The nonprofit group behind several lawsuits against the City of Port Washington and the failed recall of the city’s mayor has taken another legal action against the city, alleging violations of Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law.
An article in the Feb. 21, 2026 issue of the West Bend Daily News covered the issue. According to the story:
According to Great Lakes Neighbors United, the violations are in connection with the city’s approval of a developer’s agreement for the Vantage data center project, a $15 billion, nearly 1,900-acre data center that will be located west of Interstate 43 and north of Highland Lane in Port Washington.
The group claims that the Port Washington Common Council conducted extended closed-session meetings to “deliberate and negotiate the terms of the developer’s agreement without a lawful basis,” according to a GLNU press release.
The complaint seeks judicial review and potential invalidation of the agreement, arguing that the city’s largest development project required full public transparency, and has also been referred to the Ozaukee County District Attorney’s Office for investigation.
State law requires that governmental bodies conduct public business in open session unless a specific statutory exemption applies. The lawsuit argues that there was no valid “competitive or bargaining” reason justified for closing the meetings.
The group wrote that “the substantive terms of the agreement were discussed largely outside of public view prior to its approval.”
The proposed data center represents the largest development project in the city’s history and involves significant public financing and municipal resources, according to GLNU. Given the project’s scale and long-term local and regional impacts, the complaint notes that deliberations should have occurred in open session meetings to ensure transparency and public oversight.
The Wisconsin Open Meetings Law allows a court to declare actions taken as a result of unlawfully held closed sessions void, according to Great Lakes Neighbors United. The complaint seeks judicial review of the closed meetings and requests that the developer’s agreement be invalidated if violations are found. It has also been formally presented to the District Attorney’s Office for investigation and potential enforcement under Wisconsin law.
“Great Lakes Neighbors United is grateful to community members who have supported our efforts,” the group added. “We remain committed to advocating for transparency and accountability in Port Washington’s city government and the use of Wisconsin state laws.”
A message from city officials posted on the Port Washington Facebook page reads that the city has complied with all open meeting requirements throughout the data center process. Officials also took exception with the group’s characterization that it filed a lawsuit.
“We are aware of a complaint that was filed to the district attorney,” according to the city statement. “This is not the same as a lawsuit.”
The group clarified on Friday that what it filed was a verified complaint.
City officials said that they welcome a review by the district attorney. They called the group’s statement “sloppy” because of its inaccuracies. Among them:
• The group claims the developer’s agreement was executed and approved Aug. 19, 2025. The terms and conditions agreed to were discussed almost solely within closed sessions, including primarily July 1, 2025, and Aug. 6, 2025, closed sessions, the group said.
The city said that is blatantly false and easily verifiable because a public discussion lasting more than 20 minutes was held.
• The group says that public meetings continued during the early summer of 2025. And while the data center was discussed, only general references were made to the developer’s agreement.
This is also false, the city said. Among the city’s proof is that during an Aug. 6 meeting, Port Washington Mayor Ted Neitzke IV gave a 30-minute presentation, which included takeaways on the development agreements. The city said Neitzke specifically said that a draft of the agreement would be posted on the city’s website within several days.
“It is also important to note that even if everything the group claimed in its complaint were true — which is not the case, as outlined above — the city has been in compliance with open meetings requirements throughout this pro- cess and has gone above and beyond those requirements to con- vey information to our community as this process has played out for more than a year,” the city of Port Washington said on its Facebook page.
The full statement can be viewed on the city’s Facebook page.
Ozaukee County District Attorney Ben Lindsay sent a letter to the group on Thursday.
“This complaint has been referred to the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office for investigation,” Lindsay wrote. “Once I receive the results of that investigation, I will determine whether to take enforcement action on either issue.”
