Brown County and C. Reiss agree to lease Pulliam property, but not for coal
The Brown County Board voted to approve a deal June 5 with Green Bay and C. Reiss Co. to relocate the coal piles to the Fox River Terminal and use the former Pulliam site to store C. Reiss' bulk commodities.
Many eyes were on Green Bay and Brown County this week as officials inched closer to a deal that had $15 million at stake. The deal marks a historic milestone to a decades-long effort to relocate the coal piles from its 125-year home at 115 W. Mason St. Under the agreement, C. Reiss will lease the former Pulliam power plant to store salt and other bulk commodities instead of coal.
The terms still fulfill decades of community leaders' goal to free up prime riverfront property for industrial, commercial and residential use at the mouth of the Fox River.
The Brown County Board unanimously voted to approve the terms of the agreement. Board member Dixon Wolfe was not at the meeting.
Former Green Bay mayors Jim Schmitt and Paul Jadin awaited the County Board's momentous vote, along with state Sens. Eric Wimberger, R-Oconto, and Jamie Wall, D-Green Bay; and state Reps. David Steffen, R-Howard; Ben Franklin, R-De Pere; Ryan Spaude, D-Ashwaubenon; and Amaad Rivera-Wagner, D-Green Bay.
C. Reiss will lease 16 acres of the Pulliam site to store bulk commodities. The coal piles will be housed at the Fox River Terminal. Lease payments with a rate of $350,000 per year with increases every five years during the first 25 years based on the Consumer Price Index. The length of the lease is 60 years and can be extended. The lease needs to be executed by Sept. 25, according to the agreement.
The new plan is a notable shift from previous proposals that had intended to make the Pulliam site the new home of the coal piles.
Key parties were sorting out the agreement just a few minutes before starting the County Board meeting June 5, Buckley said ahead of the vote.
The board voted on the deal June 5, just hours before the deadline to retain the $15 million state grant. The Wisconsin Department of Administration gave the County Board until June 6 to approve terms of a deal after extending the deadline from the end of May.
Brown County agrees to buy the 43.75-acre Pulliam site for $2.7 million in January 2021.
Brown County approves the Pulliam site purchase and agrees to sell almost 10 acres of the site to GLC Minerals for an expansion in February 2021.
Gov. Tony Evers awards the city and county a $15 million Neighborhood Investment Fund Program grant funded through American Rescue Plan Act dollars in March 2022.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg presents the county with a federal $10.1 million Port Infrastructure Development grant to support the project in May 2023.
Offers, counteroffers and rejections began in mid-December 2024 when the county officials and C. Reiss tentatively agreed to a $26 million plan that would lease 14.5 acres of the Pulliam property to C. Reiss for up to 75 years at a rate of $110,000 per year with an annual 2.5% increase.
The County Board on Dec. 18, 2024, approved modified terms that reduced the lease to 40 years, changed the portion of the Pulliam property C. Reiss would use and added air quality compliance measures. C. Reiss considered the changes a rejection of the negotiated deal.
The county's Port of Green Bay published a request for companies' general interest in using the new port site envisioned for the Pulliam property in January 2025. C. Reiss was one of eight to respond with a $28.5 million proposal to improve and use the Pulliam site for coal storage.
C. Reiss in mid-March formally rejected the County Board's terms and proposed the county and company spend several months negotiating a deal. The County Board on March 19 rejected the company's offer.
The county instead sought to shift negotiations to two alternate sites for coal storage, saying the Pulliam property's future use would be determined by the request for interest process.
State officials in March gave the county, company and city a May 30 deadline to reach a deal to relocate the coal piles to the Pulliam site or lose the $15 million grant.
Two new proposals emerged in late May as the county, company and city jointly met to discuss options and ideas.
State Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Oconto, on May 23 asked the state to extend the May 30 deadline and the Department of Administration did so on May 30, giving the parties until June 3.
Brown County and C. Reiss reached a tentative agreement June 3 and announced the parties would put together the terms in writing June 4 and 5.
More: Who still uses coal? Answers to questions about Green Bay coal piles and the possible move
More: Brown County, C. Reiss strike deal to move coal piles after extensive negotiations
Press-Gazette reporter Jeff Bollier contributed to this report.
Contact Benita Mathew at bmathew@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Brown County votes on C. Reiss deal for coal piles
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