Streckenbach vetoes Brown County's purchase of former Bank Mutual branch on Green Bay's east side

GREEN BAY - Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach on Friday vetoed an agreement the County Board made in August to purchase the vacant Bank Mutual branch near the county's central library, to use part of the site for overflow parking.

It doesn't mean the executive opposes the county spending $1.2 million to buy the building at 201 N. Monroe Ave., on the city's east side. Instead, Streckenbach is concerned that asbestos in the building, which would have to be removed, changes the agreement the county made to acquire the building, said Corporation Counsel David Hemery.

"It wasn't that there's a lack of support from the executive," said County Board member John Van Dyck, who chairs the Education & Recreation Committee, which has oversight of the county's nine library buildings. "There has been a determination that there is some asbestos in the building."

Asbestos is a fire-resistant material that since the 1970s has been linked to cancer and other lung ailments, and other harmful impacts to human health. Its use in construction has been banned in several countries.

The county and seller ProVisions LLC of Troy, Michigan, agreed to split the cost of removal, Van Dyck said. He said the cost is expected to be about $200,000; removal standards require special precautions to keep small particles from being dislodged and potentially inhaled by workers.

Hemery recommended a fresh decision from the board on whether to approve the purchase because the price will change. The County Board in August voted 18-3 to approve the purchase. County Board members Ron Antonneau, Andy Nicholson and Dave Kaster voted against the purchase.

In the first vote in August, County Board members Patrick Evans and Richard Schadewald also opposed the purchase, which failed because the board lacked approval from two-thirds of the board's 26 members. But both changed their votes and supported the purchase, which gave the measure the 18 votes needed to approve the purchase.

Evans, however, said he speculates that the board "will not purchase (the property) now."

The County Board could override the veto when it meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday. It could also vote on whether to approve a new deal.

Email Doug Schneider at DSchneid@Gannett.com, call him at (920) 599-0809 and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @PGDougSchneider.

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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Brown County executive vetoes purchase of former Bank Mutal site