Investment to Help to Access Essential Community Services
The Trump Administration today announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $50,000 to support public safety services in Conejos County, Colorado.
“Rural America relies on safe, modern community facilities to ensure access to essential services such as education, health care and public safety,” said Sallie Clark, USDA Rural Development Colorado State Director. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Perdue, USDA has been working tirelessly to be a strong partner to rural Colorado in building stronger and healthier communities, because we know when rural America thrives, all of America thrives,” said Clark.
In rural Colorado, the South Conejos Fire Protection District will use a $50,000 Community Facilities Grant to replace their existing communication repeater, handheld radios, and pagers. The District holds the license for the repeater and is responsible for the maintenance. Currently, the existing repeater is in disrepair and the radios are no longer able to be programmed and are not capable of operating on the 700 MHz frequency required. “The district’s current equipment will need to be taken out of service soon and with fire season in full swing, this funding could not have come at a more critical time,” said Clark. Additionally, the grant will allow the district to replace several outdated pagers and allow them to provide to volunteers whom are not currently equipped with one.
“I take a lot of pride in rural Colorado’s communities, because we are home to some of the strongest, smartest, hardworking and capable people in the country,” said Clark. Community services like this are often the lifeblood of a community. USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information in Colorado, visit www.rd.usda.gov/co.