Union County opens comment period on rescue, emergency services funding requests
Union County is weighing $186,357 in rescue and emergency gear, and residents have until June 20 to shape whether the money is spent.
Union County is weighing $186,357 in new public-safety equipment, from an inflatable rescue boat and snowmobile trailer to a portable emergency operations center, and residents have until June 20 to weigh in before commissioners move ahead.
The larger request would send $160,097 to Union County Search and Rescue for a vehicle, an inflatable rescue boat, a snowmobile trailer and portable radios. A second proposal asks for $26,260 for Union County Emergency Services for a portable EOC, vehicle tires and computer equipment. Together, the purchases point to the county’s biggest day-to-day emergency challenge: making sure responders can reach people, talk to each other and coordinate a scene quickly when weather, distance and terrain slow everything down.
The funding would come through Title III applications filed under Public Law 119-58. Union County says eligible projects include Firewise Communities work, search and rescue and other emergency services, emergency-services training and equipment purchases, community wildfire protection plans and broadband telecommunications services. The county’s application form says reimbursable costs can include search-and-rescue and other emergency services, firefighting and law enforcement patrols, training expenses and equipment directly tied to those services.
The county’s emergency-services planning gives the request added weight. Union County Emergency Services says it works to plan for, prepare for, respond to, recover from and mitigate natural and human-caused emergencies, in close coordination with state, federal and local agencies. The county’s emergency-services page also links to the 2025 Emergency Operations Plan, the 2022 Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan and a hazard vulnerability analysis, showing these purchases fit into a broader readiness strategy rather than a one-time shopping list.
Some of the equipment reflects past experience. In August 2023, Union County said it had received a $9,200 Wildhorse Foundation grant to enhance swiftwater rescue capabilities after an increase in water rescue calls in recent years. That grant helped equip six rescue team members and supported the Union County Swiftwater Rescue Team, formed by Union County Search and Rescue and the La Grande Fire Department. The new boat request appears to extend that water-rescue capacity.
The county has also repeatedly used Title III for response gear. In March 2024, it sought comment on a $56,285 search-and-rescue package for a rescue snowmobile and related equipment, along with a $52,200 emergency-services request for a tracked UTV with trailer and supplies. In March 2022, it sought comment on a $12,412 search-and-rescue proposal and a $15,673 emergency-services request for an emergency radio cache and copy machine for the Emergency Operations Center.
Residents can still influence the outcome during the comment period. Questions about the Title III process go to Annette Powers, and project applications are available through the Union County Administrative Office, 1106 K Avenue in La Grande, at (541) 963-1001.
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