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Never Forget 343
Gave It All On
9-11-2001
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REGIONAL APPLICATIONS
WINNING NARRATIVES and FAQ - BELOW
IMPORTANT
Narrative
Tips - here
Sample
Regional Narrative - here
CAUTION - Do not use brand
names, model numbers or part numbers in your application!
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What you need to do to
prepare
The first and most obvious step is to get approval from your governing
authority to be the host or a partner in this regional project.
If you are the host you will have to sell this concept to all of the
potential
partners so you need some facts and data. In the case of a
communications application, the items below need to be considered.
- What is the State Radio Boards plan and time lines for your
county so your plan meshes correctly?
- How many and what type of radios (mobiles, portables,
repeaters, base stations, accessories) does your project require for
each community?
- How much will this cost EACH community in match dollars?
- Are the radios on the Statewide Approved Subscriber
Equipment list?
- Are the radios you are looking for listed under Minnesota
Contract?
- Who’s gonna maintain the equipment?
- When a radio falls off a truck on the way to an incident,
who replaces the radio?
- How does the host believe the equipment will be disposed of?
Be prepared
to fully explain how the proposed project will enhance the
department’s operations, and predict any potentially negative impact to
the department’s operations if a potential partner chooses not to go
along with the project.
Your
budget should include all costs associated with the project’s
implementation: equipment, accessories, additional training if
required, etc.
Contact your prospective partners to get their buy in to the project
and pass a resolution that binds them to the match dollars and the
project
Notice:
All grant equipment
should be accounted for the useful
life of the equipment.
But, grantees are only required to maintain grant related documentation for three years after the grant
closeout. So, that's how
long the regional host would have to maintain the records.
The host doesn't have to inform
the AFG of the transfer, they only have
to document the transfer.
There should be an MOU (memorandum of understanding) between the host
and partners which outline
responsibilities and such. The host should have a receipt from each partner which
identifies each transferred radio or piece of equipment by serial number.
Who Are Regional Partners?
All of the following are defined as first responders under DHS NIMS and
should be eligible partners in a regional application.
Stakeholders are defined as the emergency management/response personnel
within their jurisdiction, agency, or organization who are required to
respond. This includes all emergency services-related disciplines such
as EMS, hospitals, public health, fire service, law enforcement, public
works/utilities, skilled support personnel, and other emergency
management response, support, and volunteer personnel.
AFG will allow other disciplines to participate in regional projects.
BUT, adding 14,000 partners that aren't fire/EMS is a hard sell to the
panelists. These other disciplines should be bringing $$ to the project
rather than riding on the backs of scarce FIRE funding.
The non fire partners should have at least one mobile, one portable and
possibly one base station so
the responding unit or supervisor of those partners can then
communicate or transmit the info to their personnel on their own radio
system. You should not plan on equipping all of the non fire
partners units or fleet.
NEW FOR 2010
-
•Eligible
applicants may act as a host for a regional application.
-
Regional
projects are designed to facilitate
interoperability and efficiency among participants.
-
Standardization
does NOT necessarily equate to
interoperability.
A regional project is
one in which multiple
organizations serving more than one local jurisdiction benefit directly
from
the activities implemented with the grant funds.
Regional
projects are based on the statistics and total
population of the region. When writing your application, all requested
statistics should be from all agencies involved. These statistics
should
include call volume, budget, etc.
The only
eligible applicants are fire departments and
nonaffiliated EMS organizations.
Any
eligible applicant, whether a fire department or a
nonaffiliated EMS organization, may act as a “host applicant” and apply
for
large-scale or regional projects on behalf of themselves and any number
of
organizations in neighboring jurisdictions.
Regional
projects are designed to facilitate
interoperability and efficiency among the participating
jurisdictions. As such, the only activities available as a
regional project are training and equipment acquisition (such as
communications equipment) that positively affect interoperability
between
jurisdictions.
Purchase of turnouts,
SCBA, wellness and fitness, modification to facilities, and vehicle
acquisition
activities are not eligible as regional projects.
-
The only
eligible activities for regional grant applications are:
•Communications equipment
•Training
•Equipment that satisfies interoperability such as hose
The only activities
available for application under a
regional project are training and communications equipment that
positively
affect interoperability between jurisdictions.
Examples
of viable regional projects would be a
multi-jurisdictional communications system or standardization of
training.
Regional projects should be designed to address issues of
communications or
equipment interoperability among multiple jurisdictions .
Purchase
of turnouts, SCBA, wellness and fitness,
modification to facilities, and vehicle acquisition activities are not
eligible
as regional projects.
