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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 by clerk

TOWN OF GRANT TO UPDATE ALL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN

TOWN OF GRANT TO UPDATE ALL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN

PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL PROJECTS THAT COULD MITIGATE THE IMPACT OF DISASTERS IN THE TOWN OF GRANT

Portage County Emergency Management Division will be updating Portage County’s All Hazard Mitigation Plan. As a requirement, we will be hosting a public informational and planning session to gather input from residents regarding ways to reduce the impacts of emergencies and disasters.

The public information and planning session will be held on:

Monday, September 9th, 2024 at 6:00PM at The Town of Grant Town Hall

9011 County Road WW, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin 54494

The meeting will provide the public the opportunity to identify the potential hazards that could occur within the Town of Grant. The goal is to document various mitigation measures intended to eliminate Or reduce the negative impacts of those hazards.  Opportunity to contribute without attending the meeting is also available by visiting townofgrant-portage.wi.gov/disaster/ and submitting your feedback online.

The US Federal government requires local and state governments to have a FEMA-Approved All-Hazard Mitigation Plan as established by the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 to qualify for Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) and Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) project grant dollars. These programs are critical sources of Federal funding, especially for a community that wants to proactively initiate mitigation projects using PDM dollars, or for a community that needs HMGP funding following a Presidentially declared disaster.

For more information about this plan and meeting, please contact Portage County Emergency Management coordinator Bob Weinart at weinertr@co.portage.wi.gov or call 715-346-1437

More information is also available at townofgrant-portage.wi.gov/disaster/

One or more town officers may be present.

Stefanie Schlapa, Town of Grant Clerk