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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 vanja

Weekly Blast!

Please remember to flatten your cardboard boxes when at the Transfer Station. Every month the Town pays rental on three 8-yard receptacles intended for paper/cardboard recycling. When boxes are just thrown in without flattening the receptacles fill up too fast and sometimes, we can’t accommodate all the recycling materials that come in. If you need help cutting up or tearing the boxes down, please ask one of the attendants for help. Thank you.

The Plan Commission met this week. Following the August 18th public hearings regarding revisions to our Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance, information has been sent to the Portage County Planning & Zoning Department. The Department will schedule public hearings this fall with our hopes of having these two important documents considered by the entire County Board of Supervisors by year’s end.

The Town of Grant will soon be the owner of a used International Workstar truck. Our beloved “truck 22” is 30 years and no longer road safe. A replacement was needed prior to the winter season. Thanks are extended to Supervisor Doug Steltenpohl who diligently pursued different leads to find the best truck that we could afford. The purchase price on our “new” used truck, including spreader will be $87.020.50.

Fall seems to be on the way this weekend. Enjoy the cool weather, Sharon