By Greg Ambrosius

(This is the speech that I gave at the Waupaca County Planning and Zoning Committee meeting [on July 12]. I was unable to finish it because the county limited the public speeches to three minutes and I was cut off before getting to the last two paragraphs. Read it all here now.)

Today I’d like to talk about Act 67 because we know that Act 67 plays a big part in your decision on this proposed sand mine. We know that Act 67 is a pro-business law that was passed in 2017 to convince more businesses to move into Wisconsin, keep all businesses in Wisconsin and help those businesses in Wisconsin grow. Act 67 does that by preventing groups from protesting business expansions unless they have “substantial evidence” of harm.

We understand that and the burden of proof of “substantial evidence” originally was on us. And to be honest, we believe the Township of Scandinavia is pro-business. Why wouldn’t they want a current business to grow in their community or have a new business come into the community? And I’m sure Waupaca County is pro-business because the county always wants more jobs and successful companies to operate in the county.

But in this case, you can be pro-business and against this business plan. It’s a bad business plan. In fact, it’s a terrible business plan. The location of the sand mine in conjunction with so many neighbors – seven homeowners who are within 500 feet of the sand mind and 14 homeowners who are within a quarter mile of the sand mine – makes this a bad business plan. It’s about location, location, location and they just don’t get it. Not only that, but no jobs are being created by the sand mine and no additional tax revenue is being generated. Instead, property values and likely property taxes in the area will go down and down by as much as 25 percent according to the Marquette County survey. The Township of Scandinavia understood all of this and that’s why the permit was denied.

And it’s not like Act 67 is a get-out-of-jail-free card for businesses. They also have to show “substantial evidence” that they are complying with the Township’s Comprehensive Plan and county ordinances. And Waupaca County wouldn’t be the first county to deny a permit since Act 67 was enacted. In fact, two other counties denied CUPs in 2022 alone. Marquette County denied a CUP in April of 2022 in Packwaukee after they received the independent property assessor’s report and Green Lake County denied a permit in December of 2022.

What would be unprecedented is if the County allowed this permit after the Township of Scandinavia twice voted unanimously to deny the permit. I can’t find another example in the state’s history where a county overruled the municipality’s decision on a sand mine permit and instead forced them to have the sand mine. It would undermine the municipality’s decision-making process to decide what it felt was best for its residents and its community. It would also send a message to all municipalities in Waupaca County that what they decide doesn’t matter because the county knows better.

Please listen to our elected officials from the Township of Scandinavia and agree to deny this permit. Even Act 67 can’t save this bad business plan. Thank you.

[Editor’s Note: Greg has a website www.noiolasandmine.com readers might find of interest.]