-
Statewide ARMER Radio Board (Allied Radio Matrix for
Emergency Response (ARMER)
-
Scott
Wiggins, Director
Division of Emergency Communication Networks
(ARMER/9-1-1 Programs)
444 Cedar Street, Suite 137
St. Paul, MN 55101
Office: 651-201-7546
Cell: 651-983-9306
Statewide
Interoperability Coordinator, DPS DECN:
MN Department of Public Safety
444 Cedar Street, Suite 137
St. Paul, MN 55101
Ofc. (651) 201-7552
tom.m.johnson@state.mn.us
Regional Coordinators
William
"Bill" Bernhjelm
ARMER Statewide Radio Board
Northern Regional Interoperability
Coordinators (RIC)
William.Bernhjelm@state.mn.us
Tom Justin
ARMER Statewide Radio Board
Central Regional Interoperability
Coordinators (RIC)
320-980-5259
Tom.Justin@state.mn.us
Steve Borchardt
ARMER Statewide Radio Board
Southern Regional Interoperability
Coordinators (RIC)
(507) 398-9687
Steven.Borchardt@state.mn.us
- By asking for communications equipment you will be coming
into statutory compliance with the following state laws; MN Law 182.653
for one and MN Law 403.36 STATEWIDE RADIO BOARD. Subd. 1e. and
Minnesota State Law 403.911 (emergency services communications
systems), and the upcoming mandatory Federal narrowbanding requirement.
- The
State radio Board has a system standard that all radios operated on the
800 trunked system have to be tested and approved before we allow them
on the system. This was required since the trunked radios actually send
messages back and forth to the system controllers and interface with
the
system in order to operate on the trunked system. Therefore only 800
MHz radios have been tested and listed on the Statewide Approved
subscriber list.
- A
regional project
is one in which multiple organizations serving more than one local
jurisdiction benefit directly
from the activities implemented with the grant funds.
Connectivity is a key characteristic of a project that
affects interoperability.
- Regional projects
are based on the total pop of the region.
-
Host
must be an eligible
organization.
-
Regions mean more than one
jurisdiction .
Any eligible
applicant, whether a fire department or a nonaffiliated EMS
organization, may
act as a “host applicant” and apply for large-scale or regional
projects on
behalf of itself and any number of organizations in neighboring
jurisdictions.
A regional
project is
one in which multiple organizations serving more than one local
jurisdiction
benefit directly from the activities implemented with the grant funds.
A county
fire
department applying for a countywide communications system is NOT a
regional
project because it does not benefit multiple “seats-of-government.”
A
county or city fire department may apply on behalf of themselves and
other
volunteer VFDs within the county in a regional application as long as
the VFDs
do not fall under the jurisdiction of the county/city FD.
The “host”
will be
responsible for fulfilling all grant requirements such as reporting to
NFIRS,
control of and accounting for the funds, and distribution and control
of the
property.
Additionally,
the
host is responsible for assuring that the cost share is met. The
cost share for regional projects is based
on the total population and demographics of the entire region.
Regional
applications
cannot include the purchase of resources or any activities meant solely
for the
host applicant.
As in last
year’s
program, host applicants in FY 2010 may apply for funding to address
their own
needs beyond the scope of the regional project in a separate
application(s).
-
The purpose of a
regional
project is to facilitate interoperability and efficiency between
jurisdictions.
-
Any equipment purchased with
grant funds must be physically distributed to all departments listed in
the
application.
This physical
distribution of the equipment to other
first responder organizations is the single characteristic that
distinguishes
eligible regional projects from projects that are not regional in
nature but
may have an impact on a region via mutual aid.
For
example, a project that would not be considered to
have an affect on interoperability (and thus would not be considered a
regional
project) would be an application for an air compressor or a hazardous
materials
(HAZMAT) response vehicle.
In this example, the assets would be shared with
neighboring departments under mutual or automatic aid agreements, but
physically located in the awardee’s department and not disseminated
among the participants;
as such, this project would not qualify as a regional project.
FAQ
Additional FAQ on the AFG
Website
CAUTION - Do not use brand
names, model numbers or part numbers in your application!
QUESTION: What
is the
definition of interoperability?
ANSWER:
Interoperability is described as fire department technology, equipment,
programs, and/or procedures that give the department the capability of
operating with a variety of other departments and/or communities within
a region, and/or with Federal and State agencies.
