Tuscaloosa County Aims For $500K Grant To Buy Mobile Command Center, New Ambulance

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A day after receiving disappointing news that the county had been passed over for millions of dollars in state funding for a new mental health crisis center, the Tuscaloosa County Commission on Wednesday geared up for another round of funding that could see emergency responders get some much-needed assets for the field.

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If secured, it could mean the ability for the county to purchase a new mobile medical outreach unit and complimentary items, such as a F250 truck, a new ambulance and a storage unit for it all. The county has until Nov. 1 to apply for the Community Development Block Grant, which is capped at $500,000.

Tuscaloosa County EMA Director Nick Lolley discussed what the purchases could mean if the necessary funding is secured, while lobbying for the need that has already presented itself with recent flooding and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

He then presented a cost breakdown, showing the mobile medical outreach unit would carry a price tag of $183,428, which doesn't include the roughly $27,000 that will be used for a Ford F250 to pull the 31-foot trailer. If the county is successful in winning out on this round of grant funding, the new equipment would be purchased with no match required from the county.

The pull-behind command center's preliminary design calls for a conference room, work station, kitchenette and a bathroom. However, the current designs present Wednesday were solely for the purpose of the future bid.

"We've had to borrow power and different things," Lolley commented, referring to times when emergency responders out in the field were left with no choice but to request the help of citizens during certain times of crisis with respect to electricity and restrooms. "If we can get the grant and acquire this, we will not have to rely on anybody and will be self-sufficient out in the county."

What's more, getting the grant money could provided something of a slight consolation, after Patch reported Tuesday that Tuscaloosa County lost out to neighborhood Jefferson County, which was named as the recipient of $6 million in state funding to expand access to mental health resources in the county.

So, in an effort to get as close as possible to the $500,000 cap on the request, the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office also requested additional funding in the neighborhood of $240,000 for a new ambulance, as it continues its push to boost emergency services in the most far-reaching parts of the county.

"We don't have any idea what the future holds with regard to what's happening in our community today," Chief Deputy Byron Waid said to the Commission as he requested adding the brand new emergency vehicle to the grant request. "So, this would allow us to hopefully be prepared. It's a grant and it seems like the right things to do at this moment."

Waid then explained that the turnaround time from purchasing the ambulance — to getting it into active service — would take roughly six months, primarily due to high demand.

But if and when the new vehicle is secured, its design would allow for it to be put onto a new chassis if needed or desired. The county's oldest ambulance still in service is a 2011 model, Waid said, which does not have that same capability.

"A lot of this government money is out there, so a lot of people are trying to get in line for these," he said. "This is just part of that process, but we do have a plan in place until this one can roll out in six months or so."

The application for the Community Development Block Grant is Nov. 1, with county officials likely to have an answer on the funding after the first of the year. The measure to submit the grant application with its accompanying items was approved unanimously.

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