Commission hears requests to apply for NRCS EWP funds, buy repeaters and pick a disaster-recovery contractor

Grant County staff asked the Board of Commissioners to authorize steps to prepare for flood and recovery work tied to the Trout Fire burn scar and other emergency needs during the Aug. 12 work session.

County Manager Webb recommended submitting an initial application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to secure Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) technical assistance and funding for identified small projects in burn‑impacted drainages. Webb said the county must apply now to preserve eligibility if heavy rains later reveal more damage; the county could add funds to the agreement later if additional projects emerge. He noted the EWP program requires a 25 percent non‑federal match and said state funds used in a prior EWP could again be applied for the local match.

The commissioners also reviewed an estimate from Advanced Communication to install repeaters and antennas to improve radio coverage into Cliff (transcript: “Clefido”) for the Cliff Volunteer Fire Department. Staff asked the commission to consider allocating $69,376 from the county fire fund to install repeaters on Brushy Mountain that would reach an existing tower in Cliff and fill a known communications gap for law enforcement, EMS and fire responders in that area; no formal vote was recorded in the work session.

On disaster contracting, staff summarized a recently completed RFP (RFP 26‑01) for an on‑call disaster recovery contractor to support Emergency Watershed Protection and major post‑disaster work. The scoring panel recommended a contract award to King Industries/DRC (transcript referenced King and DRC), citing timeliness and more favorable rates compared with state contract options. Staff said EWP technical-assistance and EWP construction funds would pay for contractor services in the event those federal programs are activated and that county action would reduce reliance on higher‑cost state contracts.

Emergency Management Director Scott reported a separate but related win: FEMA approved the county’s hazard mitigation plan on Aug. 8, making jurisdictions eligible for hazard‑mitigation funding for five years. Scott said the community wildfire protection plan contract with H2O Partners was executed and a kickoff meeting would follow, and that multiple grant applications (generators for critical facilities, public warning software extension and radio interfaces for incident commanders) had been submitted or were moving through procurement.

No formal recorded commission votes on the EWP application, repeater allocation or the RFP recommendation are shown in the work-session transcript; staff said they would bring related agreements or appropriations to a regular meeting for formal action.