GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Brown County and C. Reiss Company have reportedly reached a tentative agreement that would relocate the downtown Green Bay coal piles.
During a meeting on Tuesday, officials announced that the two parties have reached an agreement that is currently being put into writing. County officials didn’t elaborate on the terms of the deal.
“I think between the mayor, the county executive, and myself I think we’re very confident that it is going to get done,” said Brown County chairperson Patrick Buckley.
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After a long day of negotiations, Buckley said they reached a deal at 6:49 Tuesday night. He told Local 5 News that he believes they will retain a $15 million state grant that will help them move the coal piles and develop the port of Green Bay. The grant was contingent on C. Reiss Company and Brown County officials reaching an agreement to move the coal piles by 5 p.m. Tuesday. Technically, the tentative agreement materialized after that state mandated deadline.
The agreement will be voted on during a special meeting of the Brown County Board of Supervisors on Thursday, June 5, at 7 p.m. During a closed session on Tuesday evening, county leadership debriefed supervisors on the agreement.
“We look forward to Thursday and finalizing this long journey and we appreciate the work by everybody to get us to this point,” said Brown County executive Troy Streckenbach. “We’re basically allowing the process to continue and get that finalized with C. Reiss tomorrow and ultimately voted by the county board.”
County officials did reveal that the tentative agreement does entail moving the coal piles from their current location along the Fox River near the Mason Street Bridge to the former Pulliam Power Plant site.
“I’ll tell you what, it better get across the finish line and if it doesn’t I guarantee neighbors and businesses are going to be upset but we’ll start grabbing shovels and hauling the coal ourselves,” said Tarl Knight who is the director of the Shipyard District, Inc. and also lives near the coal piles.
State representative David Steffen released a statement on the tentative agreement:
“For half a century, our community has endeavored to reclaim and repurpose this ¼ mile of downtown riverfront property. With today’s announcement, we now begin a new era of opportunity and excitements for downtown Green Bay”
-Rep. David Steffen
