January 2017 | Business View Magazine

96 97 New bern, North Carolina the RAD (Rental Assistance Demon- stration) program that is gutting those units and making them as current to today’s standards as possible. As heritage buildings, they do have historic tax credits, so some external elements must remain intact. But inside, they will be brand new. The complex will be more efficiently run as public housing by a private developer, no longer under our Public Housing Authority.”A sec- ond housing project, located along the Trent River, is in a severe flood- prone zone. That redevelopment is in progress now. Ruggieri elaborates on the CNI grant process. “We went through a two-year planning process that en- gaged the community in the areas where these two public housing properties are located. There are about 720 public housing units, and it’s one of the poorest census blocks in the whole state. Ironically, if you Google New Bern historic downtown, you’ll find a beau- tiful, thriving place, and three blocks away is the area we’re talking about. The unemployment rate stands at 22 percent; 50 percent of the residents do not have access to a vehicle; average per capita income is under $19,000. We applied to HUD for a grant to see exactly what was needed in terms of jobs, education, healthcare, recreation, and transportation– the five points we determined as important to improving the standing and lives of people living there.” More than the housing issue, what emerged from the process was the story of a community lacking job skills, training, education, and with some life barriers. Blot says, “We’ve already met with all our major employers to deter- mine what skills their employees lack, and where they anticipate a void in the future.” New Bern has several temporary employment agencies, including two large ones where many local people presently have their careers centered. The owners of those agencies attended CNI process meetings and noted, “It’s not a jobs problem, here, it’s a people AT A GLANCE NEW BERN, NORTH CAROLINA WHAT: County seat of Craven County; population 35,000 WHERE: Located at the confluence of the Trent and Neuse Riv- ers, near the NC coast WEBSITE: www.newbern-nc.org Preferred vendor n Blue Arbor www.bluearbor.com Blue Arbor, Formerly TESI|AGCI, is a woman-owned, North Carolina, HUB-Certified, small business enterprise specializing in the placement of thoroughly screened and qualified temporary and permanent per- sonnel, extensive background screening, comprehensive drug testing, and DNA Paternity Testing. The company was founded in 1981 by Lu- cine Moffett. In 2006 Atlantic Gulf Coast Contracting, Inc., Managed by Blue Arbor, was established to serve the construction, renovation, and disaster recovery needs of the Southeastern and Midwestern areas of the United States. It has now progressed into a full range service pro- vider performing a diverse range of Government Contracting Services, Subcontracting Services, and Contract Management Services. Currently, Blue Arbor, and its group of companies, provides staffing, screening, and contracting to over 2500 clients.