Committee authorizes application for $200,000 state grant to buy Meridian safety barriers

A staff member (Lilly) asked the Tuscaloosa City finance committee to authorize applying for a State Homeland Security Grant to buy Meridian safety barriers. "There is a no match involved and we are requesting 200,000. That's the max we can request on under this grant," Lilly said.

Lilly said the barriers—about 22 in number—are intended for use at public events such as football games, the amphitheater and Government Plaza. She said the city has previously borrowed University of Alabama (UA) barriers for events and described the Meridian devices as similar: "It's the same barriers," she said. Committee members asked about size and capacity; Lilly said they are large and would stop heavy vehicles, describing them as able to stop a "dump truck style truck," though she cautioned they are not intended to stop a bulldozer.

The committee voted by voice to authorize the grant application. Lilly said the grant allows purchase without any local match; procurement details and event deployment plans were not specified in the finance meeting.

The authorization enables staff to submit the state grant application and seek the specified barrier equipment if the grant is awarded.