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Clinton County designates PEF coordinators, accepts $25,000 state grant for emergency preparedness
Summary
The Board of Commissioners approved designating Rodney Juan and Karina Martinez Garcia as primary and backup PEF coordinators so the county can receive a $25,000 state contract for preparedness work; commissioners asked staff to put a written MOU in place clarifying compensation, timing, and certification documentation.
The Clinton County Board of Commissioners on June 16 approved designating two health‑department employees as the county’s primary and backup PEF (Public Emergency Function) coordinators to accept a $25,000 state grant for preparedness work.
Melissa Hudson of the county health department told commissioners the grant requires the county to name a primary coordinator and a primary backup and that the department is requesting the board designate Rodney Juan as primary and Karina Martinez Garcia as backup. Hudson said the county will use a payment schedule and an MOU to compensate the coordinators outside of their regular county pay structure.
Why it matters: the PEF contract funding pays for ongoing readiness work — inventory, drills, readiness surveys, and maintenance of an incident‑command trailer — rather than creating a permanent new county position. Hudson said the county piloted this model last year and intends to spend grant funds on both personnel readiness and equipment maintenance.
Hudson summarized the purpose and deliverables of the grant and the department’s plan: “We are currently receiving $25,000 for the next budget period. We piloted this last year and it has gone very successfully,” she said, adding the county will submit a budget template to the state and can amend it if commissioners request changes.
Commissioners pressed for procedural clarity on how coordinators’ duties would be tracked and how compensation would be structured. A commissioner emphasized that any paid work outside staff job descriptions should be performed outside county time and supported by consistent documentation. Hudson replied the payment would be structured as a stipend-like MOU tied to certifications and readiness deliverables and not rolled into employees’ hourly county pay. She estimated the pair would cost about $10,000 total from the grant for the year and said other grant funds would remain for supplies and trailer maintenance.
Next steps and oversight: Hudson said she will draft an MOU and submit it to the county attorney and council for review; commissioners instructed staff to file coordinators’ certifications with the county and to make clear in the MOU that the payments are not county salary and do not create a permanent county position. The board voted 3‑0 to approve the designations.
The health department also said it plans to use grant funds for equipment upgrades, including air filtration and access‑point improvements for the incident‑command trailer, and to exercise the trailer in a September preparedness drill.
