LAURINBURG — David Richardson told the Rotary Club on Tuesday that the Lumber River Council of Governments is “one of the best-kept secrets in the region.”
Richardson has been the executive director of LRCOG since 2017, a role that manages the daily operations of the organization’s work to serve the needs of the LRCOG member governments and their residents in Bladen, Hoke, Richmond, Robeson and Scotland counties.
“Many just don’t know or understand the work we do in the five-county area,” Richardson said. “But there is a lot that goes on that we have a part in.”
He explained that LRCOG has a 36-member board, including one elected official from each of the entities it serves. He also spoke to the group about some of the services the organization assists with — including community and economic services to provide things like planning future projects, budget workshops and more.
“One of the things we’re doing is looking at the underground water aquifer in our region,” he said. “We don’t use much above-ground water for daily use, which means we pull a lot of water out of the aquifer (and) while we have the advantage of having plenty of natural resources, we need to examine how that affects our region every five years or so.”
Richardson said LRCOG has been working with the city of Laurinburg for the past two years on its water and wastewater systems.
“You can’t have good economic development without safe, clean water and a good wastewater infrastructure,” he said. “And we’d much rather be proactive than reactive.”
Another area LRCOG is looking into for the future is broadband accessibility.
“Here in the city limits of Laurinburg, you have excellent access to broadband,” Richardson said. “But outside the city limits, not so much. So we have to find a way to close that gap (and) we are studying exactly where there is access and where there isn’t.”
Richardson also emphasized the importance of Census 2020.
“Despite all we’ve heard and been told, I don’t think people really understand how important this count is,” he said. “These numbers affect more than 130 federal programs that trickle down to the local level.”
He added that 18 to 28% of people don’t respond to census questions and that, for each person not counted, it costs the county $1,600 per year for 10 years in federal monies. Adding to that, Richardson said the two hurricanes to affect Scotland County have displaced a lot of people who may not get counted.
“It’s been estimated that Scotland County has lost 1,300 people between 2010 and 2018,” Richardson said, “and, if that holds up, it would be a loss of $21.5 million in federal money.
“We need to make sure any money Scotland County should get finds its way here,” he added.
Richardson also spoke to the club about senior citizen programs it assists with, like Meals on Wheels, as well as program aimed at workforce development.
“We want to make our region a better place,” he said.
Richardson concluded by telling the membership that LRCOG is funded through membership dues, as well as through state and federal grants.
“Every dollar of membership dues brings $127 in grants,” he said. “That’s a pretty good return.”
W. Curt Vincent can be reached at 910-506-3023 or cvincent@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com.
