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Kenosha finance committee accepts $500,000 EPA assessment grant, approves state site-assessment award
Summary
At a special June 25 meeting the Kenosha Finance Committee voted 5-0 to accept a $500,000 U.S. EPA assessment grant and to approve a Wisconsin DNR site-assessment grant to support downtown development work; the state award requires a local match.
The Kenosha Finance Committee voted 5-0 Wednesday, June 25, 2025, to accept a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assessment grant of roughly $500,000 and to approve a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources site-assessment grant intended to support the city—s downtown development plan.
Committee members took the action at a short special meeting called to consider the two awards. City staff told the committee the EPA assessment award does not require a local match; the state DNR award requires a local match of $22,000. The exact dollar amount of the DNR award was inconsistent in the meeting transcript and is recorded below as clarified by staff at the time.
City staff member Mister Casey explained the two grants and apologized for the need for a special meeting. He said the EPA award will fund further assessment work downtown and that the state grant was routed through the redevelopment authority earlier because staff had believed there might be a conflict with a county commitment related to the Hillside Hardware site assessment. Staff later determined there was no conflict and brought the state grant to the Finance Committee for acceptance before the state closed its fiscal year 2025 window, which staff said avoids having to reapply under any changed rules in 2026.
Committee members moved to approve acceptance of the grants and cast unanimous votes. The roll call recorded Alderson Harper, Alderson Dyson, Alderson Candace, Vice chairperson Art DeBarre and Chairperson Craig Wilson voting yes; the motion carried 5 to 0.
The committee did not take other substantive actions at the special meeting. There were no public comments recorded on the agenda item.
The awards are intended to fund environmental/site assessment work that will inform downtown redevelopment planning. City staff did not specify a schedule for the assessments at the meeting, nor did they identify contracting steps or implementation milestones; those details remain to be provided at later meetings or in staff reports.
