Officials expand homeland security grants coverage

BANGOR – Federal and state authorities are expanding the scope of homeland security grants to include schools and other potential security risks as part of efforts to protect vital, strategic or populous areas.

The Maine Emergency Management Agency, which oversees the federal grants at the state level, said new to this year’s funding is a focus on schools as well as a continued appeal for communities and counties to consolidate efforts and provide a regional approach in their operations.

Tom Robertson, director of the Penobscot County Emergency Management Agency, said Thursday that it’s not surprising that schools are included this year because they represent a high concentration of people and thus a potential target.

This week 135 letters from Penobscot County went out to municipalities, fire and police departments, hospitals and school superintendents notifying them that the 2004 funds are available.

The funds include $868,002 in a countywide pool that can be shared among county communities. There are also additional funds earmarked for high risk communities such as Bangor, Brewer, Old Town, Orono and the University of Maine that each have received separate funding based on population, threat and vulnerability.

Penobscot County officials have yet to meet about the 2004 funding and still have $144,666 in 2003 funds available, but Robertson thinks that schools may make some requests for funds.

In Aroostook County, an emergency management official said Thursday that an estimated $196,000 in 2004 already has been considered to improve security at the schools in the county.

Darren Woods, deputy director of the Aroostook County Emergency Management Agency, said the changes include improving communications between the schools and emergency management personnel, providing for example, radios, to allow for emergency evacuations by bus.

Better locking systems at the schools and surveillance cameras to monitor who comes and goes at the schools are other potential expenditures.

The cameras may raise concerns by some parents and it was a tough decision, Woods said. But the ACEMA official said he’d rather err on the side of caution and answer questions now about why the cameras are going in rather than later when it would be too late.

“I would rather answer the question now while putting a camera in than answer the question why I didn’t [put them in] following an incident,” he said.

The grants are looking to expand protections to other areas as well, Robertson said.

“Some of the vulnerabilities they are looking at are water and food supplies,” said Robertson, noting that included in the list of acceptable purchases are for agricultural terrorism prevention and equipment to mitigate an incident involving farms or livestock.

The permitted application list also includes provisions for acquiring boats and aircraft to carry out homeland security efforts.