Lake County Commission Informed Of Grant Opportunities

The Lake County Commission heard about a couple of different grant opportunities during its meeting Tuesday.  

Emergency Manager Kody Keefer told commissioners about a Hazardous Material Emergency Preparedness grant.  Keefer said that Todd Kays with First District Association of Local Governments informed him of this grant, which is 80-percent federal and 20-percent local match.  He said that it is FEMA money that is given to each state to be used for HazMat training, exercises, and planning.  For Lake County, he said it could be used for a Hazardous Materials Study and Plan update for the county.  Keefer said that the goal is to develop an emergency plan, which would be a resource for where hazardous materials are in Lake County.  He said it would be an asset for the county’s first responders. Keefer said it will cost five-thousand dollars for First District to do the plan, and the grant could cover four-thousand dollars of that cost.  He said Lake County’s one-thousand dollar match could be covered by the county’s annual dues. Commissioners voted to authorize Keefer to move forward with the grant, with First District’s assistance.

Sheriff Tim Walburg also told county commissioners Tuesday that he is working on applying for two Homeland Security grants.  One of the grants he said would be for pagers and some radios for the county’s fire departments and ambulance, and the other would be for protective equipment for the Sheriff’s Office and Madison Police Department.  Walburg said that no matching funds are required for the Homeland Security grants.  Commissioners voted to authorize Walburg to move forward with applying for the grant funds.