Verso Paper Mill in Wisconsin Rapids. Image courtesy: WAOW TV
MADISON, WI (WSAU) — A public hearing on a bill that would authorize a $50 million WEDC loan for the group looking to buy the Verso paper mill in Wisconsin Rapids is set for a public hearing on Wednesday.
Representative Scott Krug of Nekoosa is the bill’s sponsor, and while the project lies squarely in his district he says this isn’t something that only Rapids residents are interested in. “I get more phone calls and emails about this from people in the Northwoods than from Wisconsin Rapids. That’s how much of an impact this has on the upper 2/3rds of Wisconsin. This isn’t just a Wisconsin Rapids mill that Representative Krug needs for his pet project,” he said.
The hearing is scheduled for 1 PM in Room 225 NW at the State Capitol. Despite the short notice, Krug says it’s important that the concerns of those not only in Wisconsin Rapids but the state’s timber industry as a whole are heard.
“I don’t want politics in this. I want a clean bill and a yes or no vote. A day for Wisconsin Rapids to be heard in the Assembly, a day for Wisconsin Rapids to be heard in the Senate, and a day for Wisconsin Rapids to be heard by the Governor.
“That’s all this bill is. It’s clean, it’s simple, it’s less than two pages. [It just shows] we need to kick-start this purchase and then move on to other things,” added Krug.
At the time that it was idled, it was processing nearly a quarter of the timber harvested in the Northwoods. Meaning the closure not only impacted those working in the plant but loggers and the trucking industry as well.
The plant has sat idle for nearly a year after Verso announced they would shut it down due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. Krug says that opens the door for the use of American Recovery Act funding to help back the loan.
“The closure of this mill was directly related to COVID, according to the company, because of the lack of business use for the paper grades they used. It’s teed up perfectly for what the ARPA funds from the federal government are set up to do.”
Under the terms of the bill, the proposed Co-op would only get the loan funding after confirming their private funds. The final portion of the funding would come from a loan from the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands.
Governor Tony Evers has not indicated if he supports the bill but Krug notes that the language is the same as what was proposed as part of a larger $1 billion infrastructure and economic development bill that was tied to an expansion of BadgerCare.
Krug adds that last week’s fire at the plant, which was blamed on a lightning strike that ignited some insulation, has had no impact on the desire of the Co-op to purchase the property.
The bill is currently considered a partisan measure with only Republicans signed on to it. That includes Senators Patrick Testin and Mary Felzkowski and Representatives Jim Edming, John Spiros, Calvin Calahan, and Pat Snyder. Krug says Assembly leadership has promised a vote on the bill before the end of June. Click here for more on the bill.
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