SOUTHEASTERN UTAH ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) PROFESSIONAL SERVICES – SINGLE FAMILY, SELF-HELP REHABILITATION PROGRAM
The Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments (SEUALG) is soliciting competitive proposals from qualified licensed contractors in the fields of general contractor/construction supervisor, excavation, cement and concrete finisher, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and material suppliers. The SEUALG is desirous that the successful contractors provide a full range of professional oversight services to assist in the successful completion of a variety of mutual self-help residential ground-up construction.
The deadline for submission is 9/30/2021 by 5:00 pm, For more information on submitting proposals and a full scope of work please contact Barbara Fausett at 435-613-0026 or by email at bfausett@seualg.utah.gov.
The successful contractor must agree to abide by the federal and state regulations pertaining to Equal Employment as set forth in EXECUTIVE ORDERS 11246, 11375, 11625 and 41 CFR Part 60-4, Section III of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 as amended and HUD Regulations at 24 CFR Part 135.
Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is announcing $3 billion in funding opportunities to invest in distressed and underserved communities impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. This historic investment, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, will support bottom-up, middle-out economic development focused on advancing equity, creating good-paying jobs, helping workers to develop in-demand skills, building economic resilience, and accelerating the economic recovery for the industries and communities hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.
EDA investments made under the American Rescue Plan will support the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment not just to build the American economy back to where it was before the pandemic, but to build back better and stronger. With these investments, communities across the country, including those historically left behind and left out, have the opportunity to excel. EDA will invest in infrastructure, innovation, and workforce training to create good-paying American jobs and strengthen our nation’s global economic competitiveness.
Today, EDA is announcing its Investing in America’s Communities programs:
Commerce and EDA, working with President Biden’s Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities, are also making a Coal Communities Commitment, allocating $300 million in American Rescue Plan funds (10 percent of the total EDA American Rescue Plan programs) to coal communities. This unprecedented investment in the economic development and diversification of these communities, which have powered America for more than a century, will ensure they have the resources to recover from the pandemic and will help create new jobs and opportunities, including through the development or expansion of new industry sectors.
To meet this commitment, EDA will allocate $100 million from the Build Back Better Regional Challenge and $200 million of Economic Adjustment Assistance Challenge to support coal communities.
EDA’s Investing in America’s Communities will:
Build Back Better by Investing in All of America: As communities begin to recover from the economic crisis, EDA is uniquely positioned to support broad-based, equitable, community-led economic development. Utilizing funds from the American Rescue Plan, EDA will launch a $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge. This program will capitalize on American ingenuity and American workers by providing a transformational investment to 20 to 30 regions across the country to revitalize their economies. The challenge will invite regional coalitions to apply for funding to implement three to eight projects aligned with a cohesive regional development strategy, totaling $25 million -$75 million, and up to $100 million. These regions will have the opportunity to accelerate recovery and inclusive economic growth by developing new industries or expanding existing ones through planning, infrastructure development, workforce training, innovation and commercialization, access to capital, and more.
EDA will allocate an additional $500 million provided by the American Rescue Plan for Economic Adjustment Assistance Challenge. This is EDA’s most flexible program and will award grants to hundreds of communities across the country to support efforts to plan, build, innovate, and put people back to work through projects tailored to meet local needs.
Additionally, EDA is committing $300 million across its American Rescue Plan programs to coal communities. EDA’s Coal Communities Commitment will help ensure that these communities are supported as they recover from the pandemic and create new jobs and opportunities, including through the creation or expansion of a new industry sector. EDA will meet this commitment by allocating $100 million from the Build Back Better Regional Challenge and $200 million of Economic Adjustment Assistance Challenge.
Get Americans Back to Work: The coronavirus pandemic has devastated the economic well-being of workers across the country. From big cities to small towns, Americans—particularly women, people of color, and low-wage workers—have faced economic insecurity and job loss. While the economy is showing signs of significant growth, there are still more than seven million fewer jobs in the United States than there were before the pandemic. EDA’s American Rescue Plan programs will get Americans back to work in good-paying jobs. From investing in worker training, to supporting manufacturing, to funding infrastructure projects, all six programs will put Americans back to work in communities across the country.