MFSN Editors Example:
Three firefighters from three different fire departments arrive at a
incident and are formed into an interior attach team. One has a MSA
SCBA, one has a Drager SCBA, one has a Scott SCBA. Even though they
alkl have different SCBA they can all still function as a team and have
a safe mission.
Same scenarior except
they all have different radios. One has a low band VHF (46 Mhz), one
has a high band VHF (154 mhz) and one has a UHF (450 Mhz). This
is a major interoporability problem as they can not communicate with
each other which causes a potential life safety hazard.
QUESTION: Can a
Regional FD hosted application for radios include a hospital based
ambulance service as a recipient of radios or a law enforcement agency?
ANSWER: We’ve allowed
non-eligible
entities to be a “by-product” beneficiary of communications projects,
i.e., for a dispatch system, the sheriff’s department or the local cops
can also be dispatched from the AFG purchased equipment. But we have
not allowed
not-eligible applicants to be a direct beneficiary, i.e., to
have and to hold an AFG purchased radio.
QUESTION: Are
organizations or agencies normally considered ineligible
for an AFG grant, eligible to be included as a beneficiary of a
regional application?
ANSWER: Yes. Law
enforcement, public
works, or the local emergency management offices could be beneficiaries
of Assistance to Firefighters grants. For example, local law
enforcement could be users of a new dispatch system funded by the grant
program or the emergency management staff could be issued radios by the
grantee in order to foster interoperability.
QUESTION: A fire department
wants to apply for a regional radio project. The county decides they
will help pay for the required match.
The
FD figures they do
not need to contact each individual city within the county for
agreements because the county pays the match. Can
we or should we do
this?
ANSWER:
The
match is only one piece of the “agreement” between the host and the
participants. Who’s gonna maintain the equipment? When a
radio falls off a truck on the way to an incident, who replaces the
radio? How does the host believe the equipment will be disposed
of? They should have an
agreement with each participants.
QUESTION: Can a county GIVE dollars
to a city so they have the match dollars for the cities portion of the
project?
ANSWER: We don’t care where the cash
comes from as long as the funds are not from the Federal Gov. via
another grant or Federal source. Example: if the city gave the FD $$
for a match and the city was supposed to use the money to build a
Federally funded library, then the city is in trouble, not the FD. The
FD has no knowledge of the source of funds.
QUESTION: Regional applications
this year in the equipment category, only communications equipment will
be allowed. Is this correct?
ANSWER:
Any equipment that is interoperable and/or where interoperability is
enhanced with the use of the equipment is eligible. Generally,
communications equipment is the epitome of interoperability, thus it is
the overwhelming request under a regional request. I’ve seen
applicants request LDH under a regional and we may have even awarded
one or two, but it is a much harder sell.
QUESTION:
Regional
training this year what will be allowed as far as types of training?
ANSWER:
Any basic FF training would be considered under a regional
request. Case must be made, as always.
QUESTION:
What is the policy
for reporting to NFIRS (National Fire Incident Reporting System) for
fire departments or EMS organizations who apply as regional applicants?
ANSWER: As the
official grantee, only the regional host is responsible for adhering to
any and all grant requirements. However, we strongly encourage any fire
department that participants to report incident data to NFIRS during
the period of performance.
QUESTION:
For Regional applications,
are all of the benefiting organizations required to be NIMS compliant
or just the host applicant?
ANSWER:
We
expect all departments receiving equipment or services from a regional
project grant to be compliant with all local edicts regarding NIMS
prior to award.
QUESTION:
Are there any special
requirements in order to qualify for a regional communications project?
ANSWER:
Yes. Regional communication projects must comply or be consistent with
the State Communication Interoperability Plan (SCIP). Applicants in
states that do not have a SCIP are not eligible for regional
communication projects.
QUESTION:
I am
planning to submit an application as a host for a regional project.
When I answer the questions in the Department Characteristics section
of the online application, do I use the statistics for the entire
region that will be affected by the project, or do I use my
department's local statistics?
ANSWER:
When applying as a host of a regional project, you should provide
statistics for the entire region. The statistics provided may affect
the level of the cost-share obligation.
QUESTION: I am applying as the host for a
regional project, but I also need some equipment for my own department.
Can I submit a second application for my own department's needs?
ANSWER:
Yes. In 2010, you may submit a separate application for your own
department's needs. DO NOT apply for your own internal needs on the
regional application.
QUESTION:
I have
noticed several vendors that claim their product is "FEMA Fire Act
Approved." Do you have a list of products that are "Approved?"
