Item Description:
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Agmt A2613421 with MN Dept of Public Safety to accept funds for the 2025 Urban Area Security Initiative Grant Program, 01/01/26-12/31/27, $1,757,642.29 (recv)
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Resolution:
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BE IT RESOLVED, that Agreement A2613421 with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety accepting the 2025 Urban Area Security Initiative Grant funds for homeland security related projects during the period January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2027 in the receivable amount of $1,757,642.29 be approved; that the Chair of the Board be authorized to sign the Agreement on behalf of the county; and, that the Controller be authorized to disburse funds as directed; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that sponsorship and acceptance of grant funding for this program by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners does not imply a continued funding commitment by Hennepin County for this program when grant funds are no longer available; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that acceptance of this award in no way reflects acceptance of terms or conditions that are legally unenforceable against Hennepin County.
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Background:
Since 2004, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Minnesota Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management have designated Hennepin County as part of a major urban area eligible for receipt of Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant funding. This funding is to increase readiness levels and response capabilities of the emergency management community to deal with major disasters and incidents.
During the last grant period, 2024-2026, Emergency Management received $744,526. In addition to funding to increase readiness for major disasters and incidents, UASI funding was used to improve terrorism security and response capabilities through the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention (LETP) program. The UASI grant designated 20% of the funds directly for law enforcement. This LETP funding was used by law enforcement for equipment, training, etc. For example, this grant supported the Hennepin County Weapons of Mass Destruction Team through the purchase of suits, radiation detectors, and Power Air-Purifying Respirator (PAPR) batteries. In addition, night vision optics and mounts were purchased for West Hennepin Public Safety, South Lake PD, and Wayzata PD, ballistic shields for Minnetrista PD, and helmets for Richfield SWAT.
The remaining 80% of funding supported 4.5 FTEs in meteorology, communications and field operations in the Emergency Management Department, WebEOC software for the Emergency Operation Center, database upgrades to the mesonet system, and communications upgrades and equipment. These investments support multi-agency communication during disaster response and recovery through the WebEOC platform. Our mesonet system and meteorologists track potentially dangerous weather systems and help inform Hennepin County’s mitigation strategies for climate change. Maintaining functioning and up to date equipment in communications, and caches is critical to response efforts on “grey sky” days.
The 2026-27 grant similarly has 20% designated for the LETP program. This year’s award also includes increased funding ($252,500) for Twin Cities Public Television NOW to create multilingual emergency education and alert programing via the “Ready Together: A Resilient Minnesota” campaign. In the past TPT NOW used funding to fill content and programming gaps supporting health, safety, and emergency preparedness goals through the production, engagement, and distribution of multilingual content. This has been achieved through established partnerships and a media “HUB” of distributors including 4-6 entities including Hmong TV, Somali TV, public media (TPT NOW), and/or other broadcast media and/or streaming services.
The remainder of the UASI funds will be used to support Hennepin County Emergency Management in similar ways as the 2024 grant.
recommendation
Recommendation from County Administrator: Recommend Approval