EDA’s Good Jobs Challenge addresses the structural barriers that American workers face head-on. The program will help to ensure that workers can develop in-demand skills that lead to good jobs and long-term careers. EDA will allocate $500 million to invest in building and strengthening regional workforce training systems and sector-based partnerships, with a focus on programs targeted at women, people of color, and historically underserved communities. EDA’s grantees will help workers complete training programs, including Registered Apprenticeships, and secure good-paying jobs by providing the wrap-around services that they need to succeed, like childcare and transportation. This program will encourage community organizations, training providers, and unions to partner with employers to create the talent pipeline to meet industry needs for today and the future and create concrete pathways for American workers to secure good-paying jobs.
Support Underserved Communities: The pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the inequalities that exist across and within our communities. Supporting underserved communities is fundamental to EDA’s work, and the Investing in America’s Communities programs will pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity by focusing on populations and underserved communities that have been denied full access to economic prosperity. The flexibility of funding and wide range of programs are designed to meet communities where they are in their economic development process. That could mean supporting planning projects to develop an economic vision for the future, breaking ground to develop the infrastructure needed to house industries or providing workforce training. EDA recently updated its investment priorities, the overarching framework that informs how EDA evaluates applications; equity is at the top of these priorities and every application will be reviewed through this lens.
Through the Indigenous Communities Challenge, EDA will allocate $100 million specifically for Indigenous communities, which were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. EDA will work hand-in-hand with Tribal Governments and Indigenous communities to develop and execute the economic development projects they need to recover from the pandemic and build economies for the future. Indigenous communities are also encouraged and eligible to apply to all of EDA’s other programs.
Accelerate the Recovery of Our Hardest-Hit Communities: EDA is focused on revitalizing the industries that have been hardest hit by the pandemic, including the travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation industries. $750 million of American Rescue Plan funds will be allocated to accelerate the recovery of the travel and tourism sector and the communities that rely on the industry. EDA will distribute $510 million in State Tourism Grants that will be dispersed quickly to address the immediate needs of the tourism industry by investing in marketing, infrastructure, workforce, and other projects to rejuvenate safe leisure, business, and international travel.
In addition, through Regional Tourism Grants, EDA allocates $240 million for competitive grants to further invest in infrastructure, workforce, or other projects to support recovery and resilience in the communities hardest hit by disruptions in the travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation sectors.
Plan for a Resilient Future: Building back better means developing equitable and resilient local economies that can withstand future economic shocks. EDA will allocate $59 million in State Planning grants to support this effort. Similarly, EDA has allocated $31 million for Communities of Practice and Research grants to evaluate implementation by EDA and its grantees and extend technical assistance to support EDA’s ability to work with and build capacity with new and existing grantees.
Through the implementation of these programs, EDA will play a central role in the economic recovery and growth of our nation as we work to build back better from the coronavirus pandemic. EDA will lead America’s economic development agenda and will promote innovation and competitiveness; provide opportunities for all Americans to thrive; and foster broad-based, equitable, and sustainable growth and prosperity in our economy.
Notices of Funding Opportunity for each challenge will be released shortly. All EDA American Rescue Plan funds must be awarded by September 2022.
We encourage all Americans to visit www.eda.gov/ARPA for more information on how to participate. Assistance is also available via our social media platforms, including Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube. Under the American Rescue Plan, EDA may make grants to state and local governmental entities, institutions of higher education, not-for-profit entities, and Tribes. EDA is not authorized to provide grants to individuals or for-profit entities.
The COVID-19 Joint Fiscal Information Team is responsible for sharing interagency information and resources pertaining to state and local government fiscal operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
UTAH COVID-19 JFIT NEWS
The Permanent Community Impact Board has approved a loan deferral policy for local Utah governments with CIB loans outstanding.
Access resources pertaining to state and local government fiscal operations during the COVID-19 pandemic: treasurer.utah.gov/jfit/resources/.
See Frequently Asked Questions pertaining to state and local government fiscal operations during the COVID-19 pandemic: treasurer.utah.gov/jfit/faq/.
Have your colleagues sign up to receive emails containing information and resources pertaining to government fiscal operations during the COVID-19 pandemic: treasurer.utah.gov/jfit/stay-informed/.
Learn more about Utah’s broader response to the coronavirus: coronavirus.utah.gov.
Encourage your colleagues to stay informed by signing up to receive emails containing information and resources pertaining to government fiscal operations during the COVID-19 pandemic:
The federal financial institution regulatory agencies (the agencies), in consultation with state financial regulators, issued a revised interagency statement encouraging financial institutions to work constructively with borrowers affected by COVID-19 and providing additional information regarding loan modifications. The revised statement also provides the agencies’ views on consumer protection considerations.
