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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 Dado

Weekly Blast!

This week we note the passing of former Chairman Alden Pedersen who died in Fond du Lac on Friday July 31st. Alden was the chairman for the Town of Grant from 1997-2002. 

Our thanks are extended to Supervisor Scott Provost who secured a Wisconsin Department of Transportation Local Small Structures Improvement Program grant. The grant, for $22,500, will pay 90% of the $25,000 cost to replace a culvert on Griffith Avenue between County Highway F and 110th Street South. We are in the process of discontinuing a section of this road, but public access and safety must be retained through this process. Wisconsin DNR land abuts a portion of this road section and replacement of the culvert will maintain proper water flow through this area. 

And thanks are also greatly extended to Clerk Stefanie Schlapa who compiled all the costs related to the severe snow and wind events in mid-March. She carefully documented the damages and recovery costs. Recently, the Wisconsin Disaster Fund (WDF) verified the cost of recovery totaling $14,095.44 of which the Town was sent $9,866.81 from the WDF. Treasurer Greg Hakala noted just today that this amount was automatically deposited in the Local Government Investment Pool to begin accruing interest through this valuable state program. 

Have a great weekend. Stay cool, if possible, Sharon