PARKERSBURG - A $94,989 Homeland Security Emergency Management Planning Grant application will now go to the state for review.
Wood County commissioners approved forwarding the application Monday.
"If approved, this grant provides reimbursement for half the salaries and some of the expenses related to three local emergency management services personnel," said Toni Tiano, county grants coordinator.
The salaries include Ed Hupp, emergency management director, an administrative assistant at the 911 center, and Carl Sizemore, assistant EMS director.
"It also includes some phone and Internet expenses for emergency services," Tiano said. The county provides the other half match for the grant.
The position of emergency services director is statutory required. The office of Emergency Services acts as coordinator with first responders among other duties.
EMS provides resources to aid first responders during an emergency, including flooding and storms. Hupp monitors weather conditions and assists with vehicle accidents that might involve chemicals or hazardous substances.
If needed, the county's mobile command center is dispatched. Hupp is also in charge of floodplain regulation enforcement.
The county was awarded a Homeland Security grant for the mobile command unit. Farber Specialty Vehicles, of Columbus, built the unit; a Hino truck chassis was used in construction of the vehicle.