The revised statement clarifies the interaction between the interagency statement issued on March 22, 2020, and the temporary relief provided by Section 4013 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which was signed into law on March 27, 2020. Section 4013 allows financial institutions to suspend the requirements to classify certain loan modifications as troubled debt restructurings (TDRs). The revised statement also provides supervisory interpretations on past due and nonaccrual regulatory reporting of loan modification programs and regulatory capital.
The agencies encourage financial institutions to work with borrowers and will not criticize institutions for doing so in a safe-and-sound manner. The agencies view prudent loan modification programs offered to financial institution customers affected by COVID-19 as positive and proactive actions that can manage or mitigate adverse impacts on borrowers, and lead to improved loan performance and reduced credit risk.
The agencies’ examiners will exercise judgment in reviewing loan modifications, including TDRs, and will not automatically adversely risk rate credits that are affected by COVID-19, including those considered TDRs. Regardless of whether modifications are considered TDRs or are adversely classified, agency examiners will not criticize prudent efforts to modify terms on existing loans for affected customers.
Open enrollment begins October 15, 2019 and runs through December 7, 2019. To assist Medicare Beneficiaries with the process of evaluating current prescription drug plan options, a Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP) Counselor will be available at each of the Senior Centers in Grand, Carbon, and Emery Counties. Please review the below listed schedule to determine when they will be in your Community.
October 15, 2019 – Moab 11:30 am thru 1:30 pm at Senior Center
October 16, 2019 – Green River 11:30 am thru 1:30 pm at Senior Center
October 21, 2019 – Emery 11:30 am thru 1:30 pm at Senior Center
October 22, 2019 – Price 11:30 am thru 1:30 pm at Senior Center
October 28, 2019 – Ferron 11:30 am thru 1:30 pm at Senior Center
October 29, 2019 – Green River 11:30 am thru 1:30 pm at Senior Center
October 30, 2019 – Price 11:30 am thru 1:30 pm at Senior Center
November 4, 2019 – Huntington 11:30 am thru 1:30 pm at Senior Center
November 5, 2019 – East Carbon 11:30 am thru 1:30 pm at Senior Center
November 12, 2019 – Castle Dale 11:30 am thru 1:30 pm at Senior Center
November 12, 2019 – Moab 11:30 am thru 1:30 pm at Senior Center
November 18, 2019 – East Carbon 11:30 am thru 1:30 pm at Senior Center
November 19, 2019 – Castle Dale 11:30 am thru 1:30 pm at Senior Center
Please bring a list of your current prescription drugs and your Medicare Card.
Remember this is the only time to make changes to your Part D Plans unless there is a special enrollment period allowed just for you for various reasons. Please take the time to study and review your existing plan to determine if it will continue to be the best plan for you in 2020.
There may also be “Extra Help” available to assist with the costs of prescription drugs to those of you who may qualify. Please ask about this opportunity.
If you are unable to attend a scheduled enrollment date and have questions regarding a prescription drug plan, please contact Bill Engle at 435-613-0029 or 435-650-7742
The Energy Auditor (EA) is an experienced professional who evaluates the health and safety issues, durability, comfort and energy use of a residential building. The EA conducts advanced diagnostic tests, gathers and analyzes data, and creates models to draw conclusions and make recommendations to the client for improvements.
Knowledge, Skills & Ability’s :
Must have demonstrated construction skills including
Ability to evaluate construction materials and components
Determine air leakage of the building envelope.
Ability to evaluate health and safety issues
Combustion appliance venting procedures
Familiarity with building standards
Building science
Insulation effectiveness
Insulation R-values & Effective R-values
Insulation placement
OSHA safety requirements
General thermography principles.
HVAC distribution testing protocols
HVAC terminology
Manufacturer’s specifications
Distribution system design and materials
Forced air systems
Hydronic distribution
Mechanical ventilation systems (e.g., exhaust, supply, balanced).
Minimum Qualifications
Must have Intermediate computer skills,
Microsoft office software
Google software
Adobe Acrobat
Data entry skills, filing, and record keeping (through input with specific software).
Ability to perform apprentice level carpentry
Familiarity with customary construction tools
Window and door installation.
Insulating walls, attic and floors etc.
