Pleasant Prairie board approves rail-use amendment, covenants update and easement for Fire Station 3

John Steinberg, chair of the Village Board of Pleasant Prairie, presided over a regular board meeting in which members approved three infrastructure-related items affecting rail access and a fire station easement.

Staff recommended and the board approved an amendment to a 2011 facility-use agreement that would add three private rail sidings (points P, Q and R) on AMCO/EMCO property to allow storage of about six additional rail cars. Staff said the sidings are intended to reduce roadway congestion and that there is no anticipated construction timeline yet; the amendment does not change existing maintenance obligations and the parties will still need a control permit and additional reviews before construction begins.

"The amendment adds points P, Q and R as private sidings within the facility use agreement; these would all be located on EMCO property," a staff presenter said, adding that maintenance responsibilities and other protections remain in place through the original agreement and related documents.

A board member asked whether AMCO would bear financial responsibility for any track maintenance where the village's rail is still used. The staff presenter replied that maintenance and responsibility provisions exist in other agreements—such as joint-use or track-maintenance agreements—and that this amendment simply adds sidings rather than changing who is responsible for the village track.

The board approved the facility-use agreement amendment on a voice vote after brief discussion. The motion to approve was moved by a board member and seconded; the motion carried.

Separately, the board approved an amendment to declarations of covenants, conditions, restrictions and easements for the Logistics Center at Pleasant Prairie. Staff said the original June 30, 2023 declaration for DP 95th Street LLC did not include rail-use language because end users were still uncertain; the amendment adds language to permit spur track easements, installation and maintenance of track facilities and clarifies responsibilities for future users, including the ability of additional businesses to use WestRock-created track improvements.

Finally, the board granted an easement to We Energies so the utility can relocate electrical service that currently encroaches on a stormwater retention area near the new Fire Station 3. According to staff, once the easement is recorded We Energies will survey the new alignment, perform the relocation, and record the easement; the retention basin will then be finished and the area restored. A board member asked whether the basin would include a fountain; staff confirmed it will be a dry basin.

Carly McNeil, introduced during the public-comment period, identified herself as a deputy district attorney in Kenosha and said she is running for district attorney. "I am the deputy district attorney right now here in Kenosha. I am running for district attorney," McNeil told the board and said she would be available after the meeting for attendees who wanted to speak with her.

The meeting also included an administrator's report praising a well-attended National Night Out event and a reminder about a primary election the following day. The board offered brief closing remarks, including a report that former village treasurer Pat Kessel had died following an automobile accident; the chair said more information would follow.

The meeting adjourned after a motion and voice vote.