USDA Rural Development Acting Area Director Leann Gleason today announced an Economic Impact Initiative (EII) Grant of $8,310 to the City of Huntsville. The funds were used to purchase a new early warning storm siren, as they their previous one was not operational.
“Protecting lives and property is part of Rural Development’s community development mission. Most people think community development means funding projects that construct facilities or creating jobs, which is true, but community development also includes providing resources to public safety efforts,” said Gleason.“ Early warning is critical for saving lives in emergency weather conditions, and in rural areas, it’s even more critical due to the distance for first responders to travel. The city of Huntsville’s warning siren is a great of example of what rural areas can do to expand their safety efforts.”
With the help of Rural Development’s EII funding, the warning storm siren is set to be installed this month.
EII grants are available to rural communities with a not employed rate of greater than 19-1/2 percent to help develop essential community facilities. One goal of the EII program is to provide funding for rural first responder agencies. These funds have been used by rural communities to purchase, among other critical items, police cars, fire trucks, emergency rescue equipment, and communications devices. Further information on additional programs is available by visiting the USDA Missouri Rural Development website at http://www.rd.usda.gov/mo. Interested parties may also contact the Chillicothe Sub-Area Office at (660) 646-6222, Ext 4.
USDA, through its Rural Development mission area, has an active portfolio of more than $216 billion in loans and loan guarantees. These programs are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural America.