Perry wasn’t awarded a planning grant the City applied for through the Environmental Protection Agency this year but City Administrator Butch Niebuhr was able to get some tips that may help in the future.

Niebuhr and the city’s contractor recently traveled to Atlanta for the Brownfield conference.  He says Perry was beat out by Council Bluffs this year, losing out on the $200,000 grant.

Niebuhr says at the conference they were able to go through a debrief and find out what can be improved with the next application.  He says Perry was encouraged to apply for the next round of funding and it’s nice to meet the people they email and talk to over the phone for this process in person.

All Cities that have been awarded a Brownfield grant in the last 18 months are strongly encouraged to attend these conferences and Niebuhr says hopefully Perry is awarded another soon so they have reason to attend the next one as well.