Staff writer
A grant will pay for a mobile tower on a trailer and truck to pull the trailer but the county will be responsible for insuring it.
Marion County Communications and Emergency Management Director Michele Abbott-Becker told Marion County Commission Monday that the county would have to insure the $350,000 worth of vehicles and equipment. The county also would be responsible for maintenance of the equipment after the first five years.
The grant covers maintenance during the first five years.
The equipment would be available to Marion County and other counties within the region.
If Marion County no longer wants to maintain the equipment, the property can be transferred back to the region.
The vehicle that will be used to pull the trailer can be used by the county for other functions as long as the county doesn’t make any money from it.
Storage of the tower and trailer also was a consideration with Abbott-Becker saying she would ask the Marion County Fair Board to use a building on the fairgrounds.
In other business:
- The emergency management region of which Marion County is a member received $1.4 million in grant funds for 2008. One of the proposed projects is mobile generators for each county in the region. Abbott-Becker said the generator could be used at Marion County Lake where electrical accommodations already have been made. The county will be responsible for insurance and maintenance of the equipment after the first five years.