The DeKalb Health Department will be receiving a special needs grant to help replace its HVAC system, phone system, and repave the parking lot.

The $65,130 grant was applied for by Director of the DeKalb Health Department Michael Railing through the Upper Cumberland Primary Care Project, supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

DeKalb County Mayor Tim Stribling commissioners about the grant during a meeting of the whole last week, saying there will be no local match requirement for the funds.

“No matching funds are required for the county,” Stribling said. “It’s to repave the parking lot at the health department, to install a new phone system there, and to put in a new HVAC system with some air purifiers. They have two. One went out about two years ago and we had to replace it. This is to replace the other one with the air purifiers and to put air purifiers on the one we replaced about two years ago.”

There will probably be a budget amendment coming for that, and it might be one of those where we have to spend it and then get reimbursed by the state. We have done that before,” Mayor Stribling explained.