Group pursuing large Foxconn factory wants to tap City of Racine for water, sewer
Rick Romell
Representatives of a closely guarded effort to land a much-sought-after Foxconn Technology Group factory have approached the City of Racine about providing water and sewer service to a potential large plant outside the city limits, Mayor John Dickert said Friday.
The city’s water and wastewater staff is studying the request but needs more details on the demands the envisioned manufacturing plant would place on the city’s systems, Dickert said.
Dickert said he had not participated in the discussions but had spoken with utility officials about the development.
The city provides water and sewer service to the villages of Mount Pleasant and Caledonia, both of which extend west to I-94.
Based on reports that Foxconn could employ thousands of people, Dickert said the potential factory could use millions of gallons of water a day – a significant increase for a system that now draws about 20 million gallons daily from Lake Michigan.
But the city is allowed almost 60 million gallons of water a day, and its sewage treatment plant was expanded in 2002-'05, Keith Haas, general manager of Racine's Water and WasteWater Utilities, said by email.
"So it would appear that there are sufficient plant capacities to handle large developments in the Racine area from a water and wastewater perspective," Haas said.
Beyond the approach to the water and wastewater departments, the city has not been a party to discussions about Foxconn, Dickert said.
“I was informed in a general conversation from somebody who I will not name who just simply said, ‘There’s a big development out west that we’re working on,’” he said.
“That was the extent of anything that I’ve ever heard about this other than the fact that they’re looking at water and sewer,” Dickert said. “But we have no details, we’ve had no other conversations, and we’re hoping and anticipating at being at the table shortly, because there’s a lot of work to be done.”
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Foxconn is a huge Taiwanese company with extensive manufacturing operations in China, where it makes the Apple iPhone and other electronic products.
The firm has talked about spending more than $10 billion on new U.S. factories, and Wisconsin is a prime candidate for part of that presumed investment – likely for display panels such as those used in televisions made by Sharp Corp., which Foxconn acquired last year.
While Foxconn has said other states are under consideration too, Wisconsin was specifically cited by President Donald Trump less than three weeks ago in remarks that strongly hinted at the company and its plans.
Accompanied by Gov. Scott Walker during a stop at Waukesha County Technical College on June 13, Trump said, “Just backstage, we were negotiating with a major, major, incredible manufacturer of phones and computers and televisions, and I think they’re going to give the governor a very happy surprise very soon."
In Racine County, meanwhile, members of the County Board held three closed-door sessions in June to discuss committing public money to “competitive multi-site economic development opportunities.”
On Tuesday, the board took the unusual step of approving – unanimously and without discussion – a special, $500,000 letter of credit to the area’s economic development organization to cover expenses related to unspecified economic development projects.