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Commissioners approve expanding MPO boundary to include all of Craven County and move lead planning role to county
Summary
The board approved a resolution to expand the Metropolitan Planning Organization planning‑area boundary to encompass all of Craven County, change the MPO name to Craven County MPO and move lead planning agency/fiscal-agent status from the City of Newbern to Craven County, with an expected July 1 effective date to align with the county budget year.
Craven County commissioners voted April 6 to expand the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) planning‑area boundary to include the entire county and to request NC Department of Transportation and partner municipalities to transfer lead planning agency (fiscal agent) status to Craven County.
Deanna Treble, speaking for the MPO staff, said the long‑range transportation plan and 2050 forecasts show significant population and travel‑pattern growth in Havelock and Vanceboro that make countywide planning more appropriate. Treble described the practical benefits of a single point of contact for transportation questions and said the proposed memorandum of understanding would set membership and local share allocation, which is apportioned by population.
The board discussed membership, the local share approach (proportional PRORATA by population) and illustrative FY27 local share amounts; Treble said an example local share for FY27 would be just over $23,000 for the county under the proposed structure. Commissioners approved the resolution by motion and roll call and directed staff to prepare a notification letter to the RPO/NC DOT. The county expects the change to take effect July 1 to run concurrent with the fiscal year.
Why it matters: expanding the MPO boundary centralizes transportation planning for roads, transit and other modes, simplifying citizen inquiries about road ownership and paving responsibility and allowing countywide strategic planning. The decision shifts administrative responsibilities and local cost shares and will be formalized in a new memorandum of understanding among member municipalities and NC DOT.
