Marion County approves ADECA crisis‑intervention training grant application, opioid settlement and airport hangar purchase

Marion County commissioners at their regular meeting approved multiple administrative actions, including application for a $250,000 federal grant through the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs to fund a virtual‑reality crisis‑intervention training system, authorization to accept a settlement in the Oak Island opioid litigation, and purchase of a metal hangar for the county airport.

District Attorney Scott Slatten told the commission the ADECA grant is open for the current month and would provide up to $250,000 with no county match. "It's $250,000 for each unit of local government," Slatten said, describing a five‑screen, 300‑degree immersive system with about 800 training scenarios, roughly 80 focused on de‑escalation and gun‑violence response. He said Winfield has offered space to house the equipment and that the package includes vendor training: "They'll send somebody down here for three days to train the trainers," Slatten said.

The commission moved and approved a motion to apply for the grant and to authorize the chairman and executive officer to execute necessary documents. The board did not record a roll‑call tally in the transcript; the motion was made, seconded and put to the board for approval.

In other business,…