Here & Now

Foxconn Road Plans Jeopardize Homeowners' Land

Zac Schultz:

There are more changes to the proposed Foxconn operation in Wisconsin. The company put out a statement that Louis Woo, the executive who led much of the project, is stepping down for personal reasons. It’s just the latest development that has officials wondering whether Foxconn will ever deliver on their promise to deliver 13,000 jobs to Wisconsin. It’s not just officials. Homeowners who lost their property to make way for the proposed factory are not happy either. Joining us now is Wisconsin Public Radio’s Corrinne Hess, who has new reporting on the topic posted with our partners at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. Thanks for your time today.

Corrinne Hess:

Thank you.

Zac Schultz:

Now, who are these homeowners that sold their land away to make way for Foxconn and why are they not happy now?

Corrinne Hess:

Well, from the beginning of the project, Mount Pleasant said that they would acquire all of this property for Foxconn. It’s about 3,000 acres. So what they did was they began sending letters to homeowners letting them know that their property would be taken through a process called eminent domain. And some of these homeowners have realized that the road projects that they were told about are not happening. And so they’re pretty upset.

Zac Schultz:

Now, for the people — there are still people staying there that have refused to move. Do they want a better deal to move out or are they looking to stay there permanently?

Corrinne Hess:

There is a woman who has refused to move. Her name’s Kim Mahoney. She has been looking for a better deal. She’s since been told they don’t want her property anymore. They’re going to put a fence around her home. There is another couple, Cathy and Rodney Jensen. Their property, they were told that the village wanted .13 acres for a road project, but they were going to take all three acres of the property. They did not move. The village has since bought their land and they’re in a federal lawsuit right now.

Zac Schultz:

So are there people that actually want to go back there or is this about money at this point?

Corrinne Hess:

Well, the thing is is that they can’t go back. All of these homes have been bulldozed. So there’s nothing to go back to. And it’s really not about money. The people that I’ve talked to are pretty happy with what they’ve gotten. They got well above the assessed value of their homes. It’s more about how the village went about acquiring the property and what they believe they were told in relation to what’s going on down there.

Zac Schultz:

Do you get a sense that the Department of Transportation or Administration under Tony Evers is handling this any differently than when Scott Walker was in charge?

Corrinne Hess:

No. I really don’t. I reached out to the Department of Transportation. They really did not talk to me at all. I was given documents under the open records law. But they did not agree to any interviews.

Zac Schultz:

And will any of these connector roads ever get built or will DOT be waiting until Foxconn actually starts manufacturing something?

Corrinne Hess:

You know, there is some road work being done, but definitely not to the extent that was originally planned.

Zac Schultz:

So is the end result of this mostly just ill will between the people that live there and the village that went about working for Foxconn and the state?

Corrinne Hess:

Unfortunately, yes. The people that I talked to and others, they’ve been packing these village meetings and there is a lot of ill will down there right now. I’m not sure how that gets repaired.

Zac Schultz:

All right. Corrinne Hess reporting from Milwaukee, thanks for your time.

Corrinne Hess:

Thank you.