PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Brown County officials say they’re now only focused on locations other than the former Pulliam Power Plant site to put the downtown Green Bay coal piles.
However, C. Reiss Company, the owner of the coal piles, wants the county to consider all options.
Five weeks ago, the two sides agreed to meet to try to figure out a way to get a deal done. However, that meeting hasn’t happened, according to county officials.
“It’s what they want or nothing,” said Brown County Supervisor James Pyle.
In hopes of trying to ignite negotiations, County Board Chair Pat Buckley put out a press release announcing the county would be willing to part with nearly 13 acres of land it owns adjacent to nearly 4 acres of land C. Reiss’ parent company, Robindale, owns. Both are across the street from the 38-acre Fox River Terminals, also owned by Robindale.
“This is pretty much turnkey,” said Pyle. “It’s right across from the Fox River Terminal, which would allow them to put all their coal here and any additional coal over on the other side.”
Pyle points out most of the terminal isn’t being used right now.
He says a group of county officials came up with the alternate site after it appeared a nearby Green Bay-owned parcel pitched as an alternate coal piles site wasn’t going to work out.
Both of those sites are near the former Pulliam Power Plant site, a 37-acre property the county purchased four years ago. County officials say they are focused on alternate sites to put the coal piles after C. Reiss rejected previous offers to move the piles to the Pulliam site.
In a statement, C. Reiss CEO Keith Haselhoff says the company has made “multiple above-market offers for the Pulliam site, which would provide a strong return on the county’s investment.”
Haselhoff says considering all options is standard practice in mediation.
“All differences need to be put aside and we need to bring together all parties to figure out how to pull off this once in a generation project that the community so badly wants to see accomplished,” wrote Haselhoff in his statement.
Pyle says the county won’t sell the Pulliam property to C. Reiss.
“Because there is a good opportunity to expand the port,” said Pyle. “We’re trying to bring in companies that would bring employees and contribute to the area and spend money into the area, which C. Reiss and Robindale, they don’t contribute nothing to the community. It’s basically a storage area.”
County officials have maintained they want multiple operators to use the Pulliam site, while C. Reiss has said there is only enough room for its operations.
A study has shown moving the coal piles from the riverfront property where they’ve sat for the past 125 years could generate $150 million in new development.
The county has gathered $33 million in federal and state grants to expand port operations at the Pulliam site. That includes a $15 million grant the state says it will only give if a fitting resolution is reached involving the coal piles.
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