Va. department look to grant for new truck

By Dave Forster
The Virginian-Pilot(Norfolk, VA.)

SUFFOLK, Va. — The city says it has a "major problem" as wild fire season begins because it has inadequate equipment to fight those fires.

The Suffolk Fire Department has only one brush truck, and it is more than 12 years old, according to a May 20 letter from Mayor Linda Johnson to U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes. The letter was a request for help securing a federal grant to buy a second brush truck.

Johnson noted that 75 percent of Suffolk's 430 square miles is undeveloped or zoned for agriculture, wild land or open space. That contributes to a "regular occurrence" of wild fires, she wrote.

"The City of Suffolk has determined a major problem/risk exists with the inadequate number of wild land fire fighting apparatus available to the citizens of Suffolk," Johnson wrote. "Brush fires extending beyond our current capabilities have occurred with increasing frequency over the past few years."

The grant request seeks $64,000 in federal money, to be joined with $16,000 in local dollars.

The new procedure that the city is using to determine how much money it gives to local non-profits has gotten off to a curious start.

City Manager Selena Cuffee-Glenn invited the groups that applied for funding to an open meeting with her and several staff members. Each group would get 10 minutes to detail its need and answer questions. The procedure is common in other cities, but new in Suffolk.

Of the 32 groups that asked for money, 19 made appointments, said spokeswoman Debbie George.

How much those hearings mattered is unclear.

The city did not answer a question about how it planned to address those groups that didn't schedule an appointment, or if more dates would be added.

Instead, George e-mailed: "Lack of attendance at a meeting does not make an agency or organization ineligible for consideration for funding."

The Genieve Shelter, a center for victims of domestic violence, gave a presentation even though it was told it didn't need to because it wouldn't be receiving any local money next fiscal year, said Val Livingston, the executive director.

The Genieve Shelter received $15,000 in the current budget and $18,550 each of the two years prior.

Livingston said she was told her group wouldn't receive a city grant this year because it receives federal money from a Community Development Block Grant. In prior years it received CDBG money and local grants.

George said the city had to be strategic because of limited resources.

Copyright 2009 Landmark Communications, Inc.
All Rights Reserved