GREEN BAY (NBC26) — The Brown County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of a lease agreement which will 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 Hasselhoff 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," Patrick Buckley of the Brown County Board of Supervisors said.
During public comment before the board voted, Hasselhoff said C. Reiss would see any changes to the lease agreement as a rejection of the deal. The company reiterated that in an email 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," a company spokesperson writes.
