Indiana County Commissioners Wednesday morning approved the distribution of Act 13 funds the county received from gas well drilling activities.
The amount of money has decreased to a total of $74,177.52. This is due to the number of unconventional natural gas wells in Indiana County decreasing as well. Commissioners Chairman Mike Baker said the money the county gets from the Act 13 grants is important.
$15,000 of this year’s grant will be put to the Indiana Fire Academy, another $10,000 will be used for Farmland Preservation and the remaining funds will be used for social service expenditures.
In other business, the Commissioners approved an agreement with Steel City Drones for five county emergency management employees to be trained in flying drone aircraft at a cost of $17,250. The money will come from existing hazmat funds and not use any of the county’s general funds. When training is complete, EMA will consider purchasing drones and using them as part of their mobile response unit.
Also, the county recognized the month of April as Fair Housing Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month, and recognized this week as National Telecomunicators Week to honor those who work at the 911 call center.
