Proposed energy center in Town of Brillion met with heavy pushback

By David Nordby

The Brillion News

TOWN OF BRILLION - If there is support of the proposed energy center in the Town of Brillion, it was not vocalized on Tuesday night.

More than 100 residents of the town and nearby municipalities showed up to the board meeting. Zero of them raised their hands when asked if potential tax breaks would be enough to support the center.

Town president Kevin Fischer and the rest of the board were met with concern from many during the public input portion of the meeting. Some spoke one at a time; others angrily shouted in unison against the center being built.

“This is serious stuff,” one resident said.

“I don’t want f—— cancer,” one said, as numerous citizens voiced health concerns over the plant.

Comments similar to that lasted for about 40 minutes, with many voicing concerns for their children and grandchildren growing up in an area where a center would produce large amounts of waste daily.

The center is one of two proposed for Calumet County by Chicago-based power producer Invenergy and could produce enough energy to power hundreds of thousands of homes. The one discussed Tuesday night would be built near the town hall building.

Fischer, who initially told the crowd that he doesn't know much more than they do about the project, said he felt better about it after a recent visit to one of Invenergy’s plants in Minnesota.

Some citizens pushed back on that because the site Fischer and other town board members visited in Minnesota isn’t the same type of plant that would be in Brillion.

Fischer said multiple times the project goes through Wisconsin Public Service and Department of Natural Resources, and not the town or county. He said he has spoken with representatives "three or four times."

Fischer said the safety concerns would be handled by the group building it, many in the crowd yelled something to the effect of, "they don't care [about safety concerns]."

Citizens requested a special meeting with the town attorney present. That meeting could come as soon as next week.

The meeting included many faces from the Brillion area that are recognizable.

Former Brillion city administrator Lori Gosz, who’s a resident of the town, asked for transparency.

Current Brillion Mayor Mike Smith noted the town board voted against the Ariens Nordic Center construction because of noise and light pollution concerns. The property was then annexed into the city through a complex process also involving the Town of Woodville.

“You fought over that more than you’re fighting over this. I feel like this is a lot more serious concern,” Smith said.

Citizen Jon Beach said he is the head of a committee opposing the center and laid out a list of requests for the official record. One of them was for the attorney’s involvement.

It was a tense meeting with just one moment of levity. Fischer called the meeting to order and asked if anyone was there for public input for about something other than the center. Many in the crowd broke out in laughter.

This story will be updated and special meetings will be listed on thebrillionnews.com.