Allmann, Statz Appeal to Halt Granary Raze Order

The city voted to dismantle the Teweles and Brandeis Grain Elevator Nov. 21, 2017. Photo by Myles Dannhausen Jr.

Alderperson Barbara Allmann and Historic Preservation Commission Chairperson Dennis Statz filed a petition to appeal the raze order issued for the Teweles and Brandeis Grain Elevator on Sturgeon Bay’s west waterfront.

The Sturgeon Bay Common Council met in a special session Monday, Dec. 11, to select a contractor to dismantle the structure, but the council did not have a quorum so no vote was taken. Alderpersons Allmann, Laurel Hauser, and Kelly Catarozoli were all absent. All three said they informed the city that they would not be able to meet on that date when it was first proposed. Hauser and Allmann said no alternative date was offered.

The petition filed Dec. 4 with the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services alleges that the city did not follow due process in its deliberations on the raze order. On Oct. 30 the Historic Preservation Commission passed a resolution in support of preserving the granary, but the minutes from that meeting were not shared with the Common Council until after the decision to raze the structure was made Nov. 21.

A donor working with the Door County Community Foundation and Sturgeon Bay Historical Society has pledged $1.25 million to save the structure, but the Common Council instead voted to dismantle it at its Nov. 21 meeting.

Sturgeon Bay Fire Chief Tim Dietman issued the raze order Oct. 17 after receiving reports Oct. 13 from people who thought it had moved. Sturgeon Bay city staff documented movement of one sixteenth of an inch over a five-day period, causing Dietman to issue the raze order. The order did not reference how any measurements compared to those found in the last comprehensive structural analysis of the building in 2013.