The City of Kenai was notified from the State of Alaska, DHSS, Division of Public Health for round two grant funding in support of creating and sustaining healthy and equitable communities that strategically aim to build infrastructure to improve health outcomes for high risk, underserved populations.
Funding for the program is based on population of each community within Alaska and is calculated by the Alaska Health Equity Index.
The City of Kenai is eligible for a municipal allocation of $134,331.00 from the State.
Accepting this grant funding has the potential to improve infrastructure within the City that will result in a healthier community.
The City proposed a list of projects that met the criteria of the grant in round one, and nine projects were approved by the grant administrator.
One of the priorities on the list was the refinishing of the Recreation Center floors. Administration is recommending moving forward with this project and then continue with the other projects on the list with the additional funds left over.
Additional approved projects are listed below from the original grant submission:
Health and Equitable Communities MOA
If funds remain after completing the initial project listed in the application, funds will go towards one of the following pre-approved projects:
Municipal Park Boardwalk: This project supports category number 4 and would allow anyone the opportunity to get out and walk on trails in the city. This project constructs an engineered elevated boardwalk that connects the park to an existing trail that meanders through a wooded area used throughout the year and heavily during dip net season as it travels down to the North Beach at the mouth of the Kenai River.
Nordic Trail Lighting: This project also supports category number 4 by promoting the outdoor use of an existing winter cross country ski trail and improving it so that citizens can use it at any hour they chose. This project is designed in multiple phases and the first phase would focus on lighting the trail around the central bowl area near the driving range and clubhouse at the Kenai Municipal Golf Course.
The following are projects that have been identified that are not in our current capital projects, mostly because they are under the dollar amount required to be a capital project, or they fit within another category for this funding.
Mobile Handwash and Restroom Trailers: This project would support categories 1 and 3 by allowing the City to mobilize a trailer to events where larger groups of people congregate. We know the key to prevention is practicing good hygiene. Trailers such as these have been used by FEMA and Incident Management Teams across the nations for all sizes of incidents. We would promote health and wellness by giving citizens a sanitary place to practice good hygiene at events around the City.
Videography Equipment and City of Kenai Website: This equipment would support categories 3 and 4 by placing cameras and equipment at sites that are designed for activities promoting a healthy lifestyle. Individuals would be able to go to the City’s website/app and see available sites with current and past usage of the trails/playground/etc.
Emergency Preparedness Kits: These kits support categories 1 and 3 by supplying seniors over the age of 60 with items needed in the event of an emergency. This is a project our Senior Center has already been a part of, and quickly ran out of kits as the demand was high and funding was not available to fulfill the overall need. The kits include:
Training and exercise for updated Emergency Operations Plan: This would support categories 1 and 3 by providing training to individuals within the City of Kenai’s Emergency Operation Plan (EOP), to prepare them to respond and mitigate future emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. We are currently updating our EOP and following the update, individuals will need position specific training to effectively respond to and deal with larger emergencies. We would hire contractors to conduct ICS training for those within the plan and following the training, conduct an exercise to assess operations and critique for changes/updates to our newly added section of Pandemic Response.
