By Jalen Maki
Tomahawk Leader Editor
TOMAHAWK – The City of Tomahawk may have some financial help in cleaning up the damage left behind by a pair of thunderstorms that hit the area earlier this summer.
The first storm rolled through on July 26, with strong winds taking down trees and damaging power lines, knocking out power for more than 60,000 homes.
Two days later, on July 28, with more than 15,000 homes still without electricity after the first storm, a second storm hit the area, bringing torrential rain and intense winds and leaving thousands more homes without power.
On July 30, Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) said it had restored service to more than 110,000 customers, noting that it was working in the areas most impacted by outages, including Tomahawk, the Town of Bradley and the Lake Nokomis and Spirit Flowage areas.
Trees throughout the city and in Bradley Park were knocked down or damaged in the storms.
During its meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 7, the City of Tomahawk Common Council unanimously approved a resolution allowing the city to apply for a cost sharing grant from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Funds from the grant may be used “for the purpose of funding urban and community forestry projects or urban forestry catastrophic storm projects,” according to the resolution.
The city could receive up to $50,000 to assist in the cleanup of damage that occurred to trees in Bradley Park and along streets. Funds could also be used to replace damaged trees, as well as for stump grinding.
Clerk/Treasurer Amanda Bartz noted that the city has spent $17,000 on storm damage cleanup in Bradley Park.
With the approval of the resolution, the city can send the grant application to the DNR.