Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

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 webmaster

Weekly News Blast

Warm enough for everyone? Egad, it’s cold out there. But, nice to see some snow on the ground to start December off…

It was another busy week in the Town of Grant. Last evening we held our budget hearing which was well-attended by residents – nice! Our thanks to Clerk Stefanie Schlapa who prepared not only the required summary budget but also a detailed version so residents could see all suggested changes and their rationale. There were several questions about the budget but overall was acceptable. Once we are into 2026 there may be small changes per the suggestions.

Following the budget hearing there was a Town Meeting of the Electors where the levy was set. That determined how much everyone will pay on their tax bill per $1000 of valuation of property/improvements based on how your land is valued (for example, woodland vs. ag land, etc.). Last we held a Town Board meeting where the board members approved the 2026 budget.

There were also two formal presentations last evening. Jon Baker, VP for Development at Doral Renewables LLC gave an update on the Vista Sands Solar (VSS) project. He provided a preliminary map depicting the changes to the primary and alternative sitings following the settlement with the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. Once a final map is available, we will post it on our website and have one available at the Town Hall. He anticipated that construction would begin by July 1, 2026 for Doral to qualify for 30% incentive from the Inflation Reduction Act on this 1-1.5-billion-dollar project.

Our last presenter of the evening was resident and recently hire Public Works employee Brian Kulmann and his daughter Sophie. They are proposing a pump bike track on the strip of land just west of the town hall between 90th Street S and the tall pines (proposal attached). There were several excellent questions about this idea. Please take a look and let me know what you think at chair@townofgrant.portage.wi.gov

 Enjoy the weekend and stay warm, Sharon