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MALONE — Franklin County is seeking $2 million in grants to expand the Emergency Services building and upgrade the radio-communication system.
The county has outgrown its 6-year-old Emergency Services Building and is seeking a $1 million grant to build an addition.
The Bare Hill Road facility, next to the County Public Safety Building, was opened in 2004 with the intent to serve the county's needs for 10 to 15 years, Emergency Services Director Ricky Provost said.
But with federal Department of Homeland Security mandates for equipment, the building no longer houses all of the gear the department must have.
Provost has already filled a free-standing container at the site.
"We just don't have room," he said, adding that it is full of cots, blankets and equipment to combat weapons of mass destruction that "we don't use very often" but are required to have.
He said the building has no place to protect the trailers and specialized vehicles used for hazardous-material emergencies or a newly sanctioned rope-rescue team.
Grants are available, with as much as $1 million awarded with a stipulation for a local 25-percent matching fund.
The director said that rather than a cash commitment, the county could provide in-kind services through the Highway Department that would qualify as the matching contribution.
The Emergency Services building is taking up most of the county-owned acreage there, which means the expansion would be on the structure's east-facing side.
"We don't have a huge footprint," Provost said, "but we can add on at the 911 end and expand there."
The second grant application covers installation of $1 million in upgrades to the operations-center radio system.
Provost said the improvements would eliminate redundancies and allow fire departments, rescue units and the county to be connected by a digital system.
The county has until 2013 to comply with a Federal Communications Commission mandate to have high-band radio communications in place, and the grant could help pay for that, Provost said.
"We have to pledge the money to fix the problem, and this grant takes care of that."
But if the application is not successful, he has already budgeted $65,000 to $75,000 to offset the costs.
This grant would likely have a required 25-percent cash match, but Provost is checking to see if in-kind services could be used.
He expects to be notified by May about any grant awards.
E-mail Denise A. Raymo at: draymo@pressrepublican.com
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