Public Disclosure Of FY26 Community Project Funding Requests

Project Name: East Carolina University (ECU) Police Department Software Upgrades

Requested Amount: $254,856

Requesting Entity: East Carolina University, N.C.

Location: Greenville, N.C.

Justification: ECU’s Police Department is responsible for the prevention of crimes and response to calls for the six campus locations in Greenville, Pitt County, and Dare County. The department serves over 27,000 students and more than 5,000 faculty and staff, making the approximately 32,000 people the department serves the size of NC cities like New Bern and Goldsboro.

The department's current safety technology infrastructure—including dispatch essentials, the records management system, and mobile data system—is outdated and in critical need of modernization. This request seeks funding to upgrade dispatch software (including mapping, analytics, and GIS integration), incident and arrest reporting tools, barcoding equipment, a cloud-based data sharing network, and to provide essential training for system use. These updates are particularly important for working with City of Greenville PD when an incident crosses jurisdictional boundaries.

Federal Nexus: The purpose of the funds proposed for the ECU Police Department is aligned with (b)(8) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. § 10381(b)(8)) “to develop new technologies, including interoperable communications technologies, modernized criminal record technology, and forensic technology, to assist State, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies in reorienting the emphasis of their activities from reacting to crime to preventing crime and to train law enforcement officers to use such technologies.”

Member Certification Form
Letters of Support

Project Name: Rapid DNA Testing

Requested Amount: $682,553

Requesting Entity: Onslow County Sheriff’s Office, N.C.

Location: Onslow County, N.C.

Justification: Onslow County is seeking federal support to implement a Rapid DNA program aimed at enhancing public safety and modernizing forensic capabilities. With a growing population exceeding 213,000 residents and the presence of major military installations like Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River, Onslow County faces unique challenges in law enforcement and emergency response. Currently, DNA analysis relies on state laboratories, leading to delays that can hinder timely investigations. By establishing a local Rapid DNA program, Onslow County aims to expedite the identification process for suspects and victims, reduce case backlogs, and improve the efficiency of criminal investigations. This initiative will not only strengthen Onslow County's ability to respond swiftly to criminal activities but also serve as a model for integrating advance forensic technology in similar jurisdictions.

Federal Nexus: There is a strong federal nexus as this project as the funding provided is for the purposes authorized by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Public Law 103-322.

Member Certification Form
Letters of Support

Project Name: Emergency Services Portable Mobile Radio Replacement

Requested Amount: $510,594

Requesting Entity: Town of Winterville, N.C.

Location: Winterville, N.C.

Justification: The proposed project would fund police communications equipment to include portable and mobile radios. The portable and mobile radios that are currently in use date back to 2010. By industry standards these radios are very dated. These radios reached end-of-service life in September 2023. Additionally, the police department due to the radios being outdated it is challenging to adequately keep them serviceable which makes it a challenge to meet the police department’s operational needs.

Federal Nexus: The project has federal nexus because the funding provided is for the purposes authorized by the Violent Crime Control Act of 1994, Public Law 103-322.

Member Certification Form
Letters of Support

Project Name: McCotter Canal Improvements

Requested Amount: $6,000,000

Requesting Entity: The City of Havelock, N.C.

Location: Havelock, N.C.

Justification: The City of Havelock will use this funding to design and construct improvements to McCotter Canal that drains the United States Forest Service's Croatan National Forest and the City's southeastern neighborhoods, in which working families, veterans, members of the military, and military spouses reside. Constructed more than 50 years ago, the canal includes critical Havelock drinking-water infrastructure, but was built with an ill-advised 90-degree turn in it that exacerbates flooding in adjacent neighborhoods and commercial entities east of U.S. Highway 70.

Federal Nexus: There is a strong federal nexus as the McCotter Canal drains U.S. Forest Service lands that are part of the Croatan National Forest in addition to the southeast portion of the city of Havelock.

Member Certification Form
Letters of Support

Project Name: Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway FY26 Operations & Maintenance in North Carolina

Requested Amount: $7,000,000

Requesting Entity: Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association (AIWA)

Location: Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, N.C.

Justification: The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway is a vital part of the nation’s transportation system. Identified as Marine Highway 95, the AIWW provides the following benefits to North Carolina and the Nation. Those benefits include:

Military training exercise areas and support to Camp Lejeune, NC.
Coast Guard mission support to leave their docks and perform rescues throughout coastal North Carolina.
Economic development for NC communities and marinas who gain value from commercial and recreational users.
Commercial operations for the movement of products by tug and barge from points within and outside of North Carolina to the Ports of Wilmington and Morehead City and from the port to other areas, including Nucor Steel and Nutrien in Aurora, North Carolina.
Thousands of recreational waterway users and over 10,000 snowbirds that make the annual migration from the northeast to points south each year.

