Colfax approves moving forward with Flexible Facilities grant for $4.25 million for Colfax Municipal Building
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
Editor’s note: LeAnn R. Ralph serves as a member of the Colfax Elevator Commission.
COLFAX — The Colfax Village Board has approved moving forward with a grant application for the Flexible Facilities Grant in the amount of $4.25 million for the Colfax Municipal Building.
The Colfax Elevator Commission, which was authorized by the village board, met on May 9 and has recommended that the village move forward with the grant application and to use money from the elevator fund to pay for the grant application, said Lisa Bragg-Hurlburt, director of the Colfax Public Library, at the Colfax Village Board’s May 13 meeting.
The elevator fund, for which the elevator commission has been raising money for about the last five years, currently has $145,000 in cash and pledged donations.
The money is in a restricted fund and can only be used for the Colfax Municipal Building.
Spending money from the elevator fund is under the control of the Colfax Village Board.
The Flexible Facilities Grant is available through the federal government’s 2021 American Rescue Plan to address deficiencies in infrastructure that became apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bragg-Hurlburt said.
The grant is intended to improve or construct mixed-use buildings and to improve libraries, including better internet access, she said.
The grant does not require any matching funds, and the grant money can be used to hire a project administrator, for architectural design and for construction, Bragg-Hurlburt said.
First proposal
The initially-proposed elevator project for the Colfax Municipal Building intended to install an elevator to serve all three floors of the building from the basement, to the main floor to the auditorium, and to add restroom facilities on all three floors.
The initial proposal also included renovating the basement to make it a usable space.
The cost for the initial proposal was almost $1 million, and the elevator commission has been contemplating applying for a Community Development Block Grant through the U.S Department for Housing and Urban Development for $1 million that would require $350,000 in matching funds.
A $1.5 million project with CDBG funds would provide $1 million in grant funding and would require $500,000 in matching funds.
Larger project
The $4.25 million grant would allow the municipal building project to be expanded, Bragg-Hurlburt said.
The elevator commission made a unanimous decision to recommend that the village board approve applying for the grant and to use elevator funds to pay for writing the grant application, she said.
Bragg-Hurlburt had contacted Ayres Associates, Cedar Corporation and the West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission to provide estimates for writing and submitting the grant application.
The grant application is due by 2 p.m. on July 11, 2024, and the awards are anticipated to be made no later than October 1, 2024.
Project completion is required by September 30, 2026, and the final grant report is due by October 31, 2026.
Since the grant application is due in July, Bragg-Hurlburt suggested that the village board authorize Lynn Niggemann, village administrator-clerk-treasurer, to select which company would write the grant application, rather than waiting until the next village board meeting, since Niggemann would be leaving her position a week and a half after the May 13 village board meeting.
“We have never had an opportunity like this. This is a great step to keep our heritage here,” said Gary Stene, village trustee.
The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved moving forward with the grant application and to pay for the grant writing services from the elevator fund.
Expansion
Cory Scheidler, director of architecture for Cedar Corporation, also attended the village board meeting.
In April of 2010, the Village of Colfax received an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in the amount of $179,300.
The grant went toward making the municipal building more energy efficient and included replacing 59 single pane windows and adding insulation to the building.
Along with the grant money, funding provided by the Colfax Municipal Building Restoration Group to upgrade the building’s electrical system and work by CMBRG to restore the auditorium allowed the auditorium to once again be open to the public.
Cedar Corporation provided the grant administration for the energy efficiency project, and Scheidler was one of the Cedar Corp staff members who worked on the project.
Scheidler told the village board at the May 13 meeting that he would recommend looking at expanding the project from the original proposal.
One component of the grant is to maximize internet access with fiber for better connectivity, he said.
The project could include a room in the municipal building with high-speed internet access and a computer where area residents could privately access telehealth services, he said.
Although Scheidler did not mention it, accessing telehealth services could be especially important now that St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls, Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, and 19 Prevea clinics in the Chippewa Valley have closed.
The project could include a community room as well, that in addition to being available to the community, could be used by the Colfax Public Library and the Colfax Village Board for meeting space, Scheidler said.
A great deal can be accomplished with $4.25 million, he noted.
In his 25 years of experience, Scheidler said he has never seen a grant like this that does not include a provision for matching funds.