The Hollister Fire Department received unanimous approval from the Hollister City Council to apply for three grants during the council’s Feb. 22 meeting, but Mayor Ignacio Velasquez and Councilmembers Tim Burns and Rolan Resendiz expressed concerns over the manner in which the department seeks additional funding.
Hollister Fire Department Chief Bob Martin Del Campo requested the department apply for the California Fire Prevention grant to help the department maintain the overgrowth of vegetation during the drought and address hazardous fuel reduction, wildfire prevention planning and wildfire prevention education.
Burns said he read the grant and noticed the deadline for submitting it was Feb. 9, 2022.
“I can only note that we’re on the 22nd,” Burns said. “Has this already been submitted?”
Martin Del Campo said yes, adding that the fire department often receives notices of grants and application deadlines with little time to put the grant request on the council agenda. He requested the department apply for the fire prevention grant, and a hazard mitigation grant, and that it submit a state capital improvement budget request to the office of state Senator Anna Caballero.
“The timing fuse is so short, it’s best for us to apply for it, ask permission from council, and if we don’t get permission then we just decline the grant,” Martin Del Campo said.
Burns said he wasn’t keen on asking the council’s permission after applying for grants. “It offends me a little bit,” he said, and then thanked Martin Del Campo for his honesty.
“I appreciate that you’re going after all the grants you can,” councilmember Rick Perez said. “I understand the complications you’re talking about with the state. They don’t have our agendas in mind. Keep up the good work.”
Resendiz asked if there was anything the Board of Supervisors could do to advocate for the city of Hollister to receive the grant funding. Martin Del Campo said the first step was to get permission and authorization from the City Council and then pursue collaboration from the Board of Supervisors.
“As far as the grants are concerned, per contract, we’re obligated to seek this through the City Council,” Martin Del Campo said.
Resendiz said that he would “like to see an official letter from the cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista, and San Benito County lobbying on how badly [these grants are] needed here in our community.”
“We see this every year,” Velasquez said to Martin Del Campo. “Just have that timeline so we know when [the grants are] popping up. Usually they do give you enough time to get the applications out. Have it ready, so when it comes up, you can put in the new date, and send it off so we’re prepared here in San Benito County.”
Councilmember Dolores Morales thanked Martin Del Campo for applying for the grants and said the council could contact state Senator Anna Caballero and advocate for any budgetary needs of the fire department.
“I definitely don’t want to deter our staff from pursuing grants,” Morales said. “I know it seems like some of our questions lead toward that it’s better sometimes just to not [apply] at all, than to answer the questions and to be put on the hot seat. I know that this council is not really used to applying for grants, but we will get there very soon. Thank you for doing this work.”
Responding to Morales, Velasquez said the council “actually won a lot of grants and we’ve been very aggressive on our grants.”
Morales then asked off-microphone for Velasquez to give a percentage of how grants have been awarded.
“We’re doing pretty good with it,” he said.
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