DAKOTA CITY - Humboldt County is considering a new source of grant money for the construction of the county Emergency Operations Center located next to the Law Enforcement Center in Humboldt.

Work on the EOC has been delayed as the county has tried unsuccessfully to obtain grants for the project. At Monday's supervisors meeting, Humboldt County Sheriff Dean Kruger and Linda Frideres, a freelance grant writer from Lu Verne hired by the county, told the board about a new grant for which the supervisors might apply.

I-JOBS is a new infrastructure investment initiative from the governor. The Iowa Legislature has allocated $830 million for the program. Money comes from existing state gaming revenue without increasing taxes, according to information from the state.

"Last Thursday Pat Colwell, emergency management person, and myself went to Storm Lake to listen to what this I-JOBS program was all about," Kruger said.

He said representatives of other communities and entities also attended, including the cities of Fort Dodge, Humboldt and Bode, and the MIDAS Council of Governments.

Out of $830 million, $712 million has already been allocated, Kruger said. Projects already approved include rebuilding parts of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City devastated by last year's flooding.

That leaves $118 million for other projects, but other cities and counties have shown a lot of interest, Kruger said. "It's worth a try to see if we can get any kind of funding for our EOC - Law Enforcement project," he said. "I think we definitely qualify for at least applying for it."

Kruger said funding would go to projects in every region of the state. Cities and counties may apply for up to $50 million.

The grant for the EOC-LEC would require 50 percent matching funds from the county, Frideres said.

Frideres said the main goals of the program are to facilitate economic impact and the creation of jobs. By combining the EOC project with the LEC project, she said the county would have a much better chance of being approved.

Board Chairman Harlan Hansen said he thought it would make more of an impact to combine the two projects.

The county is considering renovating and expanding the LEC to include a larger basement and more office space.

"The Police Department and the Sheriff Department in there are on top of each other," Kruger said. In addition a second working dispatch station is needed in the event the primary station is down, he said.

Kruger said the Humboldt police chief is in favor of the planned LEC expansion.

Supervisor Carl Mattes asked if the city and county could cooperate on the project.

Frideres said it would be better if it was a county project with one budget, and the city would reimburse the county for their part.

"We are just sending a letter of intent; the letter is not binding," said Frideres.

The letter must be sent 20 days before the grant application. Frideres said she did not want to wait until August to apply. Deadline to apply for the first round of funding is Aug. 3.

Jim Gronbach of Gronbach Construction, of Dakota City, told the board he estimates the total project at $750,000 with the biggest share of the cost being the LEC. Kruger said he had gotten a rough estimate of $600,000 from another contractor for the LEC work alone.

Gronbach will come up with preliminary plans for the LEC project and a firm cost estimate for the board. The board will consider submitting a letter of intent at next Monday's meeting.

Contact Robert Wolf at (515) 573-2141 or editor@messengernews.net