Civil Engineer Meetings

Weekly Blast!: Last week the Town of Grant hosted the Portage County unit meeting of the Wisconsin Towns Association (WTA). This week I attended the WTA Annual Convention in Stevens Point. Town and village officers from all over the State of Wisconsin were present; hundreds of them. Each year this event helps to educate officers about state statutes, current legislation, road maintenance and construction, budgeting, ambulance and fire protection, and so much more. No one officer can attend all the sessions available (we need the entire board to do that!) but these are the ones I attended: 1) Cypersecurity Attacks; 2) Fire Protection Service Fees; 3) Legal “Cracker Barrel” (where officers can ask the WTA attorneys ANYTHING); 4) Large-Scale Wind & Solar; and 5) Industrial Development. Each session was extremely interesting and educational. Of particular interest was the session on Fire Protection Service Fees. Currently we pay for fire protection services from our general fund to the Town of Grand Rapids and the Village of Plainfield. The first uses equalized value to determine what we pay whereas the second uses a formula that is proportional to each contracted municipality. The former does not and so unfortunately, we pay a disproportional amount to T. Grand Rapids. In this WTA session they recommended two options if we don’t want to continue pulling from our general fund: 1) referendum to increase our levy; or 2) using a formula based on square footage of homes/businesses/land size, etc. to have landowners pay proportionally based on the anticipated expense of a fire to their parcel. It’s a very interesting option and several towns are working with their assessors to create a fair formula for landowners. For example, an agricultural field would pay far less than a large commercial building, or a small home would pay less than a large one with several accessory buildings, etc. Moving forward the Town of Grant will be looking at options as the price of fire protection increases every year. We need to find ways to make it fair with the greatest protection for all our residents, their homes, businesses, and land. Enjoy the anticipated stunning weather, Sharon

Posted on August 22, 2024, Edited August 28, 2024 by webmaster

THIS MEETING HAS BEEN CANCELLED

THIS MEETING WAS REPOSTED WITH A CORRECTED DATE AND TIME. Please see the updated post here: https://townofgrant-portage.wi.gov/notice-construction-meetings/

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT Portage County Highway Department, Quest Civil Engineers, LLC, and SPS will meet on Tuesdays beginning August 27, 2024 at 9:00 AM at the Town of Grant Hall, 9011 CTH WW, Wisconsin Rapids, WI for the purpose of Construction Meetings for:

Town of Grant Bridge Replacements
100^th & 95^th Streets over Four Mile Creek
B-49-199 & B-49-200

It is possible that members and possibly a quorum of other governmental bodies of the municipality may be in attendance at the above-stated meetings to gather information; no action will be taken by any governmental body at the meetings.

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