THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 30, 1994 TAG: 9406300564
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940630 LENGTH: ELIZABETH CITY
The family assistance plan is at the heart of an application to earn seven of the state's poorest census tracts federal designation as a rural Enterprise Community.
{REST} The highly competitive program would bring a $3 million grant to communities in Pasquotank, Bertie, Tyrrell, Martin and Hertford counties and would give the region special attention from a broad range of state and federal programs.
About 250 applications are expected to be filed by today's deadline.
Thirty areas nationwide will be named rural Enterprise Communities in a White House announcement in early fall, U.S. officials said.
Despite the competition, local planners said they have high hopes for their application, formed over several months with participation from local citizens, development organizations and government officials.
``The activities and projects that have been developed are just outstanding,'' said Lenora Jarvis-Mackey, executive director of the Elizabeth City-based River City Community Development Corp. ``It's a real holistic approach to human development.''
The northeastern counties' application comes in the form of a 3-inch-thick document detailing more than 20 proposals for projects and studies with a total price tag approaching $50 million.
Also sent to Washington, D.C., was a 20-minute video that includes a pitch from Gov. James B. Hunt Jr.
The proposal emphasizes regional partnerships among agencies, businesses and governments to ``provide economic opportunities and capital access for residents of the Enterprise Community as well as people in the surrounding region,'' according to the plan's executive summary.
Under the proposal, each census tract would provide job training, employment, child care and housing opportunities to 100 families in a two-year cycle.
In return for the assistance, families would be expected to play a strong role in community development and help spread economic achievement.
Bunny Sanders, director of tourism development for the Northeast Regional Economic Development Commission and coordinator for the Enterprise Community application, said the family targeting concept is a local innovation.
``We don't want to fragment our resources,'' Sanders said. ``Our idea is, let's find out everything these families need, impact them holistically.''
Also included in the package are several area projects that are under way, such as the McMorrine Street revitalization project in Elizabeth City, or under consideration, such as a proposal for high-speed ferries to connect area harbor towns.
Each project proposal details who would be served, who would oversee the new program and how much it would cost.
Funding sources from a broad range of government agencies are identified.
The extensive planning means that much can be accomplished regardless of whether the area becomes an Enterprise Community, organizers said.
``Even if we don't get funded,'' Elizabeth City Planning Director Victor Sharpe said, ``the plan can still take place. . . . The concept could still be implemented.''
The purpose of the Enterprise Community process was ``to start folks talking and working together that have never been to the table before,'' Mackey said.
``This whole notion of a bottoms-up approach was really good,'' she said.
``You should plan with people and not for people.
``We're hoping that this dialogue will continue.''
{KEYWORDS} HOUSING POOR FAMILIES INDIGENT
by CNB