In addition, the waterway is used for national defense and homeland security in other areas along the southeastern U.S. coastline:

The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway provides for the National Defense with the delivery of jet fuel to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, fuel to Naval Station Mayport, at Jacksonville, FL, and jet fuel to Naval Air Station Oceana at Virigina Beach.. These products move via this vital waterway.
On-water training in Georgia for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for homeland security.

The Corps of Engineers currently estimates that the current Operations & Maintenance backlog in North Carolina is $15 million and the annual maintenance needs are $7 million.

Federal Nexus: This project has a federal has a federal nexus because the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway is a federally maintained waterway and have been authorized in five separate

Public Laws (PL), The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1912 (P.L. 62-241), Rives and Harbors Act of 1927 (P.L. 69-560), Rivers and Harbors Act of 1930 (P.L. 71-520), Rivers and Harbors Act of 1937 (P.L. 75-392), and the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1948 (P.L. 80-858).

Member Certification Form
Letters of Support

Project Name: Fire Fighter Training Facility

Requested Amount: $750,000

Requesting Entity: Town of Winterville

Location: Winterville, North Carolina

Justification: The Town of Winterville is seeking funds to construct a new fire fighter training facility. The proposed facility will have a direct impact upon the level of service provided by the Town of Winterville Fire-Rescue-EMS by providing basic and advanced training to firefighters. This project would fill a gap in the departmental training program as currently, the town cannot adequately train firefighters in terms of fire attack, search and rescue, ventilation, ladders, and safety and survival. The project would also provide this training to surrounding departments on a county/regional level as the Winterville Fire-Rescue-EMS Department is a delivery agency and serves as a training hub for the fire departments in the area.

Federal Nexus: This project has a federal nexus because the funding provided is for the purposes authorized by 42 U.S.C. 5305(a)(2).

Member Certification Form
Letters of Support

Project Name: Holly Ridge Community Center Expansion

Requested Amount: $1,200,000

Requesting Entity: Town of Holly Ridge

Location: Holly Ridge, North Carolina

Justification: The Town of Holly Ridge is seeking funds to expand their current community center. As the town’s population is expected to double in size the next seven years, the current community center will need to be expanded in order to accommodate new residents. An expanded community center will create additional meeting rooms, sports courts, and an exercise facility for current and future residents to use.

Requested Amount: $4,307,250

Requesting Entity: Town of Winterville

Location: Winterville, North Carolina

Justification: The Town of Winterville is seeking funds to upgrade three water main lines and acquire a new water storage system. As the Town of Winterville has grown at a rapid rate, upgrades are necessary to ensure that residents of the town are being provided with quality water, while also ensuring residents are provided with adequate fire flow protection. As the town’s population continues to grow, this project will ensure Winterville’s infrastructure is being updated to handle new and incoming residents.

Requested Amount: $4,000,000

Requesting Entity: Town of Farmville

Location: Farmville, North Carolina

Justification: The Town of Farmville is seeking funds to build a new fire department. The current facility is nearly 100 years old and is not ADA accessible. Additionally, the location of the current fire department is located in a congested downtown area with no means of expansion. The current location does not have adequate truck storage or operational space that is necessary for a modern fire department. A new fire department will allow the Town of Farmville to provide necessary services to the residents of Farmville and the surrounding community.

Requested Amount: $4,500,000

Requesting Entity: East Carolina University

Location: Coastal Studies Institute

Justification: The Coastal Studies Institute (CSI), a multi-institutional research and education facility led by East Carolina University, is seeking Community Project Funding to expand its Shoreline Restoration and Education Boardwalk project on Roanoke Island. The shoreline adjacent to CSI is eroding at an alarming rate of 6–10 feet per year, threatening critical estuarine habitat and the region's fisheries-based economy, and building on a successful pilot phase completed with The Nature Conservancy. This project will stabilize an additional 3,200 feet of shoreline using living shoreline techniques such as oyster sills and marsh restoration, while also constructing a raised, ADA-accessible boardwalk to reduce human impact on sensitive marshlands. The project will protect coastal ecosystems from storm surge and flooding, provide safe access for science education and eco-tourism, and strengthen the resilience of rural coastal communities that depend on healthy shorelines for their livelihoods.

Federal Nexus: This project is eligible under 42 U.S.C. § 5305, which governs the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Specifically:

§ 5305(a)(2) authorizes the construction and installation of public works, facilities, and site improvements. The project includes building 3,200 feet of living shoreline and a raised boardwalk—public infrastructure that protects natural resources, reduces erosion, and expands educational and recreational access.
§ 5305(a)(1)(C) supports conservation of open spaces and natural resources, and the provision of recreational opportunities. The project conserves estuarine shoreline and marsh habitat while offering managed public access through the boardwalk and opportunities for eco-tourism.
§ 5305(a)(1)(B) allows for conservation activities. This nature-based shoreline stabilization directly contributes to environmental conservation, resilience, and ecosystem health.

Together, these activities promote long-term community development, disaster mitigation, public access, and natural resource protection.

Member Certification Form
Letters of Support