Gov. Evers visits Abby to tout grant

Standing at the corner of Oak and Fifth Street in Abbotsford on Tuesday, Gov. Tony Evers got a firsthand look at one of the roads the city has been hoping to repair for years.

Pointing north, city administrator Josh Soyk told the governor that the road “only gets worse from here,” underscoring the need for a $2.5 million project planned for next year that will result in a reconstructed roadway and new sewer lines benefitting an estimated 300 city residents.

The project would likely not be getting done next year without a $1 million Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) awarded by the state on behalf of the federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program. A press release sent out prior to the governor’s visit noted that CDBGs are used to “support critical public infrastructure projects in low-to-moderate-income communities with populations of 50,000 or fewer throughout the state.”

Mitch Wallace, deputy director of political engagement for the governor, said Abbotsford was one of 21 municipalities to be awarded a total of $18 million in CDBG money in this latest round of funding.

In order to prove that the Fifth Street neighborhood qualified for the CDBG’s income requirements, Soyk and Ald. Selenia Espino went door to door asking residents to fill out income surveys. As someone who is bilingual, Espino was able to gain the trust of residents who don’t speak English fluently.

“Unfortunately, that language barrier makes it difficult,” she said. “Me being able to explain it to them I think definitely just reassures them that it’s for something positive for our community.”

Before going to look at the future project site, Gov. Evers and his Secretary of Administration Kathy Blumenfeld met with local officials at city hall to discuss how the city is going to use the CDBG. Soyk said Fifth Street has long had problems with flooding and ice buildup during the winters.

“This road was built back in the 1980s,” he said. “I think it’s been on our five-year plan for probably seven years.”

The $1.5 million for Fifth Street is actu- ally the fourth CDBG that has been awarded to the city in the last several years, helping pay for several major projects without having to lean as heavily on local taxpayers and utility ratepayers.

“It has been very helpful for our community,” Soyk said, noting that the city has not had to raise water rates in about a decade in part because of grant money coming in.

Soyk said the city also has “a very successful” TIF district that helps cover the local match for projects like the one on Fifth.

A big reason for Evers’ visit – and several others like it throughout the state – was the governor’s desire to point out the positive impacts of the CDBG program, which is slated to be completely defunded under President Trump’s 2026 budget proposal. A memo from the president’s Office of Management and Budget explains the reason for the proposed cut: “CDBG is poorly targeted, and the program has been used for a variety of projects that the federal government should not be funding, such as improvement projects at a brewery, a plaza for concerts, and skateboard parks. This type of a program is better funded and administered at the state and local level.”

Gov. Evers refuted this idea during Tuesday’s visit, pointing out how small cities like Abbotsford rely on CDBG to do important infrastructure projects.

“Whatever we can do to make sure we’re continuing to get that money from the federal government, that’s absolutely important,” he said.