ANSWER:
No. The Federal Government (FEMA, ODP, SLGCP, or DHS) does not approve,
endorse, promote, sanction or otherwise support any specific products
or services. Purchasers should be wary of any vendor making such
claims. For the AFG Program, we require any product or service
purchased with grant funds comply with applicable national standards.
QUESTION:
ANSWER:
QUESTION:
ANSWER:
CAUTION - Do not use brand
names, model numbers or part numbers in your application!
DHS will not consider requests
for regional projects that involve wholesale replacement of SCBA within
a region.
Regional
Projects
For the purposes of this program, applications for regional projects
will not be included in the host applicant’s funding limitations
detailed above. Regional applications will be considered independent
of, and unrelated to, any other applications that the host applicant
may submit and thus will not be included when assessing the host
applicant’s Federal funding limits. Regional applications, however,
will be subject to their own limitation based on the total population
that the regional project will serve. For example, a regional project
that serves a population of fewer than 500,000 people will be limited
to $1,000,000.
Regional projects’ cost-share will be based on the total population and
demographics of the entire region – not the population of the host
applicant. All non-Federal match funds must be in cash; in-kind
contributions are not acceptable. No waivers of this requirement will
be granted except for applicants located in Insular Areas as provided
for in 48 U.S.C. § 1469a (which limits the waiver to grants under
$200,000).
In FY 2009, you may submit one application per application period in
each of the program areas, (i.e., one application under Operations and
Safety, one under Vehicle Acquisition, and/or a separate application as
a regional host).
3.
Regional Projects
Regional
Projects Any eligible applicant, whether a fire department or a
nonaffiliated EMS organization, may act as a “host applicant” and apply
for large-scale or regional projects on behalf of itself and any number
of organizations in neighboring jurisdictions.
A regional project is one in which multiple organizations serving more
than one local jurisdiction benefit directly from the activities
implemented with the grant funds. A county fire department applying for
a countywide communications system is NOT a regional project because it
does not benefit multiple “seats-of-government.” Regional projects are
designed to facilitate interoperability and efficiency among the
participating jurisdictions. As such, the only activities available for
application under a regional project are training and equipment
acquisition (such as communications equipment) that positively affect
interoperability between jurisdictions.
Purchase of turnouts, SCBA, wellness and fitness, modification to
facilities, and vehicle acquisition activities are not eligible as
regional projects. Regional projects require one eligible applicant to
act as the “host” for the project. Regional applications may only
include activities that are meant to address the identified regional
risk. Regional applications cannot include the purchase of resources or
any activities meant solely for the host applicant.
As in last year’s program, host applicants in FY 2010 may apply for
funding to address their own needs beyond the scope of the regional
project in a separate application(s). The “host” will be responsible
for fulfilling all grant requirements such as reporting to NFIRS,
control of and accounting for the funds, and distribution and control
of the property.
Additionally, the host is responsible for assuring that the cost share
is met. The cost share for regional projects is based on the total
population and demographics of the entire region. DHS has the
discretion to waive the legislatively established funding limits under
AFG. In order to encourage interest and participation in this critical
strategy to address interoperability, DHS may exercise that discretion
if the funding of a regional application is at risk of exceeding
statutory funding caps, (i.e., the funding of the regional request
combined with other AFG awards would cause the host applicant to exceed
the legislatively established funding limits).
In general, equipment purchased as a result of a regional project will
be physically distributed to all the departments that are beneficiaries
of the project. This physical distribution of the equipment to other
first responder organizations is the single characteristic that
distinguishes eligible regional projects from projects that are not
regional in nature but may have an impact on a region via mutual aid.
For example, a project that would not be considered to have an effect
on interoperability (and thus would not be considered a regional
project) would be an application for an air compressor or a hazardous
materials (HAZMAT) response vehicle. In this example, the assets would
be shared with neighboring departments under mutual or automatic aid
agreements, but physically located in the awardee’s department and not
disseminated among the participants; as such, this project would not
qualify as a regional project.
Examples of viable regional projects would be a multi-jurisdictional
communications system or standardization of training. As stated above,
regional projects should be designed to address issues of
communications or equipment interoperability among multiple
jurisdictions.
In order to apply for a regional project, the host organization must:
- be
an eligible applicant, (i.e., either a fire department or a
nonaffiliated EMS organization – a county, county association, city, or
an emergency management organization is not eligible and could not
apply for a regional project), and
- agree,
if awarded, to be responsible for all aspects of the grant including,
but not limited to, accountability for the assets and all reporting
requirements.
In the regional application, the host organization will be required to
describe the characteristics of the entire region that will be affected
by the project (i.e., the population of the affected region, not the
applicant’s “first-due” population).
