May 2022 PADD Board of Directors Meeting Recap

The May PeADD Board of Directors Meeting took place Monday, May 9th at the PeADD office and virtually via Zoom. Mayor Jan Yonts, PeADD Board Secretary, chaired the meeting. Federal and state reports were given by Morgan Alvey of Senator McConnell’s office, Jason Hassert of Senator Paul’s office, Cory Elder of Congressman Comer’s office, Representative Chris Freeland, Alex Caudill from Department for Local Government, and Doug Taylor from Department of Rural and Municipal Aid.

Kyle Cunningham, PeADD Infrastructure Coordinator, presented the 5 Year Updated Draft of the Pennyrile Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan, which can be found at peadd.org/blog/2022/04/28/updated-draft-hazard-mitigation-plan. The plan is part of a process which is a comprehensive approach to reduce the effects of natural disasters and includes 33 cities and 9 counties in the Pennyrile region. Once the plan if finalized, a resolution will need to be passed by the PeADD board. Comments can be submitted to Amy Frogue or Kyle Cunningham.

Ms. Amy Frogue, Associate Director of Community & Economic Development, reminded the board of some grant application deadlines that are forthcoming. The Recreational Trails and Land and Water Conservation Program grant applications are due May 31, 2022. The Homeland Security Grant Program applications are due May 31, 2022 as well. She also stated that the Delta Regional Authority grant applications are due June 5, 2022. Ms. Frogue went on to say that CDBG grant applications are now open and are labor intensive, therefore anyone intending to apply for those grants should be working on them now. She then reminded the board if their county was interested in spay or neuter programs through their county animal shelter, those grant applications are open until July 15, 2022. She encouraged anyone who was interested in these grants, wanted more information, or needed assistance filling out applications to contact PeADD staff.

Ms. Frogue introduced and welcomed a new member to the PeADD staff. Chris Miller, a graduate of Austin Peay State University with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and a concentration in Sustainable Development. Mr. Miller, a U.S. Navy veteran joins the team as the new GIS / Community Development Specialist.

Ms. Sheila Clark, Director of the West Kentucky Workforce Board, stated the next workforce board meeting will be May 24, 2022 at 10 am and will be held virtually. Ms. Clark stated that agenda items will include Career Center Certifications and Youth RFP Proposals. She also stated that the Youth Review Committee, headed by George Radford, reviewed the four proposals that were submitted and they will be bringing those before the full board. Two more items she mentioned were the Interlocal Agreement and the Partnership Agreement that will need to be signed by the local judge executives.

Mr. Tom Sholar, Business Liaison for the WKWB discussed business service updates in the Pennyrile region. He stated that the On-the-Job Training program is booming at the moment and encouraged local officials to talk to their local industries about taking advantage of this program. He went on to discuss the success of regional job fairs that have taken place since June of 2021.
Mr. Derek Poor, Veterans Transition Liaison for the WKWB, spoke to the board regarding his role working with transitioning soldiers out of Ft. Campbell. He stated that he is largely located at the Ft. Campbell Transition Center with the Career Skills Programs or with the Spouse Employment Office. He stated that he also works with the Business Services teams to build relationships in the communities to assist with placing soldiers in the region.

Ms. Jill Collins, Director of the Pennyrile Area Agency on Aging and Independent Living introduced the guest speaker, Mr. Steve Jones, Leadership & Community Advocate who provided the board with a brief Racial Equity & Cultural Humility Training. The training is contractually required by the Department for Aging and Independent Living (DAIL).

Mr. Jones provided information outlining Justice Inequity. He stated that this is not a new topic although he feels that media is presenting as such. He stated that Social Justice is the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political, and social rights and opportunities. He went on to state the difference between equality and equity. He said that equality is when each individual is given the same resource or opportunity. He went on to say that equity recognizes that each individual has different circumstances and allocates the same resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome. He stated that some individuals need more resources to get to an equal outcome when looking at equity. Mr. Jones challenged the board to do what they can to bring all of their citizens along and to help everyone to have a better life.

Mr. Jason Vincent, Director of PeADD, reported that the Annual Meeting will occur next month on Monday, June 13, 2022 at the Bruce Convention Center with registration beginning at 5:30 and dinner and meeting beginning at 6 pm.  He stated that invitations are forthcoming. He mentioned that Doug Griffiths will be the guest speaker for the meeting. Mr. Vincent discussed the Innovative Readiness Training that will take place at Christian County Middle School from June 15-25, 2022. He also mentioned an article in NADO News featuring PeADD regarding water infrastructure. He stated how proud he was of the work the PeADD does and thanked NADO for recognizing it in the article.
Steve Jones, Leadership & Community Advocate

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