Catoosa County approves grant applications for road projects, EMA
Catoosa County commissioners recently signed off on two grant applications; one for its Public Works Department and the other for its Emergency Management Agency (EMA).
During the Nov. 20 Board of Commissioner’s meeting, Public Works Director D.E. “Buster” Brown and EMA Director Dennis Thayer each explained annual grant applications they are ready to submit.
Brown says the Local Maintenance Improvement Grant (LMIG) will help with various road projects throughout the county.
“Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) began accepting applications for 2019 LMIG on July 1,” Brown said. “Catoosa County has inspected the roadway system to be able to research and plan our requested GDOT funding because GDOT would like to assist Catoosa County in the resurfacing of various roads.”
If approved, Brown says the terms of the grant include a partial matching of the funds.
“GDOT will provide a check in the amount of $745,347.77,” Brown said. “The application must be received no later than Jan. 1, 2019. This grant requires a 30-percent match, which is $223,604.33, and the county would meet that match through SPLOST funds.”
As far as EMA goes, Thayer says the grant is less than $20,000 and would require a 100-percent match from the county in order to receive the funds.
“This is an annual application and grant program we partner with Georgia Emergency Management Agency with,” Thayer said. “The funds come from FEMA, funneled through GEMA, and this year’s grant application amount is $19,183. It is a 100-percent matching grant, so we’ll have to match that at 100-percent, and typically these funds have been used and it would continue to be used for salaries, travel, and those types of expenses for our Emergency Management Agency.”
The board unanimously approved both applications.