Wood County officials said the county has secured a modular vehicle barrier system through a grant from the Legacy Foundation to improve safety at community events.

County official (unnamed) said, "Wood County is making safety a top priority at community events. Thanks to a new grant, the county has secured a modular vehicle barrier system, a tool that officials say will help protect large gatherings from potential threats." The system, officials said, is "designed to stop vehicles from entering restricted areas, especially where large groups of people gather."

Emergency management staff (unnamed) explained how the grant came together, saying, "We wrote a grant to the Legacy Foundation. They realized the importance of safety with all of the vehicle attacks that have been happening, across the country lately." That speaker said the full system "was about $358,000." The same speaker reported, "we got 2 72 unit trailers," a phrase used in the meeting; the transcript did not clarify the precise meaning or dimensions of that description.

A representative of the Marshfield Fire Department compared the modular system to the ad hoc use of public works vehicles at events, saying the new units are "small, compact, and easier to purchase to replace" than repairing or replacing heavier municipal trucks that can be damaged in a vehicle attack. The fire department representative added the system will reduce damage to city infrastructure and help protect patrons at events.

Officials said the equipment will be shared across municipalities throughout Wood County and that local governments can sign up to use it. The fire department representative thanked "Sarah and emergency management for stepping up and and doing the grant and then, the Legacy Foundation for getting us the funding to do this," and noted, "it's not only just for Marshfield. It's the whole counties, communities around the county."

The meeting record does not show any formal vote or ordinance related to the grant or the distribution process; officials described the acquisition and the planned countywide sharing arrangement but did not record a directive, timeline for deployment, or a signup procedure in the transcript.