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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-27-2006-5tORANGE 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. The Department of Homeland Security announced on May 31, 2006 the state allocations far the 2006 State Homeland Security Grant Program. Due to a Congressional mandate, the state has sixty days from May 31 to release the local share, which will be approximately August 22 if only business days are counted, earlier if weekends are included. In prior years, the state has made a very short deadline for applications and acceptance for the funding and required approval and signatures far receipt of any funding, with no extension available, It is unknown at this time how much funding Orange County might have access. No match is currently required for this grant. North Carolina Emergency Management applied for, and received, grant funding as part of the 2003 grant program to distribute to local entities to conduct emergency exercises. The Orange County Emergency Management has applied for funding under this measure to conduct an emergency exercise to test intergovernmental communication utilizing the state's new web-based incident management software package, as part of an overarching terrorism exercise. If funding is awarded, the grant must be accepted and paperwork signed before any funds may be expended and grant funding would have to be expended by September 30. Staff plans to conduct the exercise in mid-September if funding is awarded. No match is required for this grant. Due to the short suspense dates and the expected summer announcement dates for these aforementioned initiatives, staff requests that the BOCC empower the Chair and/or the Vice Chair to approve receipt of any grant funding awarded, if the following conditions apply: • The grant award acceptance must be completed before August 23, 2006 or will result in the loss of the grant funding • Staff must make a request for an time extension to the grantor and that request must be denied, verbally or in writing • Staff must then brief the Chair and/or Vice Chair (individual selected depending on availability) and receive their approval far the grant • The County Manager and/or the Assistant County Manager, and the County Attorney and other critical Staff (as determined by the County Manager and/or the Assistant County Manager) must be in agreement to proceed with the grant and that all grant paperwork passes legal scrutiny Staff will update the Board over the summer if any grants are forthcoming. FINANCIAL IMPACT: With the exception of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Foundation grant, staff does not foresee requesting any grant that requires matching funds. The Blue Cross/Blue Shield Foundation grant application requires a $10,000 match if awarded. Per the March 2, 2006 BOCC approval, these funds will come from the 2006-2016 Capital Investment Plan. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board 1. Authorize the Chair and or Vice Chair to accept grants on behalf of the entire board that meets the criteria outlined above; 2. Identify the Emergency Management Director as the Designated Agent for the grant (as applicable) 3. Identify the Emergency Management Specialist as the Point of Contact for the grant (as applicable) 4. Authorize a budget amendment to incorporate grant funding for only the exercise grant 5. Authorize the Emergency Management Director to sign the reimbursement request forms associated with the provisions of the grant.