The applicant must provide detailed information in the project
narrative describing the nature of the project including the project’s
budget, the effect the project will have on the region, and the need
for the project.
This includes a detailed description of the following:
- The
proposed project and the project budget.
- The
financial need for the project.
- The
benefits that would result.
- The
extent to which the grant would enhance daily operations.
- How
the grant will positively impact the regional ability to protect life
and property.
In
addition, the applicant must include a list of all the participating
organizations that will benefit from the regional project, if the
project is approved. Fire departments or nonaffiliated EMS
organizations that will benefit from a regional project may also apply
for funding under AFG, as long as they are not requesting the same
items as the host applicant for the regional project.
For example, if a host applicant applies for a multi-jurisdictional
communications project, a participating organization that will receive
some of the communications equipment can apply for other needs as long
as it does not apply for duplicative communications equipment.
Host applicants MAY NOT apply for items to address other needs beyond
the regional project on the regional application; but, as indicated
above, a host applicant may submit a request to meet its own,
non-regional needs in a separate application.
When evaluating the benefits of any regional project, we will take into
account the other partners that will be involved in the project,
whether they are other fire departments, nonaffiliated EMS
organizations, or other public service organizations. We will also take
into consideration the extent to which the non-fire/EMS partners will
contribute to the overall costs of the regional project.
B.
Grantee Responsibilities
(2) Share
in the costs of the projects funded under this grant program. Fire
departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations serving populations of
over 50,000 or more must match the Federal grant funds with an amount
of non-Federal funds equal to 20 percent of the total project cost.
Fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations serving
populations between 20,000 and 50,000 must agree to match the Federal
grant funds with an amount of non-Federal funds equal to 10 percent of
the total project cost. Fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS
organizations serving areas with a population of 20,000 or fewer must
match the Federal grant funds with an amount of non-Federal funds equal
to 5 percent of the total project cost. Regional project cost-share
will be based on the total population and demographics of the entire
region. All non-Federal match funds must be in cash; in-kind
contributions are not acceptable. No waivers of this requirement will
be granted except for applicants located in Insular Areas as provided
for in 48 U.S.C. § 1469a.
The grantee is not required to have the cash match in hand at the time
of application, nor at the time of award. But, before a grant is
awarded, DHS will contact potential awardees to determine whether the
grantee has the funding in hand or if the grantee has a viable plan to
obtain the funding necessary to fulfill the matching requirement.
OMB
Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments, and
Non-Profit Organizations (06/24/1997) (includes revisions published in
Federal Register 06/27/2003) HTML or
PDF (33 pages, 127 kb)
-- March 2008
Compliance Supplement
-- March 2007
Compliance Supplement
-- March 2006
Compliance Supplement
-- Appendix
A: Data Collection Form (Form SF-SAC)
REGIONAL WINNING NARRATIVES
CAUTION - Do not use brand
names, model numbers or part numbers in your application!
- Narrative - 2009 - Regional Radio
Project,
- $872,629.00 for a regional interoperable radio
project 8 fire departments and 1 non-affiliated EMS organization
- Mobile Radios - 55, Base Stations - 9 , Portable
Radios - 153
- Other Communications (explain) - Narrowband
Pagers. VHF narrowband tone/voice alert pagers 168
- Other Communications (explain) - Spare batteries
for portable radios, 4 spare batteries for each agency 36
- Narrative
- 2009 - Regional
Radio
Project,
- $439,254.00 for a regional interoperable radio
project 10 fire departments
- 50 mobile truck radios, 100 watt, dual head
- 130 hand held radios
- 10 base stations, one for each department
- Narrative
- 2009 - Regional
Radio
Project,
- $1,000,000.00
for a regional interoperable radio project 16 fire departments
- Portable Radios - 96
- Mobile Radios - 69
- Base Station - 16
- Training
- Narrative
- 2008 - Regional Radio
Project, $404,706.00 for a regional interoperable
- radio
project 6 departments 6
base radios,
- 34
single head mobile radios, 10 dual mobile
radios, 64
handheld portables, 155 Motorola Minitor V Pager, 12 Accessories
Headset, Dual Ear Muff, Behind Head, with PTT,Training
- Narrative
-
2007 - Regional Radio
Project: 190
Portable (Handheld) Radios,
- 87
Mobile Radios, 12 Base Units, Installation/Accessory Fees, Training,
Total $1,011,595
- Narrative - 2006
- Regional Training Project
FF1, FF2, NIMS Incident Command System

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