By KAREN PARKER
County Line Publisher Emeritus
About 40 people met at the La Farge Emergency Services building on Monday evening with Dale Klemme of Community Development Alternatives, a nonprofit based in Prairie du Chien, Wis.
The purpose of the public hearing was to discuss Klemme’s plan to apply for a planning grant for the communities of Ontario, La Farge, Viola and Readstown. The grant from the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) uses federal funds to assist communities to “support community efforts to address improving community opportunities and vitality.”
In this case, the planning grant would be directed toward flood recovery.
The meeting was for local elected officials and any interested residents. Only village clerk Terri Taylor represented the Village of Ontario, while Glenda Sullivan, an Ontario resident, and Julie Hoel, a rural Ontario resident, also attended.
A substantial number of representatives of the La Farge, Viola and Readstown village boards were in attendance, along with members of the Long-Term Recovery Group and perhaps a dozen citizens.
Klemme told the group that he has spoken with Dave Pawlisch of the CDBG and that a planning grant usually is a match; in this instance, it would be covered at 100 percent if successful. The four communities each will pay Klemme $250 to prepare the application.
Klemme noted that his firm would not have the capacity to deal with a project of this scope, but that there were a number of qualified firms in the state.
Should the planning grant application be successful, the villages would get help to continue to apply for CDBG funds, which may be used for projects such as low-income housing, infrastructure improvements, public facilities and economic development. He noted there is about $40 million available for nine counties.
When asked what portion of those funds was available for planning grants, Klemme appeared either not to know or was reluctant to say. He also did not reveal how much funding he would be seeking. However, he did note that since he had been told the grant would be at 100 percent, he took that as a sign it would likely be successful.
According to the CDBG website, three awards were issued in 2018, to the cities of Ashland and Owen and the village of Turtle Lake, for a total of $51,350.
In 2018, CDBG distributed $11,500,000. These are not given to individual municipalities, but rather are distributed to regions of the state.
Klemme said he would attend the Ontario Village Board meeting on Monday, Aug. 12, when the board will adopt a resolution to file the application on behalf of all four communities.
