Agenda Item Request:
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Authorization for the Cumberland County Emergency Management Agency to submit a grant application on behalf of Cumberland County to DartDRONES to host a private onsite training at no cost.
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Background and Purpose of Request:
Requestor: Michael Durkin, CCEMA Director
CCEMA is working to expand its capabilities related to flying drones. We currently have one drone that we use for mapping and damage assessments and one certified pilot. We also coordinate a drone working group with pilots from local Fire/Police agencies and provide trainings for that. We would like approval to apply for a small grant that brings in outside experts to conduct a training. DARTdrones is a private drone training company that runs a public safety grant program for agencies like ours that are just starting out. If awarded, their trainers would come to the County and conduct a one-day training on basic flight training as well as flight planning and execution.
This training would be for both county staff and local first responders.
Funding Amount and Source:
Because this is a private grant, they don’t associate a specific dollar amount to it. Rather, they absorb the cost of this in their normal business which means they likely take in applications and weigh the relative cost/benefit of awarding the grant individually. DARTdrones would be taking on the cost of the training. Cumberland County would provide a location for the training (classroom) and cover the incidentals (snacks, bottled water, etc) which will be covered by CCEMA’s training budget. There is no match required.
Effective Date if Applicable: If approved, CCEMA will apply for this grant on 9/16/2025. We will then work with DARTdrones to find a training date that works for us and them.
Attached is the grant request form and the DARTdrones application (filled out but not submitted).