governments and encompasses a population of close to 1.85 million people. CCOG's mission is as the lead planning organization to coordinate and facilitate best practice solutions concerning regional growth and quality of life issues, and to provide valuable services to member organizations. CCOG is one of 17 regional councils in the state.
#####