Meeting erupts in chaos over data center

Port Washington aldermen on Tuesday were listening to a lineup of speakers — most of them opposed to the proposed Vantage Data Centers Lighthouse Campus — when pandemonium broke out.

Three people were handcuffed and removed from the building during the melee, then ticketed for disorderly conduct,  Police Captain Craig Czarnecki said.

The incident happened after the crowd of about 50 people, most of them data center opponents, began interrupting speakers they disagreed with, despite the fact they had been asked at the onset of the meeting to be respectful and allow speakers to talk.

Christine Le Jeune, 137 E. Cleveland St., a founder of Great Lakes Neighbors United, a grassroots group of data center opponents, had finished speaking, telling officials that residents are angry that their voices weren’t heard and saying a petition for a referendum on the tax incremental financing district for the data center signed by about 1,000 people proves that fact.

“We will not continue to be silenced and ignored while our beautiful and pristine city is taken away from us and handed over to a corporation intent on extracting as many resources as they can regardless of the impact on the people who live here,” she said.

She reached the end of the three minutes each speaker had to talk, returned to her seat and, police later said, while a supporter of the data center spoke Le Jeune shouted several times. Police Chief Kevin Hingiss said he then approached her and asked her repeatedly to leave after, but she refused.

He and another officer physically removed her from her seat — Le Jeune had gone limp but then kicked at the officers, Captain Craig Czarnecki said  — angering the crowd, which began shouting at police and officials.

“Shame on you all,” some shouted. “What is wrong with you?” “She literally did nothing wrong.” “Do you guys even care. Obviously you don’t.” “What did she do?” “She said recall, recall, recall.”

Many people in the crowd began filming the scene on their cellphones and cameras, and several tried to stop police from removing Le Jeune, who was yelling that she did not give anyone permission to touch her, as Mayor Ted Neitzke asked people to step back. 

“We would have preferred if she would have just left when asked but she chose not to,” Czarnecki said.

The others who were arrested, he said, tried to prevent police from removing Le Jeune, holding onto her while she was on the ground, including one woman who he said had her in a bear hug.

Czarnecki noted that police could have sought criminal charges but opted to simply ticket the three people.

The Common Council and other officials left the room in the middle of the melee and the meeting was paused for more than 30 minutes. 

Later in the meeting, several speakers criticized the city’s handling of the incident.

“I think there could have been a better way to handle it,” Lucille Henson, 1700 Pioneer Rd., Cedarburg, said. “There’s a lot of frustration at the moment. There’s been a lot of disregard for the public and for the environment.”

“Are we being heard by the Common Council? No we’re not,” Dawn Stacey, 1535 Holden St., said. “Instead of being heard we have people being dragged out of the room.”

There were no data center-related items on Tuesday’s council agenda, but it was a day in which data center protesters around the state held protests. 

It was also the first Common Council meeting since the city’s Plan Commission gave Vantage permission to work on its 675-acre campus around the clock Mondays through Fridays and from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends — a move that angered many of those who spoke at the meeting — and the first since a petition seeking a referendum on the data center and other large developments seeking tax incremental financing was certified by the city.

The opponents have also put out a call seeking candidates to run in the spring election against incumbent aldermen and have said they will seek a recall of Mayor Ted Neitzke.

Le Jeune, who turned the petitions in to the city, told officials their failure to listen to residents means “something has gone terribly, terribly awry. 

“We asked for town halls to allow better communication between local government and the people and no action was taken. We asked for independent environmental studies to be conducted and no action was taken. We asked for the city’s financial situation to be guaranteed in extreme detail and no action was taken.”

Dean Wiegert, 3708 E. Norport Dr., asked the council to think about the many people impacted by the construction of the data center and “end the 24-hour work schedule now.”

“There are a whole group of people who are still (living) there but whose neighbors have disappeared, whose landscape has changed, who are having to deal with road closures, increased traffic, loud machinery, nighttime light pollution,” he said. “They have absolutely no say. You should have some basic concern over their situation.”

Chris Karnish, 878 Weilers Way, Town of Port, said he was shocked when the Plan Commission approved around-the-clock construction on weekdays, especially when some officials compared it to farmers working through the night.

“I have lived in the Town of Port Washington 30 years. I can probably count on one hand the number of nights a farmer worked in the dark all night long,” Karnish said. “That’s just absolutely ridiculous.”

He asked if the city had a noise ordinance, and said it should be enforced for the data center construction.

“Can anyone just decide to stay up all night and run tractors or have bands all night long? Why should this be any different?” he asked. “You think it’s okay to just run all this stuff all night long?”

He and his wife Karen also asked the Town of Port Washington Board on Monday to intercede on behalf of them and their neighbors, saying the construction will impact their lives in too many ways. 

Town Chairman Mike Didier said officials would keep an eye on things and approach the city if there are issues with the construction.

Supporters of the data center said Tuesday the facility will bring benefits to the area, adding that many of the fears mentioned by opponents aren’t likely to occur.

Kathleen Cady Shilling, executive director of Ozaukee Economic Development, said data center developers are working to minimize their impact.

“We have to remember technology continues to change. These data centers are continuing to look at what works, what makes sense. We have to trust what they’re saying,” she said, adding that the city has agreements in place to protect residents.

Andy Allen, 507 Briarwood La., said the opponents are using social media to spread misinformation and create a fear of data centers.

“Vantage, they’re a leader in sustainability and design,” he said, adding that artificial intelligence holds the potential for great gains in medicine and other areas.

Noting that podcaster Charlie Behrens has energized opponents of the Vantage project, Allen added, “The fact we’re listening to a comedian when it comes to data center construction is a comedy act itself.”

After the meeting, Neitzke said he was saddened and frustrated by the incident.

“I’m sad we can’t maintain decorum,” he said, adding the city has taken numerous steps to ensure people’s opinions were heard.

Neitzke said he could not comment on officers’ actions, noting he had not been briefed on the full situation, and said he did not see what occurred leading up to that point since he was paying attention to the speakers.

“I did not hear what she said, what she did,” he said, referring to Le Jeune. “I don’t know what escalated it. I think tonight’s escalation ... is regrettable for everybody. That’s not Port Washington.”

Neitzke noted that officials have received numerous threats in the last three months as the data center controversy has become more heated — a situation he said has led to heightened awareness on the part of officials.

“I’m not going to judge anything that was done (by police),” Neitzke said. “I trust our law enforcement. It’s a different world we’re in. Everybody here should feel safe.”