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Additional $740 Requested
For Grant Application
Last Updated: December 21, 2011
Storm Water Engineer Chuck Nahn will be at the Town’s January 2 Board meeting to explain why he is requesting an additional $740 for further work on a hazardous mitigation grant.
The Wisconsin Emergency Management Administration, which reviews these grants before being sent to their federal counterpart FEMA, sent Nahn a request for additional information. The grant money, if awarded, would be used to construct a dry detention basin and culvert at Lotus Lane to alleviate flooding issues in the area.
Supervisor Mike Kindschi said it was strange that Nahn wasn’t at the meeting to explain his request.
All four supervisors questioned the request information that should have been furnished with the initial application submitted by Nahn. “I thought he had experience in writing these things to know what they were going to be asking for and what to provide,” said Supervisor Steve Anders.
The request didn’t make sense to Supervisor Mike DuPlayee who said it sounded like basic information that should have been written into the first application.
During a December 21 phone interview, Nahn expressed regret for not making it to the Board meeting to answer questions. “I’m kicking myself for missing it,” he said, adding that he had another appointment that evening.
He explained the reason for postponing submission of the grant application was to take time to do extra research recommended by the WEMA. Nahn says he has drafted several of these applications and it is typical for WEMA to suggest new and better ways to improve the chance that FEMA will award grant money to Wisconsin applicants. Because of the constant modifications to the application process, Nahn says he is nearly always coming back to municipalities with requests to gather more information.
In this case WEMA recommended that the Town include first-hand information compiled from residents living in the flood-damaged area. This, he said would require going door-to-door to more than dozen homes and interviewing residents.
From talking to his contact at WEMA, Nahn says gathering this additional information will give the Town a very probable chance of being awarded the grant money. He added that WEMA has also requested a preliminary design drawing of the proposed storm water basin, which will take some effort to produce in the CADD environment.
The application deadline is January 9, so if Nahn is given Board approval to move forward with the additional work he has a week to get it submitted. It’s a short timeline, but he says he’ll will make it work.