Darien receives grant for blight removal
DARIEN — In Darien, the village trustees hold old-fashioned notions.
They believe the village should save money—instead of borrowing it—and for the past few years they've been squirreling away money for a City Hall addition and/or a renovation of police department headquarters.
Their savings account got a boost of sorts last week when the state awarded them a $42,000 grant for blight removal.
The grant and money in the village's savings account mean the village is a step closer to its goal.
Diana Dykstra, village administrator and clerk-treasurer, wrote and submitted the grant application to the Wisconsin Department of Commerce earlier this year.
"This is the first grant I've written for the village of Darien and the largest grant I've ever received," Dykstra said. "It's very satisfying."
The grant will allow the village to remove three small buildings next to the police department and village offices on Wisconsin Street.
The grant includes money for demolition, checking for contamination at the site, environmental remediation, if necessary, and the repair of the storm sewer that is located under the buildings.
As part of the grant requirements, the village will contribute $100,000 to the project. That money will come out of the $250,000 the village has saved.
The total cost of a renovation/addition would be about $1.5 million—and that amount included demolition and remediation.
"The board hasn't put its blessing on any exact design," Dykstra said. "The project is probably a couple of years down the road, but this grant brings us one step closer."
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Oct 29, 2011 at 6:05 a.m.
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Thanks for clearing that up. I grew up in Darien and didn't realize there were that many parks to support a parks person. And I agree that is better to have the patrols on the road.
Oct 28, 2011 at 11:56 a.m.
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Darien does not have a desk Officer, one person on the road at a time and yes they have a Parks Department. Donna I am glad you think that is outside the box. As a taxpayer in Darien I would rather have the Police Patrolling rather than cleaning.
Oct 27, 2011 at 6:02 p.m.
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I think the article was meant to show that a grant has been obtained----the buildings are in such disrepair that they would have sat vacant for even more years. This way people will be going "downtown" and actually using and bringing business there. Why not use land that the village already owns instead of buying up land away from the village main street. Congrats Diana- wish something would revitalize Sharon:(
Oct 27, 2011 at 4:37 p.m.
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I don't think there is a parks dept in Darien. And if an officer is on desk duty and things are quiet, why not do something that is constructive like sweep the floor or clean a sink. What a refreshing way to look at things. No layers of "that's not my job, etc, call the other dept, let someone else do it," but see a job to do it and then do it. Love the thinking!
Oct 27, 2011 at 8:47 a.m.
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I am happy to hear that they are going to take down those ugly buildings. I am not in favor or building a new Village Hall, but getting rid of those buildings is huge for the downtown. On another note I was told that the Village is saving money by having their Officers clean the Police Department. On the surface this sounds like a great idea, but having an Officer who gets paid $20 something per hour clean seems like a waste of resources. There are many employees on the Parks Department that get paid much less, maybe those employees could clean and the Patrol persons, Patrol.....
Oct 27, 2011 at 7:05 a.m.
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Still no reason to spend that much money to build a new Municipal Building. Tear down the buildings and plant grass.
Oct 27, 2011 at 5:45 a.m.
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Janesville...have you seen these buildings ? They are ancient. It would take much more to rehab than tear down and build new. Congrats to Darien. Janesville should take a lesson.
Oct 27, 2011 at 3:06 a.m.
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It's too bad that Darien does not seem to be considering the cost savings and value to the community of renovating these commercial and industrial structures.
Oct 26, 2011 at 6:18 p.m.
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Save money instead of borrowing it?
Earn interest rather than pay it?
What kind of whacky, upside down place is this Darien?
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