The Roanoke Rapids Parks ad Recreation Department got a $20,000 thank you gift from Dominion Power for letting contractors during the aftermath of Hurricane Irene use the theater as a staging center.

Simeon, second from left, and Joe May, also of the rec department, with

Dominion employees and the vehicles.

Dominion gave the department two vehicles, a Blazer and a crew cab pickup.

“The original thought was the bulk of the damage of the storm was going to be just south of Richmond,” parks and recreation Director John Simeon said this morning. “That's why they wanted to stage at the theater.”

The contractors stayed in hotels but used the theater for training, checking in and out and receiving work assignments. “Tuesday the damage was much worse that they booked an additional 130 rooms.”

The company brought in trailers to cook for the workers so they were fed and at the end of the day would check in and head to their rooms.

The recreation department, however, did more than just let the contractors use the theater as a staging area, Simeon said. “The day of the hurricane myself and a couple of staff members were at the theater at 11:30 to get generators because the power was still not on at the theater. There was a lot of help from my department to help them get set up. They were extremely grateful for the assistance they received.”

When asked what could be done to repay the kindness, Simeon asked if the city could be part of the company's vehicle donation program.

The company delivered, giving the department two vehicles with a total value of $20,000. The Blazer will be shared among supervisors and the the truck will be used as a maintenance vehicle.

“Our vehicle fleet was in dire need of attention,” Simeon said. “I spoke at our retreat and budget work session that we had four vehicles taken out of service last year and were looking at adding two this year and two next year. I'm comfortable we can get by with the donations.”

The department bought one vehicle before the storm so it was able to put $10,000 back in the city's general fund, “To help us next year where we won't have to ask for vehicles.”

The actions were a statement of goodwill from all sides, Simeon said. “It states that the goodwill efforts are very much appreciated by Dominion Power and it also helps the city with this year's budget and when you look at both capital and operating budgets because there could be savings on the capital side as well as the operating side.”