Ability to communicate both verbally and in writing, Maintain working relationships with co-workers, supervisors, and the public, ability to adhere to federal standards in a proactive manner
Must have a valid Utah state driver license to drive to individuals home in Carbon, Emery, Grand and San Juan counties, and other locations though out for periodic trainings. Must obtain BPI Energy auditor certification within 6 months or when the next testing is available.
(WX EA) will annual wage payed over 24 pay periods plus benefits; employer performs background check & drug test upon hire.
Southeastern Utah Association of Local Government press release
Date of release: 03-06-19 Contact person: Richard Shaw, contract public relations specialist Phone: 435 636 5343 Email: reddogpublish@gmail.com Small businesses can grow with Revolving Loan Funds
One of the largest problems small businesses have is finding money to upgrade their operation. The Southeastern Utah Economic Development District (SEUEDD) has a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) available for businesses that qualify, and that money can make all the difference to a small operation.
Take the Patio Drive In that is located in Blanding for instance.
The Patio Drive In was built and established in 1959. It has been through multiple owners and is currently owned by Ricky and Lana Arthur who have owned and operated it since 2009. Patio has a long history and is an iconic establishment in the town, popular with visitors and locals alike. It is the only restaurant still in business in Blanding from its time period that has never closed its doors in 60 years of operation. The menu at Patio, of classic burgers and fries, was established around 1960 (prior to that they served chili and chili dogs). Patio drive In currently offers a large variety of burgers, several of their own creations, and assortment of classic sandwiches, homemade onion rings, homemade fries, a large variety of salads with in-house dressings, and a small lean and green menu for those calorie conscience customers. Lana has had the opportunity to train with private chefs and with she will adding many new items to the menu.
The building needed some upgrading and they needed to enlarge the size of the building. They were able to obtain a SBA loan and a loan from the RLF Fund. They also were able to receive a HVAC grant and a GOED Fast Track Grant. This move has made the venue more appealing and modern, yet still set in the memory of the 1950’s.
“Our desire to rejuvenate the building, enlarge our dining area and create storage was based on our need to accommodate more customers,” said Lana Arthur. “We had simply outgrown our space. However, because of Patio’s extensive history we had no desire to move locations. We feel the upgrades to our current building were in our best interest.” The reason for the two loans? The SBA was willing to loan a percentage of the money they requested, but that wasn’t enough to do what they wanted to accomplish. Enter Beth McCue of the Small Business Development Center at USU/Moab.
“Beth realized their need and sent them to us to see if we could help,” said Dawna Houskeeper, of the South Eastern Association of Local Governments (SEUALG) who is the Program Manager for the RLF Loan Program. “They are some of the best business people I had ever met and we were able to use RLF money as gap funding so they could accomplish their goals.”
The funds that the RLF fund provided to the business was used largely to upgrade equipment and the electrical system, as well as put in a new venting system for the kitchen, which they had to do if they were going to do the major remodel they planned on.
The Patio Drive In experience is just one of many success stories that the RLF has been a part of over the years.
The RLF program was started in 1969 SEUALG and the Economic Development Administration (EDA). The program began when SEUALG secured a grant with matching money from the EDA to start the fund. Over the years money has been lent out and more often than not, been paid back in full, plus interest. The interest that has been paid from past loans has been used to grow the fund. The money available in the fund year after year differs since its balance depends on the status and amounts of previous loans. The two agencies work together, but all the qualifications, procedures and policies for lending are under the EDAs direction. The fund is designed to help a business start or expand current business’s to grow. Over the years many different kinds of businesses have benefited from the program. A few examples include convenience stores, mortuaries, monument builders, saddle tree builders, steel manufacturing, food trucks, and yurts.
“The qualifying businesses are unique and so is this loan program which was designed to help them,” explained Houskeeper.
One of the rules that apply when qualifying includes a documented denial from traditional banks or financial organizations.
Another condition is that the loan recipient will add one new full time job to the area for each $25,000 borrowed. The businesses have two years to create the jobs. The structuring for the kinds of employment expected to be created is such that the positions are in low to medium salary compensation levels.
“This helps not only to finance new business and growth, but also helps stimulate the economy by adding jobs,” she said.
Houskeeper said that the Patio Drive In was a prime candidate and that the business is now able to accommodate the crowds that are showing up at their door.
“Lana noticed that during the summer when sometimes the lines were out the door for their small place they would see people walking away,” said Houskeeper. “The expansion from being basically a drive up window with a couple of small booths where people could eat to a large dining area and upgraded equipment has made it so their business is better than ever.” “Lana’s next goal is to be able to create at least four full time jobs for employees that pay strong enough wages that would allow them to stay in the Blanding area.”
