Village of Wrightstown
Planning Commission Minutes
The regular monthly meeting of the Planning Commission was held at the Village Hall, 352 High
Street on Monday 07/14/14 and was called to order at 6:30 pm by Chairman Paul Brewer.
Roll Call: Present- Paul Brewer, Karen Curry, Bob Fandrey, Gary Kaster, Pat Kiel,
Ryan Macario
Absent: Andy Lundt
Also Present: Village Administrator Steve Johnson; Planning Consultant Elizabeth Runge;
Superintendent Public Works Travis Coenen; Ed Byrne – Brillion News; Lance Johnson,
F.I.Garza (Chino) – Farm Products LLC; Rob Bergmann, Jim Perras – Consolidated
Construction; Ron Wolf – McMahon Associates.
MINUTES –
Motion by B Fandrey, second by K Curry to approve the Planning Commission meeting minutes
from April 14, 2014 as presented. Carried.
Site Plan and Design Review – Farm Products LLC, Parcel VW-161-3, VW-161-2
E Runge referred to the following handouts not included in the packets: Sheet #1 – A010 the
Architectural Site Plan with site clean-up notes; Sheet #2 – Pictures of the fence and Exterior
Insulation and Finish System (EIFS) material; Sheet #3 – Detail about the lighting.
Sheet #4 – Application to the Department of Natural Resources lists the facility process
description as follows: This Farm Products LLC facility will be manufacturing high quality, low
iron, aluminum sulfate using a closed-loop containment system. The three materials used in the
process are aluminum trihydrate (powder), sulfuric acid, and water. Bulk handling of aluminum
trihydrate powder is in totally enclosed systems, and emissions from the loading process are
filtered by baghouses on the silos. Per the owners the permits have been approved by the DNR.
E Runge went through the attached Staff Report in detail to include the company’s background
and history; criteria for review; staff recommendations.
The following questions from the Planning Commission members were addressed:
Q. On the plan the sulfuric acid tank is surrounded by gravel, is that because of possible
leakage?
A. L Johnson. No. The leakage is 100% contained in the concrete basin around the tank. The
gravel is to create a separation.
Q. Why a chemical plant in this area?
A. L Johnson. The chemicals that are manufactured and the chemicals brought in are nonvolatile, non-organic. Aluminum trihydrate (powder), sulfuric acid and water can’t create a
plum. The sulfuric acid is hazardous but if contained properly and stored properly it’s not
hazardous to anyone in the area.
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Q. Is there any odor emission of any kind?
A. L Johnson. No. From an air permitting standpoint it’s not even getting a regular air permit,
like you’re running a big process. It’s merely notifying the state and going into operation and
keeping operation data.
Q. Are there any air scrubbers?
A. L Johnson. There is an air scrubber. What it’s doing is knocking down any mist; sulfuric
acid mist that would potentially be entrained and the steam that’s coming out. There’s a counter
current scrubber that’s operated on there and it knocks anything out and recovers the heat lost in
the reaction.
Q. Is there a time line for loading or unloading on the tracks?
A. L Johnson. The company owns the spur and they can park the cars there, but they want to get
them out as quickly as possible.
Q. Is the facility manned 24 hours?
A. L Johnson. No it’s not. Just normal business hours Monday through Friday.
Q. Have we had any communications with the municipalities in other areas of operation?
A. L Johnson. They have four plants – two in Georgia, one in Texas and one in Arkansas. They
have had no issues with any of them; they have been very welcoming. The biggest feedback that
they received is that they don’t look like chemical plants at all.
Q. What’s the chemical makeup in the reactors?
A. L Johnson. It’s just the mixing of the three components: aluminum trihydrate (powder),
sulfuric acid, and water.
Q. How do you bring the chemicals in, and how do you ship them out?
A. L Johnson. The sulfuric acid and aluminum is brought in by rail and the finished goods are
shipped out in trucks.
Q. Does the final product need to be placarded as hazardous materials when hauling?
A. L Johnson. Yes it does have to be placarded, but there are different classifications.
A. F. Garza. Straight alum we use a class 9. It’s a low ph you get about a 2.2. Because of the
quantity it becomes hazardous.
Q. Does Pamela Street need any improvements?
A. T Coenen. Yes the street does need improvements. It’s been in need of an upgrade for a
while. The base of the road is strong enough; it’s been carrying trucks for about 20 to 30 years.
It’s the surface that needs restoration and we may go with curb and gutter in that area.
Q. Is it necessary for the Village to keep Pamela Street there or should we abandon it?
A. T Coenen. Farm Products would like to use Pamela Street to access their facility instead of
always using Broadway Street. Also, Wrightstown Manufacturing uses Pamela Street.
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Q. Why Wrightstown Wisconsin for your facility?
A. L Johnson. We have a customer that is local to where the facility is going to be positioned.
It’s a good piece of property with rail access and centrally located.
Q. How many rail cars can you put on that side rail?
A. L Johnson. Approximately 4 rail cars.
Q. Is Farm Products LLC a new name for your company?
A. L Johnson. We have one parent company with different LLC’s. Farm Products LLC is
unique to this area.
Motion by B Fandrey, second by G Kaster to approve the Site Plan and Design Review for Farm
Products LLC for parcels VW-161-3 and VW-161-2 based on the conditions of the staff report
specifically noting item #3 under the recommendation regarding the approval of the Exterior
Insulation and Finish System (EIFS) material, condition #4 noting the approval of the
Conditional Use application and item #6 the Variance regarding the 20 foot rear setback of the
building.
Staff Recommendations:
1. Continued coordination with Village staff with regard to any other additional storm water
management information, follow up regarding the pump sizing which was to be selected after the
preliminary site plan meeting as well as the final location of the pump.
2. Coordination regarding the gate on Pamela Street operation and emergency services access via
the gate should be discussed between the applicant and the Village.
3. The Plan Commission provides approval of front facade Exterior Insulation and Finish System
(EIFS) material.
4. A Conditional Use application has been submitted to the Village Board for review. An
approval by the Village is required for a conditional use in the Industrial Zone for this project to
proceed.
5. An Easement Agreement is needed to accommodate the rail spur construction on Pamela
Street. An agreement between the Village and Farm Products will need to be entered into upon
approval of the project.
6. A variance approval to address the building encroachment into the Industrial Zone’s 20 foot
rear yard setback is necessary. The applicant has submitted a variance request and it is noted on
the site review plan for Plan Commission to provide a determination under Village Ordinance
§207-12.
7. Village staff to coordinate response plan with applicant regarding Emergency Planning.
8. Any other additional permitting or other requirements to meet village, county, state, and/or
federal requirements, as applicable. Carried
ADJOURN –
Motion by G Kaster, second by R Macario to adjourn the meeting. Carried.
(Adjourned at 7:14pm).
_______________________________________
Shelia Bowers
Deputy Clerk/Treasurer
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