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Director details hazmat equipment grants, new cellular meter and upcoming trainings
Summary
The director reviewed a recent state equipment allocation to teams, described a new cellular‑enabled gas/organic meter the team received, and previewed 2025 equipment grant and training timelines.
Emergency Management Director Brandon updated the committee on recent hazmat equipment grants and training activity.
He said a statewide legislative allocation provides roughly $1 million every two years for state hazmat teams; in late 2024 Vernon County received approximately $8,900 worth of items (a meter and a radio) consistent with type‑3 team allocations. Brandon said the county is considering additional accessories and potentially purchasing a cradle for the new meter before the grant close‑out.
Brandon described the new meter as a BlackLine cellular model that measures four gases and bulk organic compounds, provides a GPS‑enabled live feed to an online dashboard, supports threshold alerts and an SOS button, and can exchange messages if radios fail. He said the county currently covers the service without an ongoing fee but expects a subscription charge (about $14 per month) after three years. The director reported trainers at La Crosse demonstrated the meter’s capability, including data transmission from several stories below ground during training.
The director also updated members on team staffing and training: the current roster is 27 members plus the director, and a large regional training series was held in January with follow‑up team training earlier in the month and additional satellite team training scheduled next week. Brandon said the 2025 equipment pre‑application usually arrives in May and that county managers are still awaiting fiscal closeouts from the 2024 grant that, when delayed at the state level, complicate county financial reporting.
