Alexandria Again Denied CDBG Grant to Fund New Fire Truck

The Town of Alexandria has again been denied a Community Development Block Grant to purchase a new fire engine.
The city’s grant writer for the project, Fay Leonard of Vantage Consulting Services, informed the mayor and aldermen during their regular monthly meeting Tuesday night that for the second year in a row the project didn’t score high enough to qualify. “I don’t understand why this fire truck project did not get funded. Only 38% of what was submitted (applications) was able to be funded. I think its just a matter of less available money and more projects,” said Leonard.
The Mayor and Aldermen first voted to apply for the CDBG grant from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development in October 2015. At that time, the total grant project would have been for $331,580 including the city’s local matching obligation of $16,580 had the grant been approved.
Plans were to replace the Alexandria Fire Department’s 1981 fire truck with a new custom cab class 1 pumper which might have improved the city’s ISO rating.
Although the town is in need of a new fire truck which improved its chances, Leonard cautioned the mayor and aldermen at the time of the first application filing not to get their hopes up too high because so many applicants are always in competition for the grants. “The fact that your fire truck is in such bad condition is going to be helpful to you in the scoring for the grant but it is so competitive. For example for the 2015 cycle, there were 131 of these grants submitted statewide and only 54 were approved because the money just goes so far. About 40% of what was submitted was able to be funded. I am hopeful about it but it is very competitive,” said Leonard in October 2015.
The town reapplied for the grant last fall after the first application was denied. Leonard said she learned last week that the project again would not be funded.
During Tuesday night’s meeting, Leonard said the town could again try for a grant to help fund other needs of the city. “There are things you can apply for in the water and sewer department. Its time to go through the process again if that is what is decided to be done. The first thing to do is have a public hearing and discuss all the different needs that the town has and decide what would have the best chance because obviously you can see with only 38% funded this year it is extremely competitive and you would have to go through the process to see what might be the most competitive,” said Leonard.
The Alexandria Fire Department is staffed with volunteers and two fire trucks. The oldest truck, a 1981 model, is on indefinite loan to the city from Wilson County, but would be returned if a new truck were to be purchased. The other fire truck is a 1997 model.
In May, 2015, the city learned that the Insurance Services Office raised Alexandria’s Public Protection Classification (PPC) rating from a Class 7 to a Class 4.