THURSDAY EVENING UPDATE:
- The county committee modified and then approved the resolution, by a vote of 3-1, sending it to the full county board
- The recap of the meeting can be found in the video above
- A full response from the coal company that owns the coal piles, C. Reiss, is included at the bottom of this story
ORIGINAL STORY:
- Brown County's Administration committee votes Thursday evening on a resolution regarding the port expansion project.
- The county is also submitting a Request For Information (RFI) to explore other interests from businesses.
- The resolution states key details in the county's offer to C. Reiss Coal Company for lease negotiations.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
"The RFI is how we move forward," Brown County Board of Supervisors member, Ron Antonneau, said.
An RFI (Request for Information) is something Antonneau said he's wanted for months.
"I know other companies would love to have that offer," Antonneau said.
The information would determine how much interest other companies might have in the county's port expansion project, a site originally sought to be the new home for coal piles owned by C. Reiss Coal Company.
"I believe it should at least get some competitive, information out there to know the market, to know how good this deal is or isn't," Antonneau said.
Working under the clock, the county submitted a counteroffer to C. Reiss in December.
The biggest difference is the length of the lease term.
C. Reiss requested to occupy space at the port for 75 years. The county counter-offered with 40 years which includes extension opportunities.
"The county has done everything we said we'd do," the chairman of the County Board of Supervisors, Patrick Buckley, said.
Securing a deal for the Port Project, he says, is key in keeping federal and state grants.
$15 million was granted to Brown County from the state. County officials said the money applies towards developing the port and the relocation of the C. Reiss company.
"If C. Reiss doesn't have the interest then we're going to have to go to other people that may want to pay for it," Buckley said.
In a county resolution, officials added that the coal company already owns land north of 1-43, stating the following:
"For years, C. Reiss could already have been sending new coal shipments to its Fox River Terminals LLC site."
The proposed resolution, Antonneau said, provides clear details on what the county calls "good faith" negotiations.
"We're just waiting now, it's not in our court anymore," Antonneau said. "We're trying to look out for the citizens and the residents of Brown County."
The county's administration committee will vote on passing the resolution Thursday evening, then it will head to the county board level, which could open the door to exploring other companies' interest in the port.
I reached out to C. Reiss Coal Company and A spokesperson didn't offer comment about negotiations up to this point, but told me they'll be in touch if the company has something to say ... about what happens at tonight's meeting.
(Note: Since this story was originally published, the coal company provided a response — we've included it, in full, below)
“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 [static1.squarespace.com]. 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.”
