June 17, 2024 3:50 a.m.
Douglas County government was notified last week that the county had been awarded grants totaling over $16.6 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help upgrade the 30-year-old outdated Douglas County Emergency Communications System.
A county release said FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program provides funding to government entities following a presidentially declared disaster so they can develop hazard mitigation plans and rebuild infrastructure that reduces or mitigates future disaster losses in their communities. County Commissioner Tom Kress and IT & Radio Director Nancy Laney first submitted the application for this grant in September 2020 and have worked with state and federal agencies over the last four years to acquire the much needed and critical grant funding.
The ERCS, often referred to as the Legacy Radio System, is the vital public safety communications link between the 911 Emergency Communications Dispatch Center and the 55 local law enforcement, fire and emergency medical service agencies who provide critical, time-sensitive, and life-saving services county-wide.
Commissioner Tom Kress said, “Douglas County is ecstatic that our diligence has paid off!”. Kress said, “I am incredibly thankful for our Douglas County IT and Radio Director Nancy Laney for working with me to get through the federal process of applying for this unique federal grant”. Kress said in the county, over half of the land is owned and managed by the federal government, so receiving federal support to help fund projects that supply vital services to the entire county is imperative. Kress said, “The process to overhaul our 30-year-old outdated Emergency Radio Communications System has been a multi-year, multi-faceted, and financially challenging endeavor. The initial assessment and scope of the ERCS project has been completed. We are currently in the process of conducting an engineering study”. Kress said with this grant from FEMA, once the engineering study is complete, Douglas County will be able to definitively establish project timelines and bring the necessary and critical upgrades of the ERCS system to fruition.
The release said the grant is a direct result of the collaborative efforts of the commissioners, Sheriff John Hanlin, IT Director Laney and Douglas County Management and Finance Director Dan Wilson.