TOWN OF DIAMOND BLUFF – The Diamond Bluff Town Board voted at its Jan. 13 meeting to open all town roads for ATV/UTV use.

In 2019, the board voted to allow certain roads for ATV/UTV use, such as 290th Avenue from Highway 35 through the village area to its end point and the entirety of 410th Avenue from Oak Ridge Road to County Road OO. There have been no problems noted, so the board felt comfortable opening all roads.

ATV/UTV riders cannot, however, cross Highway 35 or railroad tracks.

“You’ve earned the right to use all town roads,” said Town Chair Jeff Holst to a group of ATV enthusiasts attending the meeting. “Highway 35 kind of pretty well shuts off access in our township.”

The Pierce County ATV Club will post signs at entrances to Diamond Bluff indicating that all town roads are usable. The group will also post signs where access isn’t allowed on private roads if subdivisions vote not to allow ATV/UTV use on roads.

ARPA funds

Town Clerk Todd Mehrkens said townships received guidance from the Wisconsin Towns Association on how American Recovery Plan Act funds distributed by the federal government to help with pandemic-related expenses can be utilized.

He said initial guidance was that municipalities had to prove they lost money due to the effects of COVID-19 to use the funding.

“They removed that proof of loss up to $2 million,” said Mehrkens. “The other thing is all towns will not be able to use ARPA funds for provision of government services.”

That includes capital expenditures such as roads. “This is fantastic news for all local governments,” said Mehrkens.

The meeting lasted 10 minutes.