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Volunteer firefighter urges county help; commissioners point to potential CDBG eligibility
Summary
A volunteer firefighter from Georgetown asked Mobile County commissioners for financial support for volunteer fire departments and said he has personally funded outreach work for six years. Commissioners directed him to county grant staff to explore Community Development Block Grant eligibility.
Dale Potts, who identified himself as a volunteer firefighter associated with the Georgetown Volunteer Fire Department, told Mobile County commissioners on March 6 that volunteer departments in the county need financial and mental-health support.
Potts said he has distributed more than 2,200 Bibles to first responders and that he has personally spent money over six years to support volunteer departments. "We need help. Mentally, we work a lot of calls that are bad, but we also need financial help," Potts told the commission.
A commissioner said there may be a grant available, mentioning Community Development Block Grant funding as a possible source, and asked county grants staff to review volunteer fire departments across the county for eligibility. A county staff member said staff had reviewed volunteer fire departments and that some are in qualifying areas. The staff member offered to follow up with Potts and the commissioner after the meeting to identify which departments might qualify.
One commissioner noted that qualifying census-designated areas can be affected when neighboring tracts are grouped, reducing eligibility. The commissioner asked Potts to meet with
