Fort Dodge succeeds in securing environmental grants
Hard work by city staffers results in grants totaling $750,000
It wasn’t too long ago that using asbestos as insulation in buildings was standard procedure. In many old buildings the stuff is everywhere, including in the floor tiles.
Lead-based paint was standard, too.
But advances in medical science proved that asbestos and lead-based paint are bad news. Asbestos causes lung cancer and other diseases of the respiratory tract while exposure to lead-based paint can cause harm to the brain, kidneys, nerves and blood, especially in children.
Fort Dodge has a lot of old buildings that contain both substances. The presence of asbestos and lead-based paint is a problem that has to be dealt with. And dealing with it is not cheap.
Fortunately, Fort Dodge officials have been on a roll when it comes to getting money from the federal government to help pay for dealing with the problem.
In 2022, the city received a $250,000 grant to pay for removing asbestos from the former Greenleaf Care Center, 1305 N. 22nd St. A contractor was hired last month to do the necessary work. After the asbestos is gone, the old nursing home will be torn down. The goal is to eventually have one or two new homes built on the site.
Just as the city started to put that first grant award to work, it received a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to pay for assessments in downtown buildings which will reveal the presence of asbestos, lead-based paint or any other hazardous materials.
In the span of about a year, the city has received $750,000 from the EPA to deal with asbestos and other hazardous materials. That is remarkable. A lot of other communities probably wish they were getting that much money out of the federal government to address such problems.
The fact that Fort Dodge is getting these grants is a tribute to the city staffers who diligently pursue grant opportunities.
It is also a tribute to elected and appointed officials who understand the need to have a close relationship with their federal counterparts. The annual trips to Washington, D.C., are one element in maintaining that relationship.