MARQUETTE — The Marquette County Board of Commissioners will consider assisting the Upper Peninsula 911 Authority in funding the replacement of the dispatch center’s call processing equipment during its meeting at 6 p.m. today.

The authority applied for and received a $677,940 Next Generation 911 grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the project. Its anticipated cost is $757,000.

According to an agenda supplement, $33,897 is the required match for the grant, which is administrated by Michigan’s State 911 Committee.

Federal grants reimburse the recipient after the funds for the project have been expended, the supplement states.

“The authority does not have enough funds on hand to cover the match and costs of the project above the grant amount,” the document states. “Central Dispatch is requesting that the county board allow us to cover the upfront cost for the grant portion of this project … Central Dispatch does not have (an) adequate fund reserve to cover this expense until the funds are reimbursed.”

Michigan received over $3.9 million in grant funding to power basic improvements such as providing digital and IP network capabilities to 911 emergency call centers and will assist implementation of advanced mapping systems that will make it easier to identify a 911 caller’s location, an Aug. 9, 2019, NHTSA release states.

In total, $109 million in NHTSA 911 grant funds were awarded to 34 states and two tribal nations as part of the program.

The board will also consider a $48,528 bid for the development of a phone application for Marquette County veterans.

If approved, 906 Technologies of Marquette will complete the project. The company would develop an application which would provide veterans access to local, state and national services and events on devices with both Android and Apple operating systems, according to an action item request from Marquette County Veterans Affairs officer Craig Salo.

The project would be fully funded via the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency, but would need to be approved by Sept. 30, the end of the state’s fiscal year.

“The purpose of this design and implementation is to increase veteran awareness of local, state and federal benefits; inform the veteran community and public at large of local veteran events; and to help synchronize both private and public veteran service providers within our county,” the document states.

County commissioners will also consider bids totaling $124,130 for four vehicles for the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office.

If approved, the MCSO will purchase three 2021 Dodge Chargers from LaFontaine CDJR for $27,710 each and one 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe for $41,030, according to a memo to the board from Marquette County Undersheriff Daniel Willey.

The meeting will be held via the Zoom teleconferencing platform. Participants can join on the web at https://us02web.zoom.us /j/89119269359, or by phone by calling 1-312-626-6799 and keying in the meeting ID 89119269359#.