Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include a statement from C. Reiss
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) — The Brown County Board of Supervisors has proposed a new alternative site for relocating the coal piles along the riverfront.
Board Chairman Patrick Buckley said, “We’ve expended a lot of time and struggle putting forth a good-faith effort to strike an equitable deal for all sides involved. After exhausting all options at the former Pulliam Plant site, and after apparent failed negotiations between the City of Green Bay and C. Reiss over Alternate Site 1, we are now putting Alternate Site 2 on the table for consideration.”
Alternate Site 2 connects to land already owned by Robindale Energy, the parent company of C. Reiss and Fox River Terminals, LLC. It is located directly across Bylsby Avenue from several other properties Robindale currently owns at the port.
The new site would allow C. Reiss to retain all of the roughly 35 acres it currently owns south of Mason Street for future development, while also adding about 12.7 acres north of Interstate 43 to hold future coal piles.
“The Wisconsin Department of Administration has indicated it would like to see a deal acceptable to both C. Reiss and the county reached, or roughly $13 million in grant funding for port development may soon be pulled. C. Reiss has made unreasonable demands, knowing the county is in a poor bargaining position,” Buckley added.
He concluded by saying he remains hopeful that the benefits of selecting Alternate Site 2 will be apparent to all parties, as it would support port development while also removing coal piles that “have blighted our riverfront for over 100 years.”
Later Monday evening, C. Reiss issued a statement, saying, “More than one month ago, C. Reiss agreed to the state’s request for mediation, where all parties come together to consider all options for relocating the coal piles and find a solution. It’s unfortunate that the county now appears to reject that approach and instead seeks to unilaterally limit any negotiations, which can only impede a resolution.
“It’s hard to understand why the county now insists they can’t consider using the $15 million in state funds for their intended purpose of moving the coal piles to Pulliam. Further, while Chairman Buckley keeps saying C. Reiss is being unreasonable, the reality is we’ve made multiple above-market offers for the Pulliam site, which would provide a strong return on the county’s investment.
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“Considering all options is standard practice in mediation. Indeed, the county’s own grant application demonstrates how objectively unreasonable it would be to eliminate the Pulliam site from consideration. In it, the county said: ‘Brown County plans to complete the redevelopment of the Pulliam site and put it into active use within three years, allowing for the relocation of coal piles from downtown Green Bay. This two-phase project includes county redevelopment of the former Pulliam Power Plant site into a state-of-the-art port facility (Phase 1) and the relocation of coal piles and redevelopment of the downtown coal storage site by the city (Phase 2). Redevelopment of the Pulliam site will allow the C. Reiss Coal Co., currently located in downtown Green Bay on the west bank of the Fox River, to relocate from an historically low-income area (Phase 2).’
“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.”
