Health Clinics, Public Safety Facilities & Equipment Will Benefit 27,000 People
STEVENS POINT, Wis., Oct., 28, 2020 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wisconsin Rural Development State Director Frank Frassetto announced that USDA is investing $871 million to improve critical community facilities to benefit 3.5 million rural residents in 43 states and Guam.
"Rural America needs safe, modern community infrastructure to help residents and businesses achieve greater prosperity. These investments are important upgrades for these communities to enhance their quality of life," Frassetto said. "Under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Perdue, we have been working tirelessly to be a reliable partner to rural Wisconsin in building stronger and healthier communities, because we know when rural America thrives, all of America thrives."
USDA is funding over 250 projects through the Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program. These investments will be for such purposes as to build or upgrade schools, libraries, clinics and public safety facilities.
In Wisconsin:
- The Lakes Community Health Center will use a $1.8 million loan to renovate the NorthLakes Community Clinic (NLCC) Rivers Edge Clinic in Hayward. NLCC serves 10 counties in Northern Wis. providing high quality medical services such as medical, dental, behavioral health, physical, speech, occupational therapies, chiropractic, osteopathy and AODA. This project will add approximately 10,000 sq. ft. to the ground and main floor and renovate approximately 6,000 sq. ft. of the ground floor. This will enable NLC to move their medical team from the hospital campus to River's Edge facility thus consolidating services to one facility.
- The City of Bayfield will use a $46,000 grant to purchase equipment for the Bayfield Fire Department. The Fire Department plans to purchase dive gear for search and rescue, an emergency generator as a back-up for power failures and a commercial extractor & dryer to clean the fire gear of chemicals and biological agents after firefighting.
- The Town of Beaver will use a $75,000 grant to purchase a brush tractor with brush and mower attachments. The town has 80 miles of roadway and 160 miles of ditch line to maintain, along with parks, a recycling center, cemetery, town hall and garages. The town needs to replace their aged tractor that needs expensive repairs and has become unreliable. They plan to purchase a 4-wheel drive tractor to keep the ditches and right-a-ways trimmed from trees, brush and grass, providing for better visibility and safety for all motorists, large trucks and farm equipment that use the roads.
- City of Ashland will use a $250,000 grant to assist in the purchase of HVAC equipment for the City's new law enforcement station. The new station has been designed to be more user friendly than the existing building and will be more energy efficient. The new HVAC systems will meet code for air exchanges and energy efficiency. The city needs a new station as the current facility, which houses the 26 member staff, is inadequate and in poor condition. The officers and staff are located on two different floors which is inefficient and does not serve the public needs. A new station will allow officers to more effectively and efficiently serve the community as well as provide protection for the law enforcement vehicles. This funding will be supplemented with a $99,000 Public Service Commission Energy Innovation Grant.
- The Village of Crivitz will use a $58,000 grant to purchase a tractor with attachments for the public works department. This vehicle will replace a 1990 tractor that is equipped to cut grass and brush, clear debris, perform other minor duties and needs frequent maintenance due to its age. The Village plans to purchase a replacement tractor with cab, loader and assorted attachments that will be used for the following: snow removal and blowing, street sweeping, wood chipping, debris removal, grass and brush cutting, loading/unloading with grapple and many other duties of the public works department. Purchase of this tractor will enable personnel to perform tasks previously contracted out which will cut down expenses for the Village. Manual labor will decrease due to the lifting capabilities of the tractor, thereby creating a safer work environment.
- The City of Kewaunee will use a $41,000 grant to purchase equipment for the public works and law enforcement departments. The City plans to purchase a front-end loader to replace the 2001 Sterling plow truck that is in need of repairs, requires frequent maintenance, has reached the end of its useful life and is limited in what it can do. The vehicle being purchased will be outfitted with a plow and wing to move snow more efficiently and will be used in the summer for projects relating to streets and park maintenance. The City is also in need of a new patrol vehicle to rotate into their fleet as the oldest vehicle needs repairs and requires frequent maintenance. The vehicle will be equipped with an equipment center, lighting control board, prisoner partition, weapons rack, mobile printer, radio, radar and view system.
- The City of Portage will use a $100,000 grant to purchase of two-way digital radios for the law enforcement and fire departments. The current radios both departments use are analog two-way Motorola radios, are no longer manufactured or supported by Motorola and have reached the end of their service life. Public safety agencies are transitioning to digital 2-way radios due to FCC regulatory requirements. These FCC requirements make existing analog 2-way radio systems obsolete because they do not have the capability of operating on the narrow banding requirements. The replacement radios will be P25 Technology compliant. P25 is the adopted standard used for digital 2-way radios issued to public safety organizations that provides compatibility and interoperability with other agencies radio communications systems. This also accommodates encrypted channels for private communications. Because there is a need for compatibility with Columbia County Communications Center and other public safety agencies, these radios and systems must be updated.
More than 100 types of projects are eligible for Community Facilities funding. Eligible applicants include municipalities, public bodies, nonprofit organizations and federally recognized Native American tribes. Projects must be in rural areas with a population of 20,000 or less.
Interested parties should contact their USDA Rural Development state office for information about additional funding, application procedures and eligibility details. Also see the Community Facilities Direct Loan Program Guidance Book for Applicants a detailed overview of the application process.
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov/wi, call us at 715-345-7600 or email wi-rd-stateoffice@usda.gov.
If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.
#
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.