The Richland County Public Safety Standing Committee voted to forward a resolution committing a county match for a regional hazardous-materials (hazmat) grant that will support equipment and response across a four-county consortium.

Emergency Management staff said the grant is intended to equip the multi-county hazmat team (Vernon, Crawford, Richland and Iowa counties) and described the county’s share of a required 20% match. Emergency Management staff told the committee the grant award is listed in the meeting materials and that the county match is expected to be modest; committee discussion referenced a local-match figure described in the packet as approximately $1,600.

Why it matters: The regional hazmat team provides specialized response capacity the county cannot sustain alone. Committing the local match preserves equipment and response capability for industrial-chemical and transport incidents, and avoids the need to purchase separate equipment for Richland County.

Committee action and next steps: A motion to move the resolution forward was made by Chad and seconded by Tiffany Thompson (District 9). The chair called for the vote and the motion carried by voice vote; no opposing votes were recorded. Committee members said the matter will proceed to the county board at its next meeting for final approval.

What was said: Emergency Management staff explained that, when available, the grant money is commonly pooled with Vernon County (the consortium lead) so the team can outfit the response truck serving all four counties. Staff noted previous years’ purchases included ammonia and chlorine detectors and that the consortium approach avoids duplicative local purchases. Committee members emphasized the importance of keeping the hazmat funding stream intact.

What remains unresolved: The meeting transcript contains a numeric listing for the grant award and the local-match amount that appears garbled in the audio-to-text record; committee discussion repeatedly described the local match as roughly $1,600 and staff said they would prepare the formal resolution and cover letter for the county board packet.