By Neil Vigdor
Staff Writer
October 24, 2004
With a shopping list already in hand that includes satellite phones, a reverse 911 system and nerve gas antidote, Greenwich's first responders expect to receive the town's share of federal homeland security funds for the current fiscal year next spring.
Greenwich is awaiting a $467,561 do-mestic-preparedness and law-enforcement grant from the state Division of Homeland Security, which administers the disbursement of funds from its federal counterpart. The town is one of only four municipalities in Connecticut that chose to develop its own spending plan for the money instead of pooling its funds with other communities under a state-led effort. This will be the first federal homeland money the town
has received.
"We think we can do a better job of spending it on things that we specifically need here rather than letting the state do it," Town Administrator Edward Gomeau said.
The town's public-safety chiefs and health officials earmarked $222,085 of the grant for training exercises, which they hope to conduct next spring and said will ready first responders for a wide range of emergencies including terrorist attacks, power outages, hurricanes and blizzards.
"This is what we felt would be in the best interest in preparing the community," Fire Chief Daniel Warzoha said. "The (objective) we're taking is trying to take an all-hazards approach to emergency management and operations."
The Fire Department alone will spend $81,051 on training exercises that Warzoha said will focus on a regional response to emergencies coordinated by the South Western Regional Planning Agency, involving the eight member municipalities of Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk, New Canaan, Darien, Westport, Wilton and Weston.
Factoring into his department's expenditure on the training, Warzoha said, is the cost of outside instructors, overtime for firefighters and the need to replace on-duty personnel with backups.
The town's first responders earmarked the remainder of the grant for supplies such as lap-top computers at a total cost of $25,000, gas mask equipment at $17,891, pharmaceutical products for the treatment of nerve gas exposure at $10,585, and a generator and a reverse 911 system, which are each $40,000.
A reverse 911 system would allow public safety officials to reach residents by land and cellular phone lines, and possibly by e-mail and fax, with messages during emergencies.
"I think it presents the ability to contact a higher number of residents than current systems have," said Paul Connelly, the town's emergency operations management coordinator.
The town will also put in an order for five portable radios for its Health Department at a total cost of $17,000 and five satellite phones for the police at a total cost $7,500.
But before the town spends any of its share of homeland security funds, its public safety chiefs caution, the spending plan is contingent on approval by state and federal homeland security agencies.
"It's going to come under scrutiny and hopefully it will all pass," Connelly said. "We believe we have things on there that are appropriate based on the criteria that was given to us."
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