NATCHEZ &045; Talk about a full schedule &045; but it could pay off for the City of Natchez.

In the almost five months since she was hired as the city’s grants coordinator Brett Brinegar, working as a team with the city’s department heads, has applied for almost $200,000 in government and foundation money.

If they’re received, the funds will be used to help buy for everything from fire equipment to the cleanup of illegal dumps to an interactive kiosk to help tourists find their way.

In her first days on the job, Brinegar met with Mayor Phillip West, aldermen and city directors to find out the city’s most pressing needs.

Since then, she’s worked with them to put together applications to help meet those needs.

&uot;I work with them as a team,&uot; Brinegar said.

She gets information on available grants from several Internet newsletters, among other sources. Meanwhile, department heads keep their eyes and ears open for other potential funding sources, forwarding any information they have to Brinegar for follow-up.

As of this week, applications and/or letters of intent (preliminary, short-form applications) Brinegar has filed include ones for:

4An Emergency Community Development Block Grant of $75,000 to replace supports that washed out from under a sewer line near Liberty Road after recent rains. The city plans to put up a 10 percent match plus in-kind services from the city’s Engineering Department and Natchez Waterworks.

4$52,215 from the Department of Homeland Security to buy updated breathing equipment for the Fire Department. That amount includes a 10 percent from the Fire Department’s equipment budget.

&uot;The first thing I do is check with department heads to see if the money (to match such grants) is in their budget,&uot; Brinegar said.

4$30,000 from the Mississippi Department of Transportation to, along with the Downtown Development Association, place an interactive tourism kiosk at the riverside Bailey Park. The amount of the grant match hasn’t been determined.

4$25,000 from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to clean up illegal dumping sites. There would be no match.

4$7,000 from the Beaumont Foundation for four laptops that could be checked out from the Senior Citizen Multipurpose Center computer lab. That was a letter of intent; the full application is due by the end of the month.

From the time an application is submitted, it can take at least six months to find out whether the funds are granted.

Brinegar also coordinated the donation of four computers worth about $4,000 from the Isle of Capri Casino for the Senior Citizen Center.

Perhaps Brinegar’s most high-profile project has been coordinating, along with consultant Andi Quartey, applications for millions in U.S. Department of Agriculture funds for everything from a performing arts center to housing complexes to a health and wellness center.

&uot;We’re working to get those (proposals) in to USDA by the end of the fiscal year,&uot; Sept. 30, Brinegar said.

In coming weeks and months, Brinegar also plans to apply for planning and other funds for walking trails along the riverfront and bluff, for rehabilitating the Memorial Park foundation and to upgrade laptops and buy fingerprint scanners for the Police Department.

Other funds will be sought to buy a trailer for Public Works to use during disaster situations; to, along with Alcorn State, plan recreational facilities along St. Catherine’s Creek; to upgrade the city’s water system; and to help hire firefighters and buy fire prevention and safety materials.