FLATS - The Selection Committee has received qualifications for consultants interested in completing the long range transportation plan and transportation element of the County's comprehensive plan. By the end of next week, our reviews of submitted qualifications should be mostly completed with a recommendation to the Study Team and Policy Committee for a contractor.
Also, staff is almost ready to return a Title VI compliance review as requested by SCDOT. Title VI federal code language focuses on ensuring non-discrimination and is based on the 1964 Civil Rights Act. FLATS already has a complaint process as described in the Public Participation Process (pdf, p.13-14). However, FLATS staff may need additional training which SCDOT may offer after reviewing all of the surveys.
If you have any questions or comments about Title VI or have noticed any discrimination on transportation projects in Florence, please contact us. You may also reach us by phone: 843 676-8600 - ask for 'transportation study'.
And lastly, we are working up our first newsletter. In this age of e-mail, blogging and websites, who needs a newsletter? Well, it's just another way to communicate with those who like to read in print. The newsletter will highlight air quality, land use and the long range plan. [and we'll distribute it via e-mail and post it on the web]
Comprehensive Plan - The future land use element is moving right along. We are getting a lot of help, too. The Town of Olanta will be holding their public meeting on October 9th. The Town of Quinby may hold theirs in November as they continue the planning discussion from the last Tuesday into their October meeting. I hope all the residents will get out to the respective town council meetings to take action on the plan.
We are looking for a lot of answers. "Where would you take your family when they come to visit?" "Where do you avoid taking friends when they come to town?"
Questions like these provide insight into where the heart of a community is located as well as where portions of the community need some help.
Of course, we want your questions, too. We'll try to answer them truthfully based on our knowledge about sustainable neighborhoods.
Air Quality - We are golden! Our air quality has not spiked since July 17th. And my predictions were wrong, I admit... but there is one day that the ozone wasn't recorded, which I am checking.
If we keep our air quality in check for the remainder of this year, our design value to beat next year would be 79ppb (as opposed to this year at 77ppb).
Unfortunately, today our upstate neighbors are feeling depressed air quality.
Our awarded SC Urban and Community Forestry grant is being tapped for staff training next week. Three members will be attending the Carolina Arborist Workshop in Columbia on Thursday. It's an all-day seminar that presents standard tree maintenance practices for safety and nursery stock.
The forestry grant will also be utilized for membership, study material and certification into the Southern Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. We are also anticipating on attending a parking lot seminar in Charleston and the annual conference in Greenville, both at the end of October. The certification test will be offered in February.
As we have blogged before, the push for this grant was in response to the area's decreasing air quality coupled with less-than-sustainable development practices. Low impact development improves water and air quality as well as development costs. Contact us if you want to know when our next sustainable development presentation will be held.
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