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Board backs applying for VDEM grant to finish high school emergency power work
Summary
County staff will apply for a VDEM grant that could pay up to $450,000 to finish electrical and pumping work tied to making the high school usable as an emergency shelter; the board asked staff to confirm costs and legal eligibility for funding sources before final acceptance.
County staff asked the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors for permission to apply for a Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) grant to complete electrical and pump-station work needed to operate Gloucester High School as an emergency shelter. Supervisors agreed to proceed with the application and requested follow-up details on final costs and legal funding eligibility.
Why this matters: completing this work would allow the high school to function as a community emergency shelter and could reduce the need to relocate students or close school operations during localized outages if sewer and critical systems can be operated by generator power.
County staff explained two related needs: (1) additional electrical connections and lighting in specific building areas identified during a recent generator exercise, and (2) a separate generator or connection for the school’s pump station so toilets and sewer systems would work if grid power failed. Staff said the generator installed during the school renovation has capacity but not all building circuits were connected during renovation and that an electrician and engineer are validating what additional connections are needed.
The VDEM grant program allows awards up to $450,000 for emergency-shelter preparedness, staff said. The packet included a vendor quote of $44,750 for pump-station equipment (the presentation said that amount would be plus installation); staff said estimates will be finalized before the grant application.
County Administrator Tipp Wilmot and other staff discussed funding options. Wilmot said county attorneys will need to weigh whether work can be classified as part of the school renovation and thus eligible for the school sales tax fund, or whether other funding sources or a county match would be required.
A supervisor asked whether the installed generator could have been connected to the pump station; staff said distance and site constraints make a separate, smaller generator adjacent to the pump station a more practical option and that Phillips (fuel vendor) had offered to provide a tank as part of the arrangement in exchange for fuel purchases.
Board members signaled support for applying: one supervisor said, "We should apply for it," and the chair confirmed general agreement to move forward with the grant application. Staff said they will finalize prices, route the application through the county’s grant-review process, and return to the board if the grant is awarded to request acceptance and any required local match.
Less critical: staff noted that Peaslee is available as an existing shelter if urgent sheltering needs arise before work is complete, and the county will continue to evaluate whether some generator work could help the school continue operations during isolated outages even if full shelter status is not immediately available.
