Cherokee County hosts the East Alabama Regional Planning Commission
The March Board Meeting of the East Alabama Regional Planning Commission took place on the Gadsden State Cherokee Campus in the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce meeting room on Wednesday, March 22nd. The meeting was led by Centre Mayor Tony Wilkie, who also serves as the Chairman of the EARPDC Board. Judge Kirk Day serves as the EARPDC Treasurer and presented his report.
EARPDC CEO, Albertha Grant, said the board had been looking forward to visiting Cherokee County. The Board is planning on visiting other counties in the future to hold other board meetings. EARPDC covers a 12 county region including Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Etowah, Randolph, Talladega, and Tallapoosa Counties.
Mayor Wilkie recognized three EARPDC employees for their years of service. Reports were given by staff directors of each department. CEO, Mrs Grant, showed a video showcasing what EARPDC has to offer to help communities and the region.
The East Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission (EARPDC) is a multi-purpose public agency providing a wide range of services to member governments within the ten-county service area and to the residents of the region. The Commission is designated to provide regional services by a number of state and federal agencies. The Commission is the Economic Development Administration (EDA) designated Economic Development District (EDD) and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) designated Local Development District for its region.
The Commission provides program administrative support to the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Calhoun Area Transportation Study.
The Commission serves as the Rural Planning Organization (RPO) providing transportation planning support for the non-urbanized areas of the region under a contract with the Alabama Department of Transportation. The Commission has also developed a Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan for the region. To learn more about EARPDC visit their website at earpdc.org.
Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Thereasa Hulgan, stated it’s always a pleasure to host meetings that bring people to the Gadsden State Cherokee Campus. Mayor Wilkie thanked Gadsden State Cherokee Campus Director, Luanne Hayes, for allowing the board to hold their meeting here and if anyone wanted to take a tour, to see her after the meeting.
Following the Board meeting, lunch was catered by Pat’s Perfections.
~ Joy Perry / Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce