April 6, 2003 – The Planning and Natural Resources Department will hold a series of public hearings to take testimony from applicants for 2003 federal Community Development Block Grant funding.
The schedule:
St. John — 6 p.m. April 14 at the Legislature Building.
St. Thomas — 4 p.m. April 15 at the University of the Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center.
St. Croix — 10 a.m. April 16 at the Federal District Court building in Christiansted.
The department has approximately $1.9 million to disburse. Laurence Joshua, program director, said he has received 33 applications totaling $3.5 million from organizations and individuals on St. Thomas; 19 totaling $2.2 million from applicants on St. Croix; and six totaling $766,740 from applicants on St. John.
Since those figures add up to nearly $6.5 million, numerous applicants will not receive funding from the program, and recipients may receive less money than they are asking.
"A lot of people are always left out in the cold," Joshua said. He said that last year, 32 applicants received grants totaling some $1.9 million. This year's funding is about $2,000 less than last year's, he said. It has been the government's practice to divide available grant money equally between the two districts.
For more information on the territory's Community Development Block Grant program, call Joshua at 774-3320, ext. 5174.

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