Reminder to Visit Town Website

Welcome to the Notes from the Grove, providing information about Liberty Grove town government to residents and visitors.

• The October issue of the Wisconsin Towns Association magazine provided this bit of information on local road improvement programs made available in the state budget:

“[More than] $9.1 million is available statewide in the TRIP (Town Road Improvement Plan), to be divided up in each county by the number of town highway miles in that county. The TRI-D (Town Road Improvement-Discretionary Program) has $11.4 million available to be rewarded for projects more than $100,000 on a competitive basis.”

Towns are required to have applications in by Nov. 1 to the local county highway commissioner. The maximum amount that a town can receive is 50 percent of the estimated project cost. Expenditures on roads are usually the highest budgeted item for a town. Liberty Grove and the Town Of Washington Island maintain their own roads. In the case of Liberty Grove, our four-man crew mow, brush, plow and patch the 100-plus miles in the town. This is in addition to maintaining the cemeteries, town buildings, town parks, docks, vehicles and equipment.

• The town’s portion of tree cutting on Garrett Bay Road has been completed. Removal of the stumps will take place this fall. WPS and Frontier will reposition utility poles; that schedule is not known at this time.

• The town office has provided this bit of information from town records: June 26, 1951, “The board also agreed to prepare for blacktop on Garrett Bay road from the Ellison Bay School corner to the Arvid Newman corner if funds and time allow.” Town Administrator Bud Kalms believes this is the last time major work has been done on that road.

• The placement of shoulder gravel on the roads that were paved this year has been completed by the county. The town provided the gravel from its gravel pit along with equipment to haul the gravel and town crewmembers. Extra caution was taken crossing the causeway on Isle View Road to avoid spillage into the wetlands. The DNR inspected the causeway and found no problems.

• A reminder that the town’s website is a valuable source of information regarding town government. Meetings are posted with agendas, minutes of meetings are available and announcements of upcoming events and projects. If one cannot attend committee meetings or board meetings it is a good way to keep abreast of what is happening in the town and how, what and why decisions are made at various levels. In addition, the town office is available to answer questions and provide information.

• Treasurer and office assistant Johnson has provided this piece of information: “From the Chattel Mortgage book which I am fond of: 
Jan. 9, 1880 Joseph Hanson had one 6-year-old red and white milk cow worth $10.
 In 1877, Cornelius Collins had one grey mare about 7-years-old worth $20.
 April 3, 1877, Hans Torgersen – One hundred cords of wood being of the first that is cut and hauled from the NE 1/4 of the NE 1/4, S9, E31, R28 at any bank in Sister Bay, $200.”