Council likely to consider data center petition Dec. 16

A petition filed by the Great Lakes Neighbors United, a grassroots organization opposed to the Vantage Data Centers Lighthouse Campus in Port Washington, is expected to be addressed by the Port Common Council when it meets Tuesday, Dec. 16.

City Clerk Susan Westerbeke said Tuesday the petition, which calls for the city to hold referendums before approving large tax incremental financing districts like the one needed for the data center campus, is on the draft agenda for the meeting.

She said City Attorney Matt Nugent and Chris Smith of von Briesen & Roper, the city’s attorney for the data center, are reviewing the document in preparation for the meeting.

The petition was submitted to the city on Nov. 13, and organizers of the petition drive said it was signed by 1,025 people.

Westerbeke, who was charged with verifying those signatures, said she certified 987 of them — more than the 954 needed to bring the document to the council.

The other signatures, she said, were of people who don’t live in the city, lacked information such as the date they signed it or their address or were illegible.

The petition would require the city to enact an ordinance requiring voter approval for large-scale TIF districts or place a referendum question on the spring ballot that would allow voters to decide if such an ordinance should be enacted.

After she turned in the petition, Christine Le Jeune, a founding member of the group, said the petition is a major step for residents who have been “shamefully ignored” by officials regarding the data center.

“Residents are clear; we are not divided on the data center, on how we want our town to be run. The petition shows that,” she said. “Democracy works best when people have a say in decisions that directly impact their city and their wallets. We will use every available avenue to fight back and overturn the irresponsible decision that went against the wishes of residents.”

The organization’s attorney, Joseph Cincotta, sent a letter to the city objecting to the TIF funding, saying the district does not comply with state laws governing industrial TIF districts and is inconsistent with the state’s public purpose doctrine, which requires public funds to be used for public purposes.

Despite that, the TIF district was unanimously approved by the Joint Review Board on Nov 18.

Whether the petition will actually impact the Vantage project is a question that’s still unanswered.

Port Mayor Ted Neitzke said last month that he doesn’t believe it will since the Common Council approved formation of the district on Nov. 6, prior to the petition being filed.

Smith, who talked to Ozaukee Press before the petition was filed with the city, said that in general petitions for so-called direct legislation only apply “prospectively, not retroactively. It cannot undo past actions.”