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Assistant chief gets on a hot streak
Grant-writing helps Austintown get $2M
By Elise Franco
Austintown
The grant-writing success of Andy Frost III, assistant fire chief, has paid off for the township fire department to the tune of more than $2 million.
Frost, modest about the accomplishments, said he began writing grants in the early 2000s.
“There really was just a need for it, so I started taking some grant-writing classes,” he said.
Frost said that since 2003, he’s secured seven federal and seven state grants totaling more than $2 million. The most-recent grant, awarded May 12 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was $450,000 that the department will use to buy a new ladder truck.
“It’s great because it all helps the safety of our guys,” he said. “To put them in new protective clothing with new equipment in new trucks, I’m a big believer in that.”
In 2009, the department was awarded $247,500 for another new ladder truck and $330,000 to renovate Station 3 on Raccoon Road. Frost said the station, built in 1952, is in dire need of renovation. Construction should begin on the station in August and is expected to be completed in November.
Frost said a lot of work goes into writing a grant, which usually takes about 12 hours to write, though he added that’s significantly less time than the eight or nine days it took when he first began writing.
“We put a lot of statistics into them,” he said. “They truly look at the need, and all of those stats really help.”
Frost credits Joe Caruso, former Mahoning County Special Projects director, for taking him under his wing when he first began writing for grants.
“Joe helped us write our first grant,” he said. “He really showed me the way.”
Caruso, executive director for Burdman Group in Youngstown, said he’s glad to see Frost become so successful.
“I think that’s a tribute to his hard work,” Caruso said.
Caruso said it’s a positive thing any time a township or municipality secures grant funding, but for Austintown to secure $2 million in seven years is a feat.
“For a township, which isn’t a huge form of government, that’s a huge amount of money,” he said. “That’s something that otherwise wouldn’t be had if not for his initiative and desire to bring that money in.”
Township Trustee David Diztler said the $2 million is a reflection of all township department heads’ desire to keep their hands out of taxpayers’ pockets at all costs.
SDLqIt shows that we have a very proactive group that is looking to secure monies,” he said. “The department heads make us all look good for being as good as they are.”
Frost said that’s one reason he applies for as many grants as the fire department is eligible for.
“The whole township is big on alternative funding,” he said. “We’re trying to exhaust every option we can so we don’t have to ask the taxpayers for money.”