Press Release – Dec. 29, 2015
Delaware Senate Majority Caucus
For Immediate Release
Contacts: Jesse Chadderdon (302) 744-4282 or (302) 743-0945;
Patrick Jackson (302) 744-4046 or (302) 242-0036
Delaware Senate Majority Caucus
For Immediate Release
Contacts: Jesse Chadderdon (302) 744-4282 or (302) 743-0945;
Patrick Jackson (302) 744-4046 or (302) 242-0036
Sen. Marshall proposes redirecting funds to help vandalized Boys & Girls Club
Sen. Harris B. McDowell III, co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee, issued the following statement regarding Mayor Dennis Williams’ rejection of $1.5 million in funding for increased police patrols in the City of Wilmington:
“This is a sad day for Wilmington. As violence grips the streets of the city I’m so proud to call home, it’s nothing short of tragic that our efforts to help have been rejected. I sincerely hope that we will have an opportunity to re-engage the Mayor and urge him to reconsider. The conditions attached to the money by JFC and Attorney General essentially boil down to a simple accounting of police resources that the state has been unable to get for more than a year. If that reconciliation does not occur, the state will continue to do everything in its power to help our state’s flagship city. We have a moral responsibility to do that, regardless of the politics at play.” Sen. Robert Marshall, D-Wilmington West, has pre-filed Senate Bill 170, giving the Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware latitude in how it can spend a $400,000 allocation in this year’s Bond Bill.
The legislation would allow the organization to use the money to make repairs to the H. Fletcher Brown Boys & Girls Club in northeast Wilmington, which suffered significant damage before Christmas when vandals stole HVAC units and wiring from the roof of the building.
The money had originally been allocated to help the organization reopen the shuttered Jackson Street Boys & Girls Club in the Hedgeville/Browntown section of the City.
“The theft and vandalism at H. Fletcher Brown was a mean-spirited act that has the potential to derail that center’s important work in the community,” Marshall said. “This legislation would guarantee the Boys & Girls Club the financial means to cover the cost of repairs so child-care services, after-school programs and other activities can continue there without interruption.”
Marshall, a member of the General Assembly’s Joint Bond Bill Committee, said he remains committed to working with the Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors on a plan to re-open the Jackson Street location in 2016, but said it was important to give the Board the flexibility to address this immediate need.
Senate Bill 170 gives the Boys & Girls Club through March 15, 2016 to use the funds for repairs and allows the organization to use funding unused at H. Fletcher Brown to begin improvements at Jackson Street. He urged Boys & Girls Club Board President Joseph Purzycki and Capital Campaign Chair and prior Board President Martha Carper to reconsider their decision not to pursue the Jackson Street project.
“There is a tremendous need in our City for more resources for our youth – more structured activities for kids after school and on the weekends,” Marshall said. “With some work, the Jackson Street Boys & Girls Club can once again be an oasis of hope and progress in Hedgeville and Browntown and it would be tragic for that organization to reject state funds for such a vital project.”
“This is a sad day for Wilmington. As violence grips the streets of the city I’m so proud to call home, it’s nothing short of tragic that our efforts to help have been rejected. I sincerely hope that we will have an opportunity to re-engage the Mayor and urge him to reconsider. The conditions attached to the money by JFC and Attorney General essentially boil down to a simple accounting of police resources that the state has been unable to get for more than a year. If that reconciliation does not occur, the state will continue to do everything in its power to help our state’s flagship city. We have a moral responsibility to do that, regardless of the politics at play.” Sen. Robert Marshall, D-Wilmington West, has pre-filed Senate Bill 170, giving the Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware latitude in how it can spend a $400,000 allocation in this year’s Bond Bill.
The legislation would allow the organization to use the money to make repairs to the H. Fletcher Brown Boys & Girls Club in northeast Wilmington, which suffered significant damage before Christmas when vandals stole HVAC units and wiring from the roof of the building.
The money had originally been allocated to help the organization reopen the shuttered Jackson Street Boys & Girls Club in the Hedgeville/Browntown section of the City.
“The theft and vandalism at H. Fletcher Brown was a mean-spirited act that has the potential to derail that center’s important work in the community,” Marshall said. “This legislation would guarantee the Boys & Girls Club the financial means to cover the cost of repairs so child-care services, after-school programs and other activities can continue there without interruption.”
Marshall, a member of the General Assembly’s Joint Bond Bill Committee, said he remains committed to working with the Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors on a plan to re-open the Jackson Street location in 2016, but said it was important to give the Board the flexibility to address this immediate need.
Senate Bill 170 gives the Boys & Girls Club through March 15, 2016 to use the funds for repairs and allows the organization to use funding unused at H. Fletcher Brown to begin improvements at Jackson Street. He urged Boys & Girls Club Board President Joseph Purzycki and Capital Campaign Chair and prior Board President Martha Carper to reconsider their decision not to pursue the Jackson Street project.
“There is a tremendous need in our City for more resources for our youth – more structured activities for kids after school and on the weekends,” Marshall said. “With some work, the Jackson Street Boys & Girls Club can once again be an oasis of hope and progress in Hedgeville and Browntown and it would be tragic for that organization to reject state funds for such a vital project.”
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Press Contacts
Scott Goss
Communications Director
(302) 744-4180
scott.goss@delaware.gov
Dylan McDowell
Communications Assistant
(302) 744-4282
dylan.mcdowell@delaware.gov
Scott Goss
Communications Director
(302) 744-4180
scott.goss@delaware.gov
Dylan McDowell
Communications Assistant
(302) 744-4282
dylan.mcdowell@delaware.gov