GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — The Brown County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of a lease agreement to move the coal piles from downtown, but the company which manages the coal piles says it will not agree to the changes the board asked for.
The city of Green Bay's common council pushed Brown County to accept the proposed lease terms with C. Reiss, the company which manages the coal piles.
Their CEO spoke before the county board's vote at Wednesday's meeting.
"We were told it would be best for the community if we relocated to the Pulliam site. So, we engaged," CEO Keith Haselhoff said.
The city planned to put mixed-use development on the riverfront property where the coal piles currently sit and C. Reiss had agreed to that plan.
They also agreed to move the coal piles to the Pulliam power plant site, which the county board agreed to at Wednesday's meeting, with some changes to the lease agreement.
The board brought the lease down from 100 years to 30 years, plus a 10-year option. They asked that the lease rate increase by 2.5% percent or by the consumer price index each year, whichever is greater.
They also added a rule that the company will give air or water compliance reports to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for the last five years and will keep submitting them every year.
"We want to make sure [for] the residents, at least the best we can offer, the air quality is monitored to make sure there's not issues," Brown County Board of Supervisors Patrick Buckley said.
During public comment before the board voted, Haselhoff said C. Reiss would see any changes to the lease agreement as a rejection of the deal. Haselhoff reiterated that in a statement to our newsroom Wednesday night.
“This evening, the Brown County Board of Supervisors rejected the agreement negotiated and agreed to in good faith by the County Administration and The C. Reiss Company over the past year. We respect the Board’s decision and will continue to be a good neighbor in this community, as we have been since opening our Green Bay location at Mason Street in 1900.
“From the start, C. Reiss made clear we would commit to being part of this project, but we also need to be good stewards of our company and the future of our business in Green Bay. After offering several different options over the past year to achieve this objective – including a $3.5 million offer to purchase and move the coal piles to the Pulliam site – the County Board rejected the deal terms agreed to by the County Administration and C. Reiss.
“Since we were approached by the County and City more than two years ago to work on this effort, C. Reiss has been fully engaged with the key stakeholders involved – including Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich, Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach, and their teams. We thank them for their hard work on this over the last few years, and look forward to continuing to work with them.”
