2025 Spring Sweat Equity Bin Rental Program
Funding Guidelines
Deschutes County has allocated funds for Spring of 2025 to fund a Sweat Equity Bin Rental Program to reduce wildfire risk in Deschutes County communities. Preference will be given to communities or neighborhoods that are listed as high wildfire risk.
Purpose
The Sweat Equity Bin Rental Program is intended to assist communities with the removal of fire fuels, helping to reduce fuels and improve defensible space in Deschutes County. The program aims to encourage property owners to complete fuels reduction work within 100’ surrounding their home/structure. This work can increase a structures chance of survival in the event of a wildfire.
Eligibility
Applicants for the Sweat Equity Bin Rental Program must be working at a neighborhood or community scale (not individual properties) to reduce wildfire risks. Activities should result in reduction of wildland fuels and/or improvement of defensible space around structures.
Funding
The amount of funding available for the program in the current fiscal year (through June 30, 2025) is $75,000, or 30 service awards. Deschutes County will work directly with neighborhoods or communities to manage the Sweat Equity Bin Rental Program. Deschutes County will manage all bin rental contracts with disposal companies, funds will not be awarded to communities directly.
Application
Applicants must complete and submit one online fillable copy of the Deschutes County 2025 Sweat Equity Bin Rental Program application.
Timelines
The first round of applications will be accepted until February 28th, 2025, and will be reviewed shortly thereafter. A site visit may be conducted as part of the review. Applicants will be notified of results by Early March. Applications received after February 28th may be considered depending on available funding.
Evaluation
Upon receipt, Deschutes County staff will screen applications for completeness and several ranking factors. Incomplete applications may be returned to the applicant with a request for additional information. Factors that will be considered during the review process include, but may not be limited to, whether the neighborhood or community is a recognized Firewise USA ™ site or is working to become one, the number and/or size of properties that are anticipated to participate in the project, whether the project is focused on defensible space within 100’ of structures, community wildfire risk, whether the neighborhood or community has received bin rental services through Deschutes County in the last fiscal cycle.
Awards
All applicants will be notified of the decision. At that time, successful applicants will receive instructions describing next steps.
Post-Award Requirements
Acknowledgment of Service Award: If any public recognition is made related to the purpose for which the program was received, such as in media announcements, marketing materials, advertising, or information campaigns, service award recipients must acknowledge support from the Deschutes County Fuel Reduction Grant Program.
Compliance: Award recipients who do not comply with program requirements established by Deschutes County may be subject to repaying disposal service costs and may become ineligible for future funding consideration.
For additional information about this Deschutes County Spring 2025 Sweat Equity Bin Rental Program, please contact,
Kevin Moriarty, County Forester at 541-322-7117 or forester@deschtues.org
News Release Issued: January 31, 2025
