Scott Williams, swilliams@wolfrivermedia.com
Shawano County is taking steps to guard against accepting state grants that might be more trouble than they are worth.
The County Board on Wednesday approved a policy requiring county officials to consider long-term ramifications of accepting financial assistance from outside agencies.
The move follows recent county conflicts with the state, including one instance when the state Department of Natural Resources said the county could not sell land that was purchased with state assistance about 50 years ago.
County supervisors on Wednesday unanimously approved a countywide policy aimed at avoiding such issues by examining whether grants would be “outweighed” by potential restrictions tied to the funding.
“There’s too many strings,” Supervisor Gene Hoppe said. “We want to cut those strings.”
A state DNR representative last month cautioned Shawano County about state regulations that could impact county efforts to sell certain properties, in an exchange that county officials later labeled as “confrontational, unprofessional and aggressive.”
A similar issue arose later when the county considered selling part of the Mud Lake Wildlife Area, and the DNR voiced opposition because the wildlife area was acquired using state funds in the 1960s on the condition that it would remain protected.
The county’s new policy does not prohibit accepting outside grants, but it sets into policy a practice of being more diligent about reviewing conditions of such grants before deciding whether to accept them.
Some county supervisors said the review process also would create a permanent record in case questions arise later about conditions tied to a particular grant.
“This is a long time coming,” Supervisor Arlyn Tober said.
Tober recalled a property that the county was prohibited from selling because of earlier grant money that had been used to build restrooms on the site.
Shortly after approving the new policy, the County Board on Wednesday agreed to seek about $170,000 in state DNR grants for maintenance of winter recreational trails for ATVs and snowmobiles. County staffers offered assurances that the grants would not include any unreasonable conditions.
Noting that county staffers often know of such conditions in advance, County Supervisor Bonnie Olson said officials can sometimes save time and expense by not preparing a grant application if it involves too many restrictions.
“Sometimes it’s not worth even writing it,” Olson said.