County working to secure grants

With decreasing budgets and increasing demand for services, many county departments are struggling to stretch dollars and continue to deliver services to residents. Lincoln County is working to alleviate some of those budget pressures by applying for two grants, one through the state of Montana’s Emergency Performance Grant Program and one through the United States Department of Homeland Security.

“It is officially grant season and I am busy writing grants to benefit not only EMA, but also to benefit other county organizations,” said Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency deputy Lisa Oedewaldt. “There are two sets of grants that I will be working on: Emergency Performance Grant Program and the Homeland Security Grant Program.”

The Emergency Performance Grant Program is funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but administered by Montana Disaster and Emergency Services. The grant is a 50-50 match, meaning the county covers half the cost of the projects in the grant, with the state kicking in the remaining half. 

Oedewaldt said the county has six projects in the pipeline for the Emergency Performance Grant, which is strictly limited for emergency managers and emergency response programs. 

First, the county wants to continue the CodeRED alert notification system put into place last year. CodeRED allows county emergency managers to broadcast information countywide or to people within specific parts of the county in case of emergency. The system allows for mass-dialed phone calls, texts and emails to be delivered as directed by emergency managers. The county is continuing to work on mapping software for emergency response vehicles to assist first responders find and respond to emergency calls. The county is also installing a new repeater at the water tower in Libby. The repeater will help enhance communication between responders and dispatch in times of emergency.

The other three programs for which Oedewaldt is seeking funding are more administrative in nature, renewing digital document software for forms, finishing the build-out of EMA’s new space and converting to the Emergency Operations Center and purchasing necessary supplies for the department.

The total amount requested under the grant is $181,180, half of which will be the responsibility of Lincoln County.

The Homeland Security Grant Program is a 100 percent funded grant, with awardees selected by a state advisory committee. There are 32 capabilities used to measure grant applications, but for the coming year the committee chose to focus on just five of those specific capabilities: cybersecurity, health and social services, mass care, public information and warning and operational coordination.

Oedewaldt said the county is applying for funding for five different projects through the Homeland Security grants. The grants will benefit several city and county departments.

The first grant is to help purchase diving masks with built-in communications gear for David Thompson Search and Rescue. The estimated $15,000 purchase will help search and rescue volunteers coordinate underwater rescue operations.

An additional $4,260 is being requested on behalf of the Libby Police Department to purchase body armor. Also included in the request is a $15,000 request for iPads. The tablets will be used by both Libby Police and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office to assist with coordination and uniformity of reporting and response.

The county is also requesting $10,000 to help the City of Libby update its information technology. The updates will assist in the modernization of the city’s public records and document management.

The lion’s share of the grant request, $135,000, is to help complete the build-out of the mountain-top communications facilities in Lincoln County. The facilities provide vital communications links for responders around the county.

Oedewaldt said the grants are due today, March 18. In May she will need to travel to Helena to formally defend her grant applications to the state advisory committee. The committee will review all of the grant applications from each county at that time and award the grants accordingly.