Thrive asks Hamilton County to restore $150,000 to scale a $2.8 million federal freight-and-resilience grant

Bridget Massengill, president and CEO of Thrive Regional Partnership, asked Hamilton County to restore and increase its annual support to $150,000 to help match a $2.8 million federal grant and scale regional infrastructure and resilience tools.

Massengill said Thrive’s Freight Alley work and a new infrastructure portal — developed with Georgia Tech — provide planners with freight and bottleneck data, and the funding would help the organization expand a workforce-development curriculum and a resilient-communities component that pairs infrastructure data with environmental protection strategies. She said Thrive secured $2.8 million in federal funds, the total project cost is about $5.13 million, and the region must provide roughly $2.25 million of the total.

Massengill cited regional freight and storm impacts: she said the corridor moved more than $250 billion in goods annually, that certain freight tonnage projections had been reached years early, and that recent severe weather caused $38 million in property damage and multiple casualties in the region. Thrive described the requested county contribution as part of an existing multisite funding model supported by other counties and private partners.

Commissioners acknowledged the application and the time-sensitive match needs. Massengill said the request is intended to help Hamilton County maintain access to the federal grant and expand local technical supports, flood mitigation planning and curriculum work across schools and colleges. No vote occurred during the presentation.