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Weekly Blast!: The F3 tornado that severely damaged the City of Menasha last week has been devastating to that community. Have you ever wondered what the Town of Grant would do in case of a similar disaster? Recently Portage County Emergency Managers Bob Weinert and Tanner Arnold, T. Grant First Responders Jim Yetter and Keith Kardash, and Clerk Stefanie Schlapa and I met to work on a Local Emergency Response Guide. All Portage County municipalities are required to have this document available, but it needs to be reviewed and updated every so often. Case in point…Menasha.   So, what does this Response Guide entail? We must identify where could residents go if their structures were in danger or uninhabitable, and who we the Town could call on to supply three critical items: food, water, and power. Emergency contact names and their numbers are included in the Guide. Questions including if there are critical infrastructures that could be impacted, for example chemical, commercial, communications, emergency services, energy, transportation, etc. In the next few weeks, we’ll be reconvening to make updates to our Guide. Do you have large equipment or a skill set that might be helpful to us in case of a disaster? If so, let Clerk Stefanie Schlapa at 715-213-7370 or me at 715-213-1717 know so we can add your name to the list of contacts. It’s important that we work together if disaster strikes.   Have a good weekend. Perhaps rain may fall, Sharon

Posted on , by webmaster

Weekly News Blast

Good news. You do not need to wait a week for the next Weekly News Blast. 

Hello all! Did you know we have over 100 road crossings with culverts in the Town of Grant? That’s a lot! They are necessary due to the large network of drainage ditches, natural streams and wetlands that traverse our town. Without these we would suffer obviously flooding, but they come with a cost. Many of our culverts are in great shape, but we have our share of crossings that need repair or have had substantial repair. In order to do this however, we need to know what we have out there, and which ones need attention so assure proper hydraulic conveyance – water movement – continues.

The Town Board has a great working relationship with our partners at D.O.T. and at the Portage County Highway Department. This collaboration has rewarded us with over a million dollars in funds to repair the worst of the worst in the last four years. You most likely have noticed the replacement of five failing culvert bridges over this period. There was just about every temporary fix attempted over the years, but failure was imminent and even occurring at a few! These bridges received 50% cost share from our partners, which made the replacement of these failing structures possible. This was a direct result of our working relationship with our road building partners. 

In 2024, we were giving the option by the County to have all of our culverts over 6 feet inspected by them or their consultant, or we could do it ourselves and earn $100.00 for very inspection if the Town completed it for them. After a short training course to learn the process, all the inspections were completed during the fall of 2024. After lots of miles, measurements, forms and spreadsheets, some awesome wildlife views and a few wet feet, the task was completed. Last week the county awarded the Town of Grant a check for $2,300. Of all the remaining culverts in the town only 23 met the parameters for reimbursement (i.e. culverts >6 feet in diameter).

Another realized benefit of this survey was that we have a better idea of where our road crews need to concentrate maintenance work this year. Yes, the typical road work will occur this year, but in addition to regular maintenance, our crossings will be highlighted as well. Most of this is removal of brush and trees around culvert openings that may be restricting flow or may be jeopardizing the structural integrity of the culverts. Unfortunately, there will also be some work (your tax dollars) going to the removal of disposed trash (e.g. furniture, TV’s, mattresses, etc.) that can plug the culverts and/or release toxins such as PFAS and/or heavy metals to our waterways. We will do our best to address these issues, but your help to prevent and report areas of dumping will help us ultimately curtail some of this behavior and save us more money.

Thanks,
Scott