THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 20, 1995 TAG: 9505200305
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SARAH POLLAK
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
With all the newfangled license tags adorning commuters' vehicles across the commonwealth, you might say it's been a bumper crop for prison plate makers.
For an extra $25, motorists in Virginia can choose from more than 200 license plate designs that tout everything from professional designations such as Funeral Directors and Embalmers to charitable causes such as the Shriners.
Legislation passed by the General Assembly in 1993 allows for cities and counties to get in on the act, but residents haven't beaten a path to the Department of Motor Vehicles to sign up.
In fact, legislators amended the law this spring to require that localities have at least 1,000 prepaid applications before they go into production to avoid getting stuck with a lot of unwanted tags.
Virginia Beach started taking orders a month ago for its leaping dolphins design, but so far only about 150 residents have applied. Chesapeake, the only other Hampton Roads city to have designed a plate, will launch its sign-up campaign this summer. Its plate depicts a canoeist on the Dismal Swamp.
``It's going a little slower than I hoped,'' said museums director C. Mac Rawls, who is heading the effort in Virginia Beach. ``We have to sell 1,000 plates before they can be manufactured, but the best advertising would be to see it (on cars).''
But even in Fairfax, the only city where the specially designed plates appear on residents' vehicles, the response has been disappointing.
Fairfax needed only 150 prepaid applications before production began on its plates in 1993, but delays in getting them to motorists and an increase in the price from $10 to $25 hurt marketing efforts.
Earl Berner, the economic development coordinator for the city of Fairfax, said many of the plates that were paid for don't even appear on vehicles.
``They have in excess of 850 plates being stored somewhere in Powhatan right now,'' he said, referring to the state prison where they are produced.
Berner said Virginia Beach should have an easier time selling the plates because of its larger population: 20,500 residents in Fairfax vs. 415,000 in the Beach.
Del. Robert Tata, R-Virginia Beach, said that if the city does a good job marketing the plates they should sell well.
Tata sponsored the original bill that championed the cause of locality plates.
``I thought it would be a good way to raise money for the city,'' he said.
Of the $25 fee charged for the special plates, $15 is returned to the locality to be spent as it chooses.
In Virginia Beach, funds raised from the sale of the tags will benefit the Virginia Marine Science Museum's Stranding Program, which rescues, rehabilitates and researches marine animals that have washed ashore.
Chesapeake plans to use its proceeds to benefit a conservation project, said Mary Ann Saunders.
Tata is hopeful that residents eventually will get on board.
``(Having a city tag) is showing pride in your community,'' Tata said. ``It's advertising the community that you live in.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
HOW TO GET PLATES
Virginia Beach residents can apply for the special series city
plate at the Virginia Marine Science Museum, 717 General Booth
Blvd., or by calling the museum at 437-4949 weekdays to request a
form by mail. The plate costs $25, in addition to the regular $25
annual registration fee charged to all motorists.
Chesapeake has not begun taking orders for its specialty plates.
KEYWORDS: LICENSE PLATE by CNB