Polk County approves jail camera spending, signs multiple FEMA hazard‑mitigation subgrants and backs flood‑gauge grant application

Polk County Commissioners Court on an administratively scheduled agenda on March (date not specified) approved funding requests for jail surveillance, accepted multiple FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant subawards for water systems and authorized submitting a separate hazard‑mitigation grant application for flood‑gauge and floodgate equipment.

The court approved a request from the sheriff’s office for $31,841.60 to add surveillance cameras needed to reopen older housing areas of the Polk County Jail, and it accepted three subgrant awards under FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program DR‑4485 for generator projects at local water supply corporations. The court also approved moving forward with an application for a separate hazard mitigation grant (DR‑4781) to install electronic flood gauges and floodgate equipment, and it approved using county emergency general fund reserves to cover the county’s estimated 25% match if the grant is awarded.

Why it matters: the actions designate grant‑funded projects for emergency power at water treatment plants, add security infrastructure at the county jail, and begin procurement for flood‑monitoring equipment that officials said would provide earlier warning to residents and staff in repeatedly flooded areas.

The sheriff’s office said jail population increases required reopening older housing units and additional surveillance to maintain security and monitoring. Court paperwork and a staff presentation recommended purchasing cameras from the company that installed the jail’s current system. The court approved allocating $31,841.60 for the purchase; court minutes note the county received $36,009.25 in FY2024 out‑of‑county inmate housing revenue not previously budgeted that could be used for the purchase.

Court members…