provides an idea of the variety of
funding available and how working
with Ayres from Day 1 can help make
the most of available grants and loans.
MAP IT!
The goal of the U.S. Geological Survey’s
3D Elevation program is to help local
governments fund light detection
and ranging data acquisition to help
complete a high-definition topographic
model for the entire lower 48 states.
Taylor County in north-central
Wisconsin provides an example of how
to stretch funding from such a program
to receive maximum benefit.
Ayres worked with the state
Department of Administration to
develop a group application for Taylor
and four other Wisconsin counties,
writing the technical approach,
providing project budgets, and
determining timelines for the projects.
“Grouping the counties made the
grant writing more efficient, improved
everyone’s chances of winning the
grant, standardized specifications and
datasets for all participating counties,
and reduced aircraft mobilization fees,”
said Zach Nienow, Ayres’ Geospatial
Services project manager. “Economy of
scale helped reduce project costs due
to the large overall project area.”
Taylor County’s $136,400 grant
represented half of the County’s total
fees for the base project. The County
used its Wisconsin Land Information
Program grant funds and a U.S. Forest
Service partnership to help cover the
remaining cost.
Ayres acquired the data in spring 2016
and then processed the data to meet
or exceed applicable U.S. Geological
Survey Quality Level 2 standards. The
County has already made good use of
the resulting mapping, according to
Bob Meyer, Taylor County surveyor.
“We had no accurate contour
information for the County,” Meyer
said. “Now, towns are using this
information when they consider bridge
and culvert replacements. Zoning
uses it to look at where water stands
in flatter areas and how that may
affect where homes could be built.
Once you have it, you find uses for the
information that you never imagined.
We’ve been relying on aerial photos,
but having the contours is really
useful.”
BEFORE
Meyer hopes the new elevation
information will enable the Federal
Emergency Management Agency
to update the County’s floodplain
mapping.
In all, Ayres helped 11 Wisconsin
counties secure more than $1.47
million in grants through this program
to help cover the cost of LiDAR data
acquisition and processing.
IMPROVE IT!
The Town of Ellsworth in Pierce
County, Wisconsin, faces the same
concern as most governmental
entities: not enough funds for all
projects residents would like to see
completed. Town Chairman Roger
Billeter appreciates Ayres’ help in
securing transportation grants to
improve two important roadways,
670th and 710th Streets, near the
Village of Ellsworth.
“It’s been tremendous,” he said. “Costs
are rising for everything. The grants
enabled us to get the roads better and
safer. We probably would not have had
enough money at the time to do the
work on 670th.”
AFTER
Town of Ellsworth, Wisconsin,
670th Street
And the work had to be done: 670th
carries traffic from East Ellsworth –
the site of one of the area’s largest
employers, a creamery – to a main
highway out of town. It allows
AyresAssociates.com
│9