MISSOULA, Mont. -- The city of Missoula approved big money for a small tech company. TerraEchos is a local company on the frontlines of security.

“In today's world it's possible for us to operate out of Missoula due to the internet,” said CEO/President Of TerraEchos, Alex Philp.

Less than ten chairs sit around the conference room table at TerraEchos, but it's the room where a team of computer and software experts work on security programming for clients across country, including the U.S. Department of Defense.

“TerraEchos is focused on advanced security solutions for U.S. government and private sector companies to help provide security for physical infrastructure and increasingly cyber infrastructures,” Philp said.

They've won several national and international awards for their work, but the latest award may mean the most for this company. A $178,000 grant from the Montana Big Sky Trust Fund and approved by the city of Missoula. It’s cash that will help TerraEchos expand.

“It allows us to continue that tradition to continue that growth,” said Philp.

Philp says they plan to hire at least 25 more employees over the next two years, hiring locally if possible.

“We want graduates of UM to work here,” he said.

While that means they'll grow out of their small 4th Street building, but Philp says is will continue to serve as one hub for the company.

“We plan on keeping this and growing,” he said.

The City Council handed out grant money to a number of businesses and organizations at their weekly meeting including The Western Montana Mental Health Center. They received $420,000 to help build an inpatient unit. The city's Parks and Rec Department got $71,000 for new equipment at White Pine Park. And The Poverello Center received almost $50,000 to meet fire and safety goals in their current location.

“We so often see that grants are the final push that get the project over the hill. They gather their funding from lots of different sources from foundations, from individuals, from their own fundraising efforts, it's just tougher these days because the economy we're in and they need that little extra push,” said Nancy Harte of The Office of Planning and Grants.