Coal Piles Subject of Open Letter to Brown County

GREEN BAY, WI- (WGBW) –  Amid stalled negotiations and an approaching deadline for use of a $15 million grant from the Wisconsin Department of Administration, the new Shipyard District sent an open letter to the Brown County Board of Supervisors. The letter urges them to come to an agreement soon and relocate the coal piles from the banks of the Fox River to the former Pulliam Power Plant Site.

The letter asks the Brown County Board of Supervisors and county leaders to reach a good-faith, mutually beneficial agreement with C. Reiss and the City of Green Bay to move the coal piles from their present location. It was signed by the officers and board members of the Shipyard District, Inc., representatives of several neighborhood associations, and other leaders.

“For over one hundred years, the coal piles on the banks of the Fox River have obstructed the development of our corridor along our historic waterway,” the letter reads. “They have stood in the way of Brown County Housing and business developments, hundreds or possibly thousands of new residents, hundreds of new jobs and new businesses, long-term port activity, over $150 million in development, a significant boost to Brown County’s tax base, and a vastly improved quality of life for Brown County residents in our district and neighborhoods.”

It says the coal pile sites represent the district’s most significant public and mixed-use development opportunity.

The Brown County Board of Supervisors recently rejected C. Reiss’s offer to purchase the former Pulliam Power Plant site, which is integral to the plan to move coal piles away from the waterfront in downtown Green Bay. 

The county claims seven other entities, in addition to C. Reiss, expressed interest in the Pulliam Site.