Governor Steve Beshear's Communications Office
Gov. Beshear Announces Community Enhancement, Homeland Security Grants for Clark County
WINCHESTER, Ky. – Gov. Steve Beshear today joined local officials and Department for Local Government (DLG) Commissioner Tony Wilder to announce funding for a community enhancement, an energy efficiency update and state homeland security grants in Clark County.
A $750,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) administered by the DLG will support sanitary sewer system improvements in the city of Winchester. A $125,000 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) will go to Clark County for energy efficient updates to the county courthouse, particularly the windows.
The Kentucky Office of Homeland Security (KOHS) has awarded $252,100 in State Homeland Security Grants to the city of Winchester for the purchase of interoperable radios and a high capacity foam suppression system.
“Clean drinking water and effective sanitary sewage systems are basic necessities, not luxuries, to which every Kentucky family is entitled. By addressing sewer system overflow and backups, this project will make a critical difference in Winchester,” said Gov. Beshear. “The updated windows in the courthouse will make the building more energy efficient and save the county money in energy expenses. In addition, today’s Homeland Security grants will boost disaster response capabilities and enhance police communication, which will go far in supporting public safety in the community.”
Winchester is under a U.S. EPA Consent Decree issued in 2007. In 2009, there were 14 overflows totaling 3 million gallons in the project area. There have been complaints of odor and sanitary sewer backups. This grant will alleviate three sanitary sewer overflows and will serve 386 customers.
The project consists of the design and construction of 3,694 linear feet of 6, 8, 12 and 24-inch sewer line, a 42-inch jack and bore with carrier pipe beneath 1-64 and 23 manholes. A pump station will be decommissioned, and pavement will be replaced.
“Winchester, like many municipal utilities, faces tremendous challenges with system maintenance and EPA compliance,” said DLG Commissioner Tony Wilder. “This much needed assistance granted by Governor Beshear will upgrade the system for the future and ensure a safer environment for the citizens of Winchester/Clark County. Improvements to the county courthouse windows will save Clark County taxpayers money and serve as a public example of energy efficiency.”
The CDBG funding will supplement $750,000 in funding from the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority for a total project cost of $1.5 million.
The state’s CDBG program is administered by DLG and funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Kentucky’s Congressional leaders’ ongoing support of the CDBG program ensures the availability of continued funding in Kentucky and nationally.
The Kentucky Office of Homeland Security (KOHS) grants include $12,300 to the city of Winchester to purchase a radio system for the police department and $239,800 for a high capacity foam suppression system that will be used by the Bluegrass Emergency Response Team (BERT), an 11-county coalition for responding to disasters.
The radio system will permit the city’s police department to meet digital requirements for all of its communication needs. These funds will purchase dispatch consoles, which will complete the department’s upgrade to digital radio equipment. The project will positively affect all Winchester and Clark County first responders as the dispatch provides services to the Winchester Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, the Clark County Sheriff’s office and the Clark County Fire Department.
The portable high capacity foam suppression system will be the Commonwealth’s first. The system will provide additional support for large fires and for hazardous material incidents. While currently it takes several hours to assemble enough foam concentrate and the equipment necessary to apply it, this system will give first responders the ability to apply large quantities of foam in a matter of minutes. This equipment will be available for incidents in all eleven counties of BERT and for the remainder of the state upon request.
Awards are for U.S. Department of Homeland Security-approved equipment for law enforcement, fire and emergency services, plus event-burdened search and rescue agencies. Items funded include mobile and portable radios, base stations, mobile-data computers, radio repeaters, community warning systems, bomb squad accessories, water-rescue apparatus, hazardous-materials response gear, surveillance devices and medical equipment.
In all, 262 applications requesting $31.7 million were received for this funding cycle. KOHS was able to fund 140 projects totaling $6.4 million throughout the state. Some applications received were referred to the Commercial Radio Service Board or filed for later consideration when new technologies become available, which will make the grants more cost effective, said Tom Preston, KOHS executive director.
“We aggressively pursue increased safety and security in the best interest of all Kentuckians and our state’s visitors when recommending grants,” Preston emphasized. “We do so through a rather complex formula system in order to maximize effectiveness.”
A peer review group first established baseline rankings for applications, emphasizing the state’s homeland security strategy plan. Before projects receive final funding, the process demands multiple compliance assurances, inspections and guarantees for each dollar allocated.
“Homeland Security grants are a vital component in helping keep the Commonwealth safe and secure,” Gov. Beshear said. “They provide funds that enable our first responders to have the latest and best tools needed in their critical missions.”
“I am always pleased when the City of Winchester receives funds, especially when that money is for such critical equipment as the radios used by our first responders,” said Sen. R.J. Palmer II, of Winchester. “It is important that this equipment be at optimum operation level and as up-to-date as possible. Information relayed on these radios is vital to getting first responders to fire, rescue and other emergency scenes as quickly and safely as possible and arming them with the information needed to assist citizens to the best of their abilities. In addition, the sanitary system and energy efficiency grants will provide significant improvements for the community.”
“These Homeland Security Grants will help provide the tools that allow our first responders to preserve lives and property in the event of an emergency,” said state Rep. Don Pasley, of Winchester. “The regional approach in central Kentucky helps us spend efficiently and takes advantage of specialization. The updated sewer system is a necessary investment for Winchester that will help the city meet EPA requirements, and the courthouse energy advances will be beneficial as well.”
In addition to the $125,000 EECBG funding for courthouse updates announced today, the city of Winchester has received EECBG funding in the past. A $56,802 grant to install energy efficient HVAC units and replace the duct work with insulated ducts at the Generations Center was announced in June 2010.
First passed by Congress in 2007, the EECBG program was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), with funds coming from the U.S. Department of Energy through the Kentucky Department for Energy Development and Independence and administered by DLG.
The Kentucky EECBG program provides $6.25 million to assist local governments in implementing strategies to reduce fossil fuel emissions; reduce total energy use; and improve energy efficiency in the transportation, building and other appropriate sectors. Additional purposes of the EECBG program include spurring economic growth and the creation and/or retention of jobs under ARRA.
To read Governor Beshear’s Intelligent Energy Choices for Kentucky’s Future: Kentucky’s 7-Point Energy Strategy, go to:
http://www.governor.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/2880287D-511E-4421-ACC3-D4B9A7F97132/0/EnergyStrategy.pdf
###