Sheboygan committee recommends sale of 58 acres to Amazon amid public concerns about price, protections and jobs

The Sheboygan City Finance and Personnel Committee on the evening it met recommended that the common council approve a purchase-and-sale agreement with Amazon.com Services LLC for 58.1 acres at Stahl Road and South Taylor Drive, a parcel described in the contract for a "Class A logistics facility." The committee vote followed more than an hour of public comment and detailed questions from committee members about contract language, job assurances, assignment rights and long-term uses.

Residents at the public-comment section urged caution. "Somebody's gotten a really good deal here," Mark Gosowitz said, arguing that the city's proposed $35,000-per-acre sale is far below comparable local appraisals. Lisa Salgado, who reviewed the contract, said the agreement as written "does not require Amazon to build anything," gives the company up to two years before closing, caps the city's remedy for a walk-away at $50,000, and contains a confidentiality clause that limits…