By Stuart Foster, Contributing Writer
MARLBOROUGH – The Marlborough City Council voted unanimously to approve two grants
for the purchase of defibrillators at a meeting on Nov. 8.
One of the grants came in the form of a legislative earmark for $10,000. In a letter to the City Council, Mayor Arthur Vigeant thanked Marlborough’s legislative delegation and State
Representative Danielle Gregoire for their support.
“Our delegation worked to secure these funds to purchase defibrillators for the senior housing office at 250 Main St. and city office locations or apparatus determined by the fire department to replace outdated machines,” Vigeant wrote.
Vigeant added that defibrillators have a shelf life of seven to 10 years and said that each one costs roughly $2,000. The city will be able to buy five defibrillators with these funds.
The other grant approved was $15,244 awarded to the Marlborough Police Department by the Office of Justice Programs in the United States Department of Justice.
Marlborough Police Chief David Giorgi wrote to Vigeant that the grant is part of the Office of Justice Programs’ Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.
Giorgi wrote that the department will use the grant funds to purchase seven Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and their accessories.
“The maintenance and use of the AED units is of vital importance to our officers’ ability to
render life-saving assistance to individuals who have suffered a heart attack or are in some state of cardiac arrest,” Giorgi wrote.
Giorgi also wrote that the department had received a similar grant last year and said that some of that funding was used to replace AEDs and purchase additional batteries for them.
