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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 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