North Central Health District

Request for Letter of Interest: Active Living Consultant

Posted February 17, 2022 by Michael Hokanson

Creating an activity-friendly environment in the City of Sparta and Hancock County, Georgia

Deadline to submit Letter of Interest:  March 17, 2022 at 3 pm EDT

North Central Health District (NCHD) is seeking Letters of Interest from individual consultants or organizations qualified and interested in advising and working alongside NCHD staff, Hancock Health Improvement Partnership, city and county government, community leaders, and residents to develop a more activity-friendly environment in the City of Sparta and Hancock County, Georgia.  The consultant will have expertise and experience in combined built environment approaches, active transportation, complete streets, and/or rural design.  Engagement with the community and ensuring equity are important values for this work.  This initiative has the support of local governments (Hancock County and City of Sparta).

About North Central Health District:

North Central Health District (NCHD) is a district of the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) and serves a population of 530,945 individuals residing in 13 Central Georgia Counties.  As a recipient of the 2018 Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) cooperative agreement administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO), NCHD implements strategies and activities to reduce health disparities among Hancock County’s African American population in collaboration with Hancock Health Improvement Partnership (HHIP). The REACH program started in Hancock County in October 2018 and focuses on making policy, systems, and environmental changes at the community level through implementing nutrition, physical activity, and community-clinical linkages strategies.  Located halfway between Macon and Augusta, Hancock County is a rural county with a population of 8,350.  African American residents (72% of the population) are disproportionately affected by chronic diseases and are more likely to live in poverty. 

About CDC DNPAO Physical Activity Strategy:

The REACH program uses a combined built environment approach to increase physical activity which is an evidence-based strategy recommended by The Community Preventive Services Task Force (https://www.thecommunityguide.org/content/combined-built-environment-features-help-communities-get-active ).  Goals include establishing new or improved pedestrian, bicycle, or public transit systems that are combined with new or improved land use or environmental design.  CDC DNPAO sums up this strategy using the phrase “activity friendly routes connecting everyday destinations”.  Activity-friendly routes encourage active transportation by supporting walking, bicycling, and public transportation.  Everyday destinations are places like workplaces, grocery stores, other stores, schools, early care and education facilities, libraries, parks, restaurants, churches, or healthcare facilities. 

Request for Letter of Interest

NCHD anticipates engaging an individual consultant or organization for 10-20 hours per week for a minimum of one year.  NCHD is funded for the REACH program work through September 29, 2023.  If you are interested in this opportunity, please submit a Letter of Interest no later than March 17, 2022 at 3 pm.

After reviewing the submitted Letters of Interest, NCHD will enter discussion with selected consultants/ organizations.  NCHD intends to contract with one or more consultants/organizations as partners in this work of developing a more activity-friendly environment in the City of Sparta and Hancock County, Georgia.

Potential Areas of Opportunity in Sparta/Hancock County:

• Main Street revitalization/Collaboration with Dream Streets Sparta and the Sparta Hancock County Historic Preservation Commission (see: https://www.facebook.com/DreamStreetsSparta/ and https://www.facebook.com/spartahancockcountyhistoricpreservationcommission/)
• Development of outdoor pocket park/gathering area in downtown Sparta at 12776 Broad Street in collaboration with the City of Sparta (this is a site of a downtown business that burned down years ago)
• Historic Tourism (see Sparta Historic District Walking Tour brochure developed by Sparta-Hancock Historical Society at

(https://historicsparta.org/Sparta-Hancock_Co_Historical_Society_Walking_Tour_Brochure.pdf )

• Collaboration with Georgia Hi-Lo Trail (currently raising funds for Master Plan, this multi-use trail will go through Hancock County and Sparta & seven other predominantly rural counties, current initiative is focused on developing mountain bike trails for Kids Bike League see: https://georgiahilo.com/ )
• Develop a Complete Streets policy with the City of Sparta
• Development of a Pedestrian/Biking master plan for City of Sparta
• Enhancement of Hancock County Schools complex to be more activity friendly
• Development of a county park on 8.5 donated acres within Sparta City limits
• Support Hancock County Library in development of Outdoor Learning Center
• Bike racks installation
• Need for affordable housing options near downtown Sparta
• Engage the community through Open Streets Events; Crosswalk Design contest and crosswalk painting; Other Pop-up Projects

NCHD seeks an individual consultant or organization with experience and expertise in:

• Community Engagement
• Active transportation
• Combined built environment approaches
• Transportation policy
• Land use policies/zoning
• Complete streets policies
• Master plans
• Familiarity with potential funding sources
• Rural design

Letter of Interest should include:

• Experience and Education that qualifies you/the organization for this work
• List of other similar projects that you/the organization have completed
• Availability (ability to commit 10-20 hours per week for a minimum of one year)
• Hourly rate

Timeframe and Key Dates

• February 17, 2022: NCHD distributes Request for Letter of Interest
• March 3, 2022: Final date for Receipt of Questions
• March 17, 2022 by 3:00 pm EDT: Letters of Interest Due
• March 31, 2022: By this date, NCHD will notify those who submitted Letters of Interest of their status

Submission Guidelines

Guidelines for asking questions:

• Submit questions by March 3, 2022 to karen.ebey-tessendorf@dph.ga.gov
• Questions and responses will be posted by March 9 to the Hancock Health Improvement Partnership webpage.

• The source of submitted questions will be anonymous

Guidelines for submitting a Letter of Interest

• Letter of Interest must be received by March 17, 2022 by 3:00 pm
• Submit Letter of Interest to karen.ebey-tessendorf@dph.ga.gov
• Please use subject line: Submission of Letter of Interest