Weekly News Blast – Town of Grant, Portage Co

Weekly Blast!: If you live on a hard-surfaced road you may have noticed it looks a little cleaner this week. Thanks are extended to Public Works employee Leo Krueger who used a motorized sweeper to push off the sand mix used this past winter. Others have recently noted bright yellow flowers blooming along our roadsides. It’s likely a plant called Yellow Mustard Seed or Wild Mustard (Latin name Sinapis arvensis) which is a common annual weed in our area. It looks rather attractive this time of year, but it can quickly outcompete other more desirable plants and is deemed an invasive species in Wisconsin. It’s particularly troublesome in farm fields. Three years ago, the Town Board approved mowing Best Management Practices (BMP) to help us address the problem of invasive plants. It’s our chosen way to manage this very real problem using a sensible mowing regiment rather than resorting to pesticide use. The latter is sometimes necessary, but we have not used it to date. I’ve attached the map and narrative here. Grant Road Side Mowing Best Management Practices for Roadside Mowing If you have questions, just give me at call at 715-213-1717. Clerk Stefanie Schlapa, Supervisor Doug Steltenpohl and I met with the WDNR Electronic-Cycle Compliance Specialist Mallory Susdorf this week. She inspected our E-Waste storage trailer, noted our record-keeping, made suggestions for additional signage, and more. Overall, it was a very interesting and positive visit. Clerk Schlapa will be working on additional ideas for signage, and Supervisor Steltenpohl and I are looking at options to consider taking used anti-freeze; something that has been requested for some years. More to follow on these and other upcoming improvements... Perhaps the morning frosts are on their way out soon. I’m tired of wrapping and unwrapping my finicky rhododendron! Take care, Sharon

Posted on March 14, 2025 by webmaster

Weekly News Blast

The board held its monthly meeting on Wednesday. There were two items requested of Clerk Stefanie Schlapa. One was the current cost to taxpayers of two lawsuits brought against the Town by petitioner and former Supervisor Heather Grys-Luecht. Our insurer covered the cost of one suit up to $10,000. The second was also covered up to $10,000 with additional payments by taxpayers of $7,668.66 to date. We anticipate additional payments will be forthcoming as litigation is ongoing. The second item was the number of Open Records Requests (ORRs) made by the aforementioned petitioner and Diana Luecht. Schlapa reported 79 requests made in 2023-2024. Contrast that to less than 10 ORRs in 15 years; primarily from contractors requesting information on bid results and let contracts.

Absentee ballots were mailed out on Tuesday for the April 1 spring election. In-person voting will be available at the Town Hall on Saturday March 22 from 9:00am – 3:00pm. Incumbent Supervisors Scott Provost and Doug Steltenpohl are being challenged by Russ Brody and Kathy Woodard. Incumbent Treasurer Greg Hakala is being challenged by Diana Luecht. Clerk Stefanie Schlapa and I as Chair are running unopposed.

Enjoy the wonky winter/spring weather, Sharon