Casper chief to apply for $10,300 state homeland security grant to fund regional exercises

The chief asked council for permission to apply for a state homeland security grant in the amount of $10,300 to support coordinated large-scale exercises with Converse and Natrona counties.

"This grant will be utilized to coordinate with our partnering counties, Converse and Natrona County, and we will do large scale exercises together to work together and make sure that we're prepared to respond to any type of large scale events," the chief said. He told council the opportunity surfaced from a recent grant cycle and would need to be executed before the end of August (staff note: timeline cited in the meeting).

Councilors asked clarifying questions about regional partnerships and the appropriateness of the request; the Chief explained the region shares equipment and response roles and that joint exercises would strengthen interoperability. Council members indicated their support and the chief left the meeting to proceed with the application process.

Action recorded: Council gave verbal approval for the chief to submit the grant application to the state.