County to pursue bulletproof vest grant; capital requests include small SAR building and jail camera upgrades

Speaker 5 told the commission a bulletproof vest grant opened and the sheriff’s office could apply for up to $15,000. The transcript records Speaker 5 saying the office has 20 vests that will expire in November 2026 and that the grant would cover close to half the cost of the ballistic plates but not the carriers; the county would need to make up the difference, estimated in the discussion at about $25,480.

Speaker 5 and Speaker 3 noted the sheriff’s office has a ‘gold’ account (forfeiture proceeds from a past drug case) and drug task force restitution funds that could be used to match the grant. Speaker 5 said the county has used that forfeiture-related fund for equipment purchases in prior years and suggested it could cover the local portion if necessary.

Separately, Speaker 2 reviewed capital requests tied to the sheriff’s office: a modest storage building for generators and search-and-rescue equipment (estimated in discussion at roughly $57,000, including concrete on one bid), replacement of outdated jail cameras in areas without 24/7 surveillance, and a jail counter door and computer system supported by the current jail commander. Some vendor bids are still pending and Speaker 2 said county staff (Jeff) cannot complete the entire project in-house because of the scope.

Commissioners asked staff to return with firm bids and a funding recommendation, and Speaker 5 said he would pursue the vest-grant application that opened the previous day.