Marshall County Emergency Management Director Clyde Avery requested approval to apply for four grants through the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.
The first grant is the 2015 Emergency Management Performance Grant. Local agencies that exceed the required assessment points are eligible to submit. This grant plays an important role in the implementation of the National Preparedness System by supporting the building, sustainment, and delivery of core capabilities essential to achieving the National Preparedness Goal of a secure and resilient Nation. Avery is seeking $5,111 to purchase a drone that can be used to flyover impacted areas. Funds will also but used to obtain meals ready to eat (MREs) and have water on hand for emergency situations.
The second grant, the State Homeland Security Grant is an open-ended grant with no minimum. Avery hopes to purchase dual-band portable radios with 800 megahertz and VHF capabilities to distribute during an incident to the incident commander and the various agencies responding to the incident to allow for interoperability between agencies. The County EMA Director anticipates seeking approximately $25,000 since the radios are about $3,000 to $4,000 each.
Grant number three is a new grant opportunity. The Emergency Management Performance Grant Competitive is available to local EMAs and is open-ended as well. Avery would like to apply in hopes of purchasing equipment for a multi-agency coordination center at the County Highway Department.
The final grant request won’t be available until December. The 2015 Emergency Management Performance Grant which reimburses the county 50% of the EMA Director’s salary and benefits for the 2014 year.
The Marshall County Commissioners approve applying for all four grants.
The County’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan was updated in August of 2014 and was due for its annual review. After sending out request for changes to the plan and no responses the commissioners updated the plan with Commissioner Kurt Garner’s name and confirmation of their support for the plan as presented.
