Agenda - 06-27-2006-5t - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 27, 2006 Action Agee Item No. SUBJECT: Authorize Acceptance of Potential Emergency Management Related Grants DEPARTMENT: Emergency Management PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): None INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack Ball, 968-2050 PURPOSE: To consider authorizing the Chair and/or Vice Chair to accept, on behalf of the entire Board, grants whose award and acceptance deadlines will occur during the Board of County Commissioner's summer recess between June 27 and August 22, 2006. BACKGROUND: The Department of Emergency Management has been proactive in applying for grants during this calendar year, as with years prior. To this end, some of the grants have had their award date postponed, or in the case of some federal grants, have awaited the release of funds from the Department of Homeland Security Staff has identified three funding streams whose award date and deadline for acceptance may fall during the Board of County Commissioners' summer recess, Due to the nature of the grant awards, the granting agency may rescind the grant award if the grant is not accepted and applicable paperwork not signed and returned by the grantor's deadline. This would result in the County's potential loss of funding for important initiatives. In summer of 2005, a similar situation occurred whereby a grant opportunity arose during the Commissioner's summer recess, which necessitated the Board's ratifying the grant application after the fact (at the August 16, 2005 BOCC meeting). That grant application resulted in a substantial award of over $1 million to provide upgrades to the County's 9-1-1 center. There are currently three grants that are pending which might be awarded and require acceptance during the summer recess: • The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation of North Carolina issued a Request for Proposal far emergency preparedness projects in January 2006, The Department of Emergency Management drafted an application for the procurement of an emergency contact and notification system. On March 2, 2006, the Board approved the application and authorized the matching funds far the grant project as well as continuation finding. Staff received notification from Blue Cross and Blue Shield on June 1, 2006 that the awards decided by mid-.)une and announced by the end of June. Staff does not yet know of an acceptance deadline once the grant award is made.