JAY — The Franklin County Emergency Management Agency is requesting the town contribute $1,059.80 toward the 25% match for a grant for two river gauge monitors.

Data from the gauges would provide critical information on river levels in areas that are otherwise less monitored and improve flood prediction and response capabilities in the vast regions.

The Select Board wants more information on the project and why the county is not paying the match since it involves all towns in the county.

If it is countywide, it should go through the county, Selectperson Lee Ann Dalessandro said. There is no money in the town budget for the contribution. She said she was surprised the county didn’t have money put aside for such expenses.

Commissioners voted 2-1 in September to permit the county Emergency Management Agency directors to apply for a grant to buy monitors for two rivers to help prepare for flooding. The monitors are expected to give real-time data with updates every 15 minutes, which will facilitate timely and informed decision-making, according to the Franklin County EMA director and deputy director.

“First responders will gain access to critical information to efficiently allocate resources in flood-prone areas, and the data collected will inform future infrastructure development” which will enhance community resilience,” Director Amanda Simoneau and Deputy Director Sara Bickford wrote in a letter to the town.

The grant would pay for installing the two U.S. Geological Survey river gauges.

In September, Simoneau and Bickford were looking at putting the gauges in the Sandy River in Farmington and the South Branch of the Carrabassett River in Carrabassett Valley.

The gauges will give the Weather Service accurate information that will allow the county to be more prepared to funnel resources to the necessary areas of risk,  according to county Administrator Amy Bernard.

The total project cost is $151,400. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program would pay 75%, or $113,550.

A match of $37,850 is needed for the gauges. The county will request up to 50% of the 25% match come from the county’s tax-increment financing funds dedicated to the unorganized territory. About 50% of the county’s land mass is in the unorganized territory.

It would be $18,925 from the TIF.

Commissioners are seeking the remaining $18,925 from individual towns.

The grant is for three years, including installation and two years of maintenance, Simoneau said in September. It is believed that other state agencies would partner to help pay for the maintenance, Simoneau said then.