Vernon County was informed Tuesday afternoon that it will receive a $4 million community development block grant from the state Department of Commerce (DOC) to be used for dam repairs.

Land and water conservation department resource conservationist Phil Hahn received the call with the good news from Caryn Stone at the DOC.

"I’m giddy," Hahn, who has been mapping Vernon County’s dam repair schedule, said. "We sent in a $14 million application and figured we’d get nothing."

Vernon County’s total community development block grant is for $4,030,000. The grant money is being given with three priorities attached to it:

-- working to voluntarily acquire homes below at-risk dams.

-- repairing the Jersey Valley and Runge Hollow dams.

-- dredging the Jersey Valley Park boat landing.

Vernon County submitted its grant application, signed by county board chairman Tom Spenner, on Feb. 9.

Hahn said the next step is for the DOC and the county to sign a contract for the grant in the next 10 days.

"We’ll have a meeting with the Department of Commerce to establish our priorities," Hahn said.

Vernon County wasn’t the only area municipality receiving community development block grants. The village of Gays Mills received $1.7 million and the village of Viola received $200,000, Hahn said.

Vernon County is currently faced with approximately $11 million in dam repairs from damage caused by floods in August of 2007 and June of 2008.

Currently Rep. Lee Nersion is seeking additional money in the 2009-2011 state budget to go toward dam repairs (See the Page A-1).

The news that the county received a grant came at a good time. On Tuesday, Hahn showed six national contractors the Jersey Valley dam and its repair plan. The project is figured to cost $2.5 million, but the county has only provided $2.2 million toward it.

Of that $2.2 million, $500,000 is from a grant previously secured by Nerison. The other $1.7 million had not yet been included in the county’s budget.

For the last several months, the county’s land and water conservation committee and finance committee have discussed how they can find money to pay for dam repairs.

Spenner called the block grant announcement, “Good, good news.”

“This $4 million would take care of our high-hazard dams that need repairs,” Spenner said. “We still have a lot of other repairs to do, but not at the high-hazard dams.”

Spenner said he hoped that the contractors bidding on the Jersey Valley dam project get their bids back in time for opening at the June 30 meeting of the Vernon County Board of Supervisors.