Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt says he will not use his veto powers to restore a building permit for the Oneida Seven Generations Corporation gasification plant which would burn trash and high temperatures and convert it into electricity.
In a statement released Monday afternoon, the mayor says he was surprised the 7-5 vote last week to rescind the permit after an outcry from neighbors concerned about emissions from the plant.
The mayor says he supports the gasification plant and asked some city council members to reconsider, "to give all parties more time to evaluate and be educated" about the issue.
But Mayor Schmitt told Action 2 News, "I think when it comes to development, we need to have consensus, and I think that this project with more time and more education, could be brought to a positive vote. I don't want to do development around here through vetoes. I don't think that's healthy for the long term of the city, so that's the decision the council made."
Members of the city council are divided in their reaction, as they were in last week's vote.
Alderman Jerry Wiezbiski, who supported keeping the conditional use permit, said, "I'm not really happy with the decision, really to be honest with you. It's a little bit unfortunate."
Alderman Mark Steuer said, ""I was actually very pleased with that. I think looking at the way the situation was, the way the council defined it and said 7 to 5 against, I think that told the mayor and administration there were issues out there."
The issues were concerns about pollution and public health hazards.
Oneida Seven Generations responded saying it was disappointed and has "every intention of moving forward with this effort and are now considering our options and next steps."
?"I would like to think that the Oneidas can reapply. You don't have to wait a year," the mayor told us. "I just think that with more education and more support from people who believe in this, I think it could still come to fruition."
Even those against the plant say they expect to re-review the project.
"We're not done with it yet, but I think at this juncture what we have here is there were just too many unanswered questions and people just weren't comfortable with it," Steuer said.
The complete statement from Mayor Jim Schmitt:
Waste disposal is an issue that needs to be addressed on a local and national level. Green Bay has been supportive of "Green Technology" with the Conditional Use Permit granted to Greenwood Fuels in support of the Oneida Seven Generations Corporation Renewable Energy Plant (OSGC).
The OSGC plant is an interesting step towards renewable energy and proper waste management. The proposed plant also will create good paying jobs and bring a $20million tax base to our community.
However, the Green Bay City Council voted to rescind the CUP for this new plant. Admittedly I was surprised by this vote last Tuesday. I talked with members of the Council and find the reasons for the rescinding of the CUP are varied. I've asked some aldermen to reconsider this item to give all parties more time to evaluate and be educated on this proposal. I do feel this project has merit and with more time and more education could be brought to a majority vote by the City Council.
I believe it is important that economic development projects are done through consensus and not through veto. Therefore, I will not veto this project and will work with interested parties to continue our efforts towards "Green Technology".
The complete statement from Oneida Seven Generations Corporation:
Oneida Seven Generations Corporation is extremely disappointed with Mayor Schmitt's decision to uphold the action of the Green Bay City Council in rescinding our conditional use permit. OSGC has been honest about this project from the beginning. That was verified by the unanimous vote of the Green Bay Plan Commission.
We are confident the facility offers great environmental benefits, as well as economic development benefits. We have every intention of moving forward with this effort and are now considering our options and next steps. As we work on those efforts, we will have no additional comments.
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