LV’s block grants fall far short of local requests

Erin Neff

Friday, April 7, 2000 | 10:14 a.m.

With a growing number of social service providers seeking funding from the same pot of federal grant money, some worthy causes are finding themselves on the shady side of the city's giving tree.

The wrangling for $4.45 million in Community Development Block Grant funds -- awarded through the Las Vegas Neighborhood Services Department -- took center stage this week when the grants were awarded.

A teary-eyed board member of Shade Tree Shelter pleaded for operational funds, and the president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said he felt his group had been short-changed.

"In some categories the request exceeded the available funds 7 to 1," Neighborhood Services Director Sharon Segerblom said during Wednesday's City Council meeting.

The growing pool of requests taxed a 31-member volunteer committee, which spent hours determining which local nonprofit organizations deserved the grants. But the process also drew criticism and charges of conflicts of interest.

"It seems like every year we have more and more applications," Councilman Gary Reese said. "If you talk to these individuals, they are the only ones who have the needs."

The grants, made available from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, are broken into capital improvement and public service awards.

Moises Dennis, chairman of the Community Development Recommending Board, said his committee received almost $1.2 million in requests for the $604,000 in capital funds available.

For public service funding, the committee had just $659,800 in funds for $4.56 million in requests.

"The community's reliance on CBDG is dangerous at best," Councilman Larry Brown said.

Shade Tree board President Diana Wilson said the shelter's receipt of a private grant for construction of a new shelter diminished Shade Tree's ability to win public grant money.

"The new shelter is under construction to finish in August," Wilson said. "Our concern is that we will not be able to operate the shelter."

Segerblom said that if the city would have granted Shade Tree's $167,000 request, it would have accounted for more than 30 percent of funds available for that type of program.

"To give one organization over 30 percent of what's left in our city is really difficult," she said.

Anthony Snowden, a member of the 31-person recommending committee, said he felt the grant-recommendation process was flawed.

"Staff has made recommendations on the proposals that tend to sway board members," Snowden said.

Snowden also said that some board members also served on the boards of some of the social service providers applying for the grant money.

Capital improvement grants were awarded to Christmas in April, the Las Vegas Housing Authority, the Nevada Association of Latin Americans, Opportunity Village, the Salvation Army, Smart Start Child Care Center and Westcare Inc.

A total of 27 nonprofits received the public service grants, ranging from $5,000 to $75,000 a piece.

But the local NAACP chapter did not receive any grant money.

NAACP President Gene Collins said the organization's 90-year commitment to human rights issues in Las Vegas should not have been ignored.

Erin Neff covers Las Vegas government for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-4062 or 229-6436, or by e-mail at erin@lasvegassun.com