Jackson Free Press

The Jackson City Council learned Monday that the city may have dropped the ball for a federal grant worth up to $800,000. The grant, according to Ward 7 Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon, was intended to finance a $1 million platform ladder truck for the Jackson Fire Department. The city currently has only one specialty-use ladder truck that is more than 10 years old and requires frequent repairs. The city needs two in order to keep residents' fire insurance rates down to a minimum.

Barrett-Simon said she learned yesterday that the grant had "sat on somebody's shelf" until it expired. "We missed the deadline is what I believe. The loss of this funding is terrible. We had an $800,000 grant, and all we had to provide was $200,000 in matching funds," said Barrett-Simon.

Council members were discussing the city's need for a new platform ladder truck at a special meeting yesterday when Barrett-Simon noted a grant mentioned last year to finance just such a truck. "Was that the same truck we are currently talking about?' I asked. And I learned that yes it was. All I could do was drop my head," she told the Jackson Free Press Tuesday.

Jackson Fire Department Chief Vernon Hughes told FOX 40 News Monday that the department's lone platform ladder truck is the only vehicle designed to tackle fires in the multistory buildings springing up in downtown Jackson.

"We're kind of going into a crisis when we talk about ladder trucks. We've got all this growth that is coming up downtown, and we need a couple of trucks in that area to make sure we maintain safety and fire protection plans in this area," Hughes told FOX 40.

Hughes did not, however, mention the expired grant to the station. Hughes did not immediately respond to calls to the Jackson Free Press.

Previous Comments

ID

133255

Comment

Damn, damn, damn! How could this happen? Oh wait, I know, it's the same ole incompetence that's going on in city hall.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2008-08-19T17:38:32-06:00

ID

133258

Comment

Damn, damn, damn! How could this happen? Florida Evans, is that you? Anyway, this isn't good. What is going on with the grant department, or do we still even have one?

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-08-19T18:25:34-06:00

ID

133259

Comment

leadership starts at the top folks

Author

Logan

Date

2008-08-19T19:38:37-06:00

ID

133262

Comment

Didn't Melton fire the grant writer? Or she quit? I forget. Yes, the Melton administration has brought in an extreme level of incompetence. It's really, really sad that so many Jacksonians couldn't see it coming.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2008-08-19T22:42:37-06:00

ID

133265

Comment

First the grant money for the PD, now the FD... wake up people, and do your damn job!

Author

chip

Date

2008-08-20T07:58:59-06:00

ID

133266

Comment

The city of Jackson hired Melton. I think that says it all.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2008-08-20T08:05:24-06:00

ID

133267

Comment

The city of Jackson hired Melton. I think that says it all. What does that say, exactly? I'm not sure I follow, Iron.

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2008-08-20T08:24:34-06:00

ID

133269

Comment

Melton was never accused of competence. Harvey, for all his lack of vision, could at least manage a city very well. His administration wouldn't have dropped the ball on this, I'm sure. Same goes for any mayor we could name going back decades. Melton's just that bad.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2008-08-20T08:38:15-06:00

ID

133272

Comment

You're right. And, yes, there's no doubt that folks voted for Melton and shouldn't have. But the media was so out to lunch over both Harvey and Melton that I think it's hard to place blame 100% with voters.

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2008-08-20T09:21:02-06:00

ID

133273

Comment

I still say one reason voters support Melton is that he, unlike other leaders, will actually visit and make a presence in very poor neighborhoods. That is why voters support him. They aren't aware of issues like a grant for a firetruck.

Author

Izzy

Date

2008-08-20T09:22:30-06:00

ID

133277

Comment

Well, arguably no one could have been aware that he would be *this* incompetent as an administrator; he was, after all, at least the titular head of WLBT and was assumed to be an OK businessman or at least able to delegate this sort of thing to competent folks. He has, perhaps, run many of those folks off at this point, however. He was a better politician (and "retail" politician) than Harvey (despite Marshall's "Electionman" schtick), no doubt. But I certainly wish we still had Harvey in there.

