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Eleven governments in Virginia receive nearly $2.5 million in emergency shelter upgrade funds

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The Virginia Department of Emergency Management announced awards of $2,493,153 for shelter upgrades and backup generators to 11 local governments.

The disbursements come from the Virginia Emergency Shelter Upgrade Assistance Fund, authorized under the Code of Virginia §44.146.29:3.

The fund is used for the purposes of providing matching funds to localities to install, maintain, or repair infrastructure related to backup energy generation for emergency shelters, including solar energy generators, and to improve the hazard-specific structural integrity of shelter facilities.

The maximum state match for a grant application is $450,000, with a local contribution based on the Commission on Local Government Federal Stress Index.

Eligible sub-applicants included local governments, as defined as political subdivisions in the Emergency Services and Disaster Laws §44-146.16 “any city or county in the Commonwealth and, for the purposes of this chapter, the town of Chincoteague, West Point, and any town of more than 5,000 population that chooses to have an emergency management program separate from that of the county in which such town is located.”  

Jurisdictions receiving funding through this grant program include the counties of Brunswick, Caroline, Fairfax, Nottoway, Prince William, and York, and the cities of Hampton and Salem.

The following localities will receive funding for FY 2021 when their current FY 2020 Shelter Upgrade Fund project they are implementing has been completed: the counties of Botetourt, Goochland and Wise.

Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is the regional editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for nearly 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of Virginia Tonight, a nightly TV news show. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television.