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• Pierce County will receive summer flood grant money

By Judy Wiff

Authorities have been notified that Pierce County will get the first of what they hope will be three grants to pay for Aug. 13 flash flood damage.

The grant of up to $392,000 will help repair homes and public facilities such as roads and culverts, said Gary Brown, the county's emergency management director.

Following August rains, the County Board issued a disaster proclamation for a large part of the county from Ellsworth to the east edge of the county. Most damage was in the Plum City and Elmwood areas.

The Community Development Block Grant emergency assistance funding through the Department of Commerce is divided this way: $123,700 for housing assistance, $250,000 for public facilities reimbursement and $18,300 for administrative expenses.

The housing assistance is for private homes. The money is available to persons whose incomes are considered "low" or "moderate."

Grant money can be used for repairs to a house but not for damage to contents such as furniture, said Brown. He said the money can be used to replace such things as walls, sheetrock and furnaces.

Cedar Corporation, which has done similar work with other Community Development Block Grants, will solicit and review applications and distribute funds.

The $250,000 can be used for road, culvert, bridge and other damage.

Brown said the Highway Department also applied for a grant that would pay for road work and the county applied for Wisconsin Emergency Management Disaster funds.

The highway funding would cover only damages for roads that were closed by flooding, said Brown.

Brown said the Department of Commerce, Department of Transportation and Wisconsin Emergency Management will coordinate the grant awards "to make sure we're not double dipping."