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2008-08-20T09:38:58-06:00

ID

133285

Comment

That's part of Jackson's problem; they bought into the retail politician. Like Izzy said, he can visit with the best of them, and people assume with charm comes skill. In Melton's case, those who know him better didn't speak up. For instance, I could fault WLBT's General Manager for not speaking up prior to the election. He stated in an editorial after the election that the joke around Melton at TV3 was "Fire, Ready, AIM!"

Author

Ironghost

Date

2008-08-20T10:52:02-06:00

ID

133286

Comment

There was plenty evidence of his incompetence. Take his tenure at MBN, for instance. Plenty of folks, and media, knew how bad he was there, but kept their mouths shut. Same with WLBT: You now hear that he wasn't really the one running the station then. Why didn't they speak up then? There was plenty of evidence, including right in his campaign. He couldn't just show up at a campaign forum without acting a fool with a bunch of yucks around him trying to stir up trouble. His campaign staff fought, and people stormed out of meetings. There was no evidence of competence then, and plenty of evidence of incompetence and petty drama. We put it out there, but people had been fed a folk-hero image for so long that they didn't want to believe it. If nothing else, maybe people have learned that the JFP plays it straight and is trustworthy on this kind of stuff. ;-)

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2008-08-20T10:52:45-06:00

ID

133289

Comment

One positive thing that Melton has attributed (maybe the only one) is the attention of the public. You can bet that next year's election will be scrutinized and watched very carefully.

Author

chip

Date

2008-08-20T11:02:44-06:00

ID

133298

Comment

melton told the citizens of Jackson at his swearing in ceremony that he could run the Office of Mayor by himself and "one other person". I guess that "one other person" is Goldia Reeves??? He disbanded the grant writing department very early into his Administration. melton has torn this City down, limb for limb with the exception of those sacred areas that are protected by the "powers that be".

Author

justjess

Date

2008-08-20T11:43:57-06:00

ID

133300

Comment

There are those who believe that many of Melton's big supporters wanted that to happen. That's one conspiracy theory, anyway. He said something different to various groups—told the Advocate crowd they would control everything; told white conservatives they would control things; told rappers they'd get a recording studio; told people in crime-ridden communities he solve crime there in 90 days. All you had to do was follow him around and listen to him telling everybody what they wanted to hear (which we did). Meantime, he didn't have a clue about how to run the city, and never provided any evidence that he did. I think it was one of the most dramatic snowjobs in the country's history. (Remarkably, happening at the same time as the Bush snow job.) The only open question with Melton is whether he believed his own hype (that he was actually helping some young people) or whether it's a ruse to cover his real motives. But when you live in a world where many ignorant people think the law allows someone to chase down a shoplifter and kill him, I guess you can see that people don't think or pay attention to what's really going on. I hope and pray that's changing, in Mississippi and nationally. We've been remarkably in lockstep with politicians who fool us, considering the Bush-Barbour-Melton line-up.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2008-08-20T11:50:34-06:00

ID

133301

Comment

Baquan, the Melton administration never takes responsibility for anything. Personally, I believe no one in leadership under Melton should be retained. No one.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2008-08-20T11:52:26-06:00

ID

133309

Comment

Wasn't that the county that hired someone to oversee grants and not the city. It appears that the FD had secured the grant funding of $800,000 but dropped the ball when it came to the implementation of the grant which would include securing the matching funds. Dam*, dam*, dam*!

Author

lanier77

Date

2008-08-20T12:22:30-06:00

ID

133322

Comment

baquan2000, melton blamed all of his mis-steps, d mistakes and misfortunes on the Johnson Administration. It has been almost 4 years now so he needs to step up to the plate and take responsibility for his Administration.

Author

justjess

Date

2008-08-20T13:50:12-06:00

ID

133341

Comment

Florida Evans, is that you? That was the angle I was going for. We put it out there, but people had been fed a folk-hero image for so long that they didn't want to believe it. Exactly! It's such a shame when we put people on such high pedestals that we can't see beyond the facade. Just like the the woman I know who is an ardent Melton supporter. When I asked her to name one positive thing Melton has done, she couldn't name one. Her reasoning was that because whenever Melton tried to do something, the media and the law got in his way to stop him. But that's another story for another day.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2008-08-20T23:01:00-06:00