GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A Brown County committee passed a resolution Thursday night to try to keep a $15 million grant related to the downtown Green Bay coal piles.
The money is at risk of being lost because a deal hasn’t been reached to relocate the coal piles.
The vision has been in place for years to move the coal piles to the former Pulliam Power Plant site at the mouth of the Fox River, so the current riverfront property where the coal piles sit can be redeveloped. But the county board hasn’t been able to come to a final agreement with the coal piles owner, C. Reiss Company.
Now, County Board Chair Pat Buckley wants board consensus on why a deal hasn’t been reached in the form of the four-page resolution.
“As you read through it, you’ll see the county has done a good faith effort to try to get what they were originally set to do, which was to provide a space for coal piles,” said Buckley.
However, some supervisors at Thursday’s administration committee meeting argued the resolution hurts more than it helps.
“I understand what the document is trying to do, but I truly feel like it’s making the board look like we can’t get our ducks in a row and we’re just trying to pass blame onto others,” said Supervisor Ross Toellner.
The state of Wisconsin has said the $15 million grant it awarded two years ago is contingent on a deal to relocate the coal piles.
The county hopes retaining that grant will still allow it to redevelop the Pulliam site into a port with either C. Reiss coming back to the negotiation table or finding another company that would pay to use the port.
“Our county board clearly feels that they’ve met their obligations,” said Brown County Corporation Counsel David Hemery. “They have a site prepared and they don’t feel they should be penalized or forced to agree into certain terms that they don’t feel are in the county’s best interest.”
“It would be best if we could come up with an agreement with them (C. Reiss), but I don’t think this (resolution) helps come up with an agreement at all by blaming and such,” said Supervisor Tom Lund.
C. Reiss CEO Keith Haselhoff issued a statement.
The draft resolution under consideration by the County Board contains several clear and obvious inaccuracies regarding the good faith negotiations between The C. Reiss Company and the County Administration over the past year.
On December 19, the County Board rejected an agreement negotiated by the County Administration and C. Reiss that would have moved the coal piles from their current Mason Street location out to the former Pulliam Power Plant. This new draft resolution appears to be part of an effort to shift blame for the consequences of that decision, which has put at risk some $25 million in state and federal grants for Brown County port infrastructure.
First, the resolution falsely states that C. Reiss somehow increased its demands after learning that the $15 million state grant was contingent on reaching a deal to move the coal piles. All parties knew from the beginning that the grant was given specifically to move the coal piles, as Brown County itself stated in its grant application back in 2021. Further, this $15 million doesn’t go to C. Reiss – it’s dedicated to making capital improvements to turn land that is currently unusable into a site that can handle dry bulk commodities.
Second, throughout this negotiation, C. Reiss has made multiple concessions to achieve a fair and reasonable agreement for all parties. For instance, the new proposed site is actually smaller than the one we currently own and use at Mason Street, causing operational efficiency issues that would increase our operating costs. C. Reiss has also moved from making a purchase offer to a lease, spent some $20,000 of our own money for design work, and agreed to shorten the lease term by 25 percent, among other compromises.
“Third, the resolution’s depiction of C. Reiss as a difficult negotiating partner does not reflect reality. In fact, C. Reiss reached at least two agreements with the County’s appointed negotiators, first with Green Bay Port Director Dean Haen in May 2024, which was rejected by the Harbor Commission. The County Executive then placed Corporation Counsel Dave Hemery in charge of negotiations, and C. Reiss reached a deal with him in November 2024. The County Board rejected that agreement last month.
The administration committee passed the resolution 3 to 1. The full county board will vote on it January 15th.
There had been question about another grant for $10 million from the federal government. However, federal officials tell FOX 11 the grant is not tied to a deal to move the coal piles.
Overall, the county has been awarded about $31 million related to building the new port. That includes the $15 million grant that remains in question.
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