By Taylor J. Hale
Gazette Reporter

STEVENS POINT — CREATE Portage County is pursuing a $10,000 WDNR Surface Water grant for riverfront planning and development. The motion was carried at the finance committee meeting, held on Nov. 12.

If the plan goes into effect, it will help fund qualified organizations in Portage County up to $10,000 of seed money to help develop the gorgeous natural landscapes for the community.

Greg Wright, Executive Director at CREATE Portage County, has conceptual ideas that would help model Stevens Point in the form of other metropolitan areas in Wisconsin. He feels this would help utilize an otherwise unappropriated area of the riverfront. In Wright’s formal request to, Michael Ostrowski, Director of Community Development, he wrote,

“we are heading into this plan with an open mind, but current community recommendations for creative placemaking in this area include beer gardens like those in Milwaukee, public-access docks, unique third spaces, reading or meditation nooks, and other investments that promote wellness, recreation, arts, and community.”

CREATE is pursuing the grant in hopes of furthering research on achievable plans for developmental projects set along the beautiful riverside found throughout Stevens Point. Wright feels that this will improve the quality of life for denizens in the region.

“We see our plan as a complement to the targeted area master plan already underway that will provide more micro-level detail about specific infrastructures that align with community-identified needs and goals,” Wright mentioned in his request letter.

The grant requires a match of 25 percent, too. Volunteer time and paid city staff time can also count in the percentage. CREATE is asking the finance committee to contemplate designating up to $2,500 or a mixture of cash and faculty time that achieves the equivalent.

“We believe it would also be possible to apply funds allocated to the targeted area master plan that would inform work in this particular physical space and reach the required dollar amount,” Wright concluded.

The WDNR Surface Water grant would replenish the area’s waterfront locations and help locals enjoy more of the scenery offered by the beautiful Wisconsin River. It is an ambitious plan to help modernize the cityscape and make the river a more presented feature in the community.

The motion will continue at this month’s common council. For more info contact CREATE at 715-254-0460.