Glynn County grant managers outline multimillion-dollar public safety and infrastructure projects

Glynn County grant managers Monica Harden and Lisa Wicker Johnson described several grant-funded public-safety and infrastructure projects on the Sept. episode of the radio program Good News Glenn, outlining current awards, near-term spending deadlines and ongoing applications.

Lisa Wicker Johnson said the county is deploying Flock Safety cameras through a grant that will result in about 88 cameras around the county and is "a little over a million dollar project" funded through the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget. "They're going to change the game for our first responders," she said.

Johnson also described a $3,700,000 federal discretionary grant to upgrade public-safety radios for first responders. "It's a $3,700,000 federal investment," she said, and the radios include heat- and fire-resistant models firefighters have requested for years.

Monica Harden said the grants team also manages larger infrastructure and housing grants, including a multi-year College Park drainage project she said will relieve standing-water problems in affected neighborhoods. She described a grant-funded housing study supported by several local organizations — including Sea Island, the Realtors Association, the Chamber of Commerce, the college, the hospital and the Convention and Visitors Bureau — intended to inform workforce-housing strategies for police, fire and teachers.

On overdose response, Johnson said a state-managed opioid grant will supply additional naloxone (Narcan) kits for leave-behind distribution after overdose responses. "This grant will actually help. It actually gives us additional Narcan kits that we can leave behind," she said; she credited coordination with fire, EMS and the hospital.

Officials said many of the county's grants are state-managed with federal funding behind them. Johnson said the county was entering a period of federal re-scoping in some programs and that grant cycles felt slower in 2025; she urged preparedness for quick turnarounds when funders accelerate awards. "We've recently got a grant that was awarded in August, and we were asked to spend the money by the September," she said, noting a 45-day turnaround required rapid procurement and board approvals.

Harden described how grant life cycles vary: construction grants are often multiyear (two to five years), and some projects the county manages run for three to six years. She said the College Park drainage project had a three-year window with a requested additional year.

On staffing impacts, Johnson said a prior hiring grant for the Glynn Police Department increased sworn staffing by eight officers and took several years to complete. She said the county has closed out some awards, upgraded courthouse technology with ARPA funding and provided updated security screening equipment for the sheriff’s department; Sheriff John was named as responsible for courthouse security.

Both managers said they rely on state and federal grant portals, and Johnson said she monitors the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council for public-safety funding opportunities. They encouraged potential grant writers and interns to consider careers in grants management and noted that internships have funded marketing and volunteer-recruitment help for animal services.

County officials did not disclose total grant program dollar amounts beyond projects the managers named. They cautioned that some federal programs were under review and that timelines and award availability can shift quickly.