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Committee accepts $65,000 DNR grant for lead-service-line outreach; funds cannot be used for replacements
Summary
The finance committee accepted a $65,000 Department of Natural Resources grant to fund community outreach on private lead-service lines; staff said the grant is for outreach only and cannot cover replacement or mitigation work.
The Appleton finance committee on Dec. 8 accepted a $65,000 Department of Natural Resources community outreach grant to support private-side lead-service-line replacement outreach and approved related 2026 budget amendments.
A staff representative summarized the planned use: the grant allows up to $65,000 to be spent through 2027 on outreach activities such as postcards to residents, educational materials and, if needed, consulting support to design outreach. "When we originally applied for this grant, we had teed up, like a postcard that would get sent out to all residents," the agency official said.
Alder Hartzheim asked whether the funds could be used for actual mitigation or replacement work. The agency official replied, "Correct. It is intended only for community outreach." The chair noted that postage and printing costs could be substantial given roughly 25,000–26,000 properties in the city, a point raised while discussing outreach logistics.
Staff said the city has already completed some lead replacements and can still use grant funds for outreach to notify residents about galvanized or other materials in homes and to encourage identification of suspect piping. The committee approved acceptance of the grant 4-0.
The agency official said next steps include developing an outreach plan that may include direct mail and possible vendor support; staff agreed to bring that plan forward for future review.
