Poplar Bluff city officials hope to leverage some unused federal money to pay for needed equipment at the police and fire departments.
The city will apply this week for approximately $36,000 in unused American Rescue Plan Act money allotted to the state of Missouri.
About 200 separate awards are expected to be made to police and fire departments, officials said Wednesday during a special city council meeting to approve moving forward with the applications.
Separate funds are being allotted for police and fire grants, City Manager Matt Winters explained.
“There is one pool for police and one pool for fire protection,” Winters said.
Officials expect to hear back on grant awards by early 2023.
The grants require a 50% match from departments, which will be required to expend the money before the end of May.
The Poplar Bluff Fire Department is seeking approximately $16,000 in ARPA money to purchase eight sets of turnout gear, said Capt. Steve Burkhead.
“This is part of our normal budget cycle,” he told the council. “We’re do to buy eight sets this year due to gear reaching the end of its lifespan. (We’re) required to replace our turnout gear at a maximum of 10 years.”
The city would pay the additional approximately $16,000 cost for the gear.
The police department is seeking $20,000 in ARPA money to replace 10 handheld radios.
These carry a cost of $4,000 each, explained Poplar Bluff Police Department Capt. David Sutton.
“Ours have exceeded their useful life,” said Sutton.
Motorola has quit servicing the radios entirely, he explained. The company had used parts of other radios to fix the PBPD radios, but that supply has been exhausted.
Repairs can no longer be completed on the remaining radios, Sutton said.
The city would contribute the additional $20,000 to fund this purchase.