The RLF loan fund of SEUALG/SEUEDD is only available to businesses in the four counties SEUALG serves which are Carbon, Emery, Grand and San Juan.
Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments press release
Date of release: 02-14-19
Contact person: Richard Shaw, contract public relations specialist
Phone: 435 636 5343
Tristan Garvin works with Renee Raso on her taxes utilizing the VITA program.
VITA is there to help with taxes
Taxes are a fact of life, and for most people doing them is well…taxing. So the Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments (SEUALG) has a program, that under certain conditions, provides free tax preparation services to residents.
The program is called VITA which stands for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
One of the parameters to get this service is what kind of return is being prepared. There is a scope of work in which the taxes for people can be done. Usually most of the taxes done by the agency are fairly uncomplicated.
“To see if you qualify bring your taxes into one of our sites and one of our volunteers will check if it fits within our scope of work,” said Tristan Garvin, the manager of the program for the Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments (SEUALG). “Some of those that don’t qualify are those with Schedule F (farm taxes), taxes with rental properties included in them, certain business expenses, non taxable combat pay (among other among other types of military filings), foreign tax, as well some others. The income level that qualifies a taxpayer for this service is one who earned under $55,000 last year.”
Another factor is the amount of money a filer makes. The program has been set up to help low to moderate income taxpayers.
“The program is active in all the counties that SEUALG serves (San Juan, Grand, Emery and Carbon)” he explained. “There are sites in each county where people can take their taxes to be done. Tax documents will be prepared by trained volunteers that have professional supervision over them. Sometimes people become concerned about just anyone seeing their tax returns. In terms of privacy, all the volunteers and people associated with handling tax documents and information sign a confidentially agreement to not divulge information they may see when performing tax preparation. In addition, all those involved in tax preparation must be finger printed and have a background check before they can work on any persons taxes.”
Besides going to the physical sites themselves, individuals can also use websites affiliated with the program to do their own taxes.
“We encourage those that do not fall into the scope of work for VITA to go to Myfreetaxes.com (which is supported by the United Way) where the qualifying amount an individual makes is higher at $66,000 a year,” he said.
People also ask questions about what happens if something are errors with the tax preparation that is being performed by the volunteers.</divp
“VITA is a program is operated by the IRS,” he stated. “We report directly to an IRS employee, and the IRS takes full responsibility if anything goes wrong because of the tax preparation that is performed.”
The various physical sites have different kinds of staffing and hours. In San Juan there are six volunteers, in Moab and Emery County there are three and in Carbon County there are 15, 10 of which are students at USU Eastern under the direction of Henning Olsen, a Business Professor at the school. The other five volunteers come from a professional accounting firm located in town. To become a preparer, volunteers get 10 hours of instruction and must take a test to qualify to prepare taxes.
Last year sites in the region did 636 returns through all channels. The average income for the people that had their taxes done this way was $20,770. The total tax refunds that came back to the region amounted to $638,535 or an average refund of $1434.
Preparation services will began February 7th and will continue until April 15th.
Services this year will be available at the following locations, dates and times. Note that some sites work by appointment only, and that some hours of operation may be subject to change.
Emery County Food Bank: There are five sites and they are in Castle Dale (95 East Main in the old courthouse upstairs in the box office), Cleveland (City Hall, 130 West Main Street), Ferron (City Hall, 130 West Main Street), Green River (Epicenter, 180 South Broadway), and Huntington (Town Hall, 20 North Main Street). For an appointment call Sarah at 435-609-0549 for an appointment.
USU- Grand County Extension:
125 West 200 South
Moab, UT 84532
By appointment only. Call Mike at 435-259-7558.
USU-Eastern Site:
Reeves Building Room 130
500 East 400 North
Price, UT 84501
Open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11 am – 1 pm
Call Henning Olsen at 435-613-5219 for an appointment
Walk-ins are welcome
Carbon County Senior Center:
450 South Fairgrounds Road
Price, UT 84501
Wednesdays
Call Senior Center at 435-636-3202 for an appointment.
Mexican Water Chapter:
Highway 191 Milepost 2
Bluff, UT 84512
Call Chapter House at (435)650-0118 for an appointment.
Tristan Garvin works with Renee Raso on her taxes utilizing the VITA program.