NS - Grant - Acceptance of Hazard Mitigation Grant Project Funds - Emergency Generators

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: February 21, 2006 Action Agenda Item No. 5_ SUBJECT• Acceptance of Hazard Mitigation Grant Project Funds -Emergency Generators DEPARTMENT: Emergency Management PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Award Letter Jack Ball, (919) 968-2050 Letter of Appreciation to NCDEM Memorandum of Agreement (under separate cover) PURPOSE: To accept grant funding. and approve a memorandum of agreement for a State pass-through competitive grant of federal Hazard Mitigation funds to reimburse the County for new generators to be placed at the County's Emergency Operations Center and at the emergency radio communications tower on Eno Mountain. BACKGROUND: The December 2002 ice storm received a Presidential disaster declaration through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on December 12, 2002. This declaration made available funds to assist authorized counties to mitigate the effects of future disasters. Orange County was one of the authorized counties. As part of the critique of the response to the ice storm, staff conducted a needs assessment of potential mitigation measures. The installation of permanent generators at critical buildings was identified as a priority during the needs assessment. Staff developed a federal grant application based upon the needs assessment: The Emergency Operations Center and the communications tower on Eno Mountain were two of the seven County--owned critical facilities identified in the grant application. On January 31, 2003, Orange County Emergency Management submitted the competitive grant application in the amount of $503,000 to the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management (NCDEM). The application proposed the procurement and installation of generators at seven critical facilities in the County, competing against all other eligible counties for funding. NCDEM approved Orange County's grant application, but only for the Emergency Operations Center and the Eno Mountain tower. NCDEM then forwarded the County's application to FEMA. Orange County's grant application was initially denied by FEMA. NCDEM then appealed the denial, due to their understanding of the criticality of Orange County's project. Their appeal was denied. FEMA then informed NCDEM that the project could be funded out of a special allocation of the hazard mitigation funds. Since the time of the original January 31, 2003 application, two other disasters had occurred which increased the amount of the special allocation of hazard mitigation funds and allowed for the funding of the Orange County project. In fact, the allocation (HMGP-1490-0005) that will pay for this generator project is from the Hurricane Isabel mitigation grant allocation.