| 2009-04-08 - Economic Stimulus And Eatonton
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is trickling down to Eatonton, Georgia.
*The City was an entitlement community for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant. The grant will be for $23,092. The City will use this grant for cameras and for shotguns for the Department.
*The City has been notified that our application for community oriented police services grant for 6 police officers was partially approved. The City will receive funding of over $120,000 for the salary of one new police officer for the next three years. The City will have to pick up the cost for a fourth year for theofficer paid under this program.
*Representative Mickey Channell has let us know that paving will soon begin on Highway 16 west from Jefferson Avenue in downtown all the way to the Jasper County line. The contract let date is May 19, 2009, so paving will begin shortly thereafter.
*Eatonton along with Milledgeville, Gray and Macon have formed a consortium with Clearwire and the Knight Foundation to cread a project called Big Broadband for Central Georgia. This project will provide wireless highspeed internet service for the participating communities. It will open up a new era in publc safety, medical services, education and leisure as the public sector users as well as citizens will be able to connect to the internet without having a wire connection to the telephone or to a cable modem.
The City has been notified that our Fire Safety grant to hire five full time paid firefighters has been favorably approved. The grant will total $453,000 over four years. The City must match the grant with an increasing City share each year for five years. We should be hiring full time firefighters soon. This with other improvements to equipment and vehicles should lower the ISO rating for City residents.
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