Fairfield County’s new grants coordinator Steven Gaither recently gave county council an update on the grants the county is seeking.

At the June 8 meeting, Gaither told council the county is currently working on grants including the following:

• $500,000 Cops Community Oriented Policing) Grant- applied for 4 additional deputies for community liaisons;

• 2009 Direct Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) $24,000- to equip all county patrol cars with computers, a continuation of a grant begun in 2007;

• JAG Grant $107,000- through Department of Public Safety- an AFIS machine for fingerprinting and background checks;

• 2009 Direct JAG Grant $101,000- continuation of a 2007 project for 24 police vehicles to get computers at $2100 each. Includes all departments: investigations, narcotics, Sheriff’s Department.

These grants require no matching funds, council was told.

• Fairfield County Quick Jobs (Council of Governments)- the county is conducting a meeting with COG on the details and interviews with architects for the Quick Jobs Center are being conducted;

• Energy Grant (COG) $213,000- the county wants to use this grant to obtain an energy audit, specifically for the County admin building, the Fairfield County Courthouse, the Detention Center and the Judicial Center. This is a competitive grant-the county will compete with other municipalities and counties.

Some current grant projects:

• Village Renaissance Project (over $3.0M)- focus is on “Community Blight”. The possible targeted area will be the Mill Village. The county is, at the advice of the COG, waiting for additional federal and state requirements before applying for the grant;

• Weatherization-Carolina Community Actions, Inc.- CCA is currently taking applications, funding is based on income status. There are currently some applications being processed in Fairfield County.

• Buffer Zone Protection Grant $139,000- items provided in case of terrorism, including night-vision goggles and thermal image cameras. This grant is in process and requires no matching funds.

Gaither wound up his presentation by advising the county that good planning is an important part of any grant process.

Consider the relationships between all aspects of the community, the surrounding environment and beyond, he advised.

When applying for a grant, more information is always better, he said.