County in line for state funds

The Florida Division of Emergency Management recently granted Sarasota County a grant for $105,608 for its emergency management program, which County Commissioners will vote to approve at a July 10 regular meeting in Venice.

Commissioners on June 26 declared a local state of emergency to deal with fallout from Tropical Storm Debby that opened the county for state and federal funding. The first of that assistance will be available after the vote tomorrow.

The funding, which is disbursed with a clause requiring matching dollars from the county, will be used for neighborhood disaster preparedness, damage assessment, debris management, neighborhood points of istribution, people with special needs, and continuity of operations planning.

Representatives from the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency met with county officials July 2 to assess damage left by the storm, which also includes more than $5 million in sand loss on south Siesta Key beaches. The county has already met the matching requirement of the grant contract.