County accepts grants

Police to get $340,000 in state, federal money for disaster response.

Gwinnett Commissioners recently agreed to accept about $340,000 in state and federal grants that will help the Gwinnett County Police Department improve its ability to deal with natural and man-made disasters.

Of the total, about $182,000 is being awarded through the Georgia Emergency Management Agency/Homeland Security. None of the grants require local contributions.

Included in the grant:

■ $98,000 to the Hazardous Device Unit for two side-by-side utility vehicles and trailers, new x-ray generators, upgrades to older x-ray machines, and two upgraded portable radios;

■ $52,000 to upgrade the Uniform Division Operations Center;

■ $13,720 for the Chemical/ Biological/Radioactive/Nuclear/ Explosive team for filters and bags for gas masks, a door opener for entering facilities while wearing bulky gear and voice communications devices;

■ $12,000 to acquire a new Explosive Detection K-9 to replace an aging, bomb-sniffing dog who will retire soon;

■ $6,000 awarded to the Hazardous Devices Unit for equipment, supplies, health check-ups and care for the department’s Explosive Detection K-9s.

Commissioners also approved an agreement with the Atlanta Regional Commission, which will contribute about $158,000 toward maintaining critical communication equipment for the Gwinnett County Office of Emergency Management and other supplies and services. Funding comes from an Atlanta Urban Area Security Initiative. The program is designed to create and sustain regional efforts to improve security in